Discover Queenstown and Wanaka with Kiwi Direct Car Rentals
If you’ve got a bucket list, this is where you’re going to start ticking it off. Queenstown is the adventure capital of the world and the district is a packed with scenery, walks and activities that will fill your memory banks.
This place is special and you’ll need your Kiwi Direct rental car to get around it - and a couple of extra memory chips for your camera.
Queenstown, on the banks of the glacial Lake Wakatipu with the aptly named Remarkables mountain range as a backdrop, has got everything for the adrenaline junkie, the merely adventurous, the hiker, the horse-trekker, or those who just love jaw-dropping scenery.
Born from the gold rush and reborn through tourism, the town has cafés and fine dining, and is the jump-off point for more activities you can poke a stick at.
There’s jetboating - the rivers were made for this New-Zealand invention. The Shotover (where gold was first found) is the exhilarating icon, but don’t miss the Dart River boats that take you over shingle banks into Mt Aspiring National Park and Lord of the Rings country, or the Kawarau Jet across the lake.
There’s paragliding, hang-gliding, rafting, cycling, and horse trekking. There’s the gondola to the top of Bob’s Peak and the luge. There’s the venerable coal-fired steamboat Earnslaw to take you to Walter Peak sheep station, and the Spirit of Queenstown lake cruise.
Then there’s bungy jumping. Commercial bungy started here and there are some spectacular sites to take the plunge.
If it’s winter skiing you’re after, there’s Coronet Peak, Cardrona, Treble Cone and The Remarkables fields, and all season round there’s the vineyards - take a tour and leave your Kiwi Direct rental car behind so you can sample the wares.
Want to get out of town? Take a tour to Skippers Canyon - sorry, this is one of the few areas in New Zealand where you cannot drive your car - and visit the historic mining area and the famous suspension bridge.
Just up the road is beautiful Arrowtown, a virtual living museum with its historic buildings, shops and cafés, Chinese settlement and museum - and yes, you can still pan for gold in the Arrow River.
Take your Kiwi Direct rental car further north to Lake Wanaka and the town of the same name for scenery, walks, and Wanaka’s quirky Puzzling World, then drive to Makarora at the top of the lake and walk to the stunning crystal-clear Blue Pools. The road there runs along the banks for yet another glacial lake, Hawea.
Driving in this region is just beautiful, so take the time to visit Glenorchy at the top of Lake Wakatipu or Kingston at the bottom. So much to do and see.
And that’s just scratching the surface…
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