Inside-Out Guide to Queenstown continued...Masterchef goes wild
Rush rating: 2
When: November - March
Immerse yourself for three days in one of New Zealand’s most isolated valleys. After a flight into the valley either by chopper or small aircraft, you begin to paddle into the wild on inflatable rafts., with stop-offs to tackle bushwalking, canyoning and hiking. As your small group makes its way down the Landsborough River, stunning scenery unfolds: lush rainforest, precipitous glaciers and 3,000m peaks. And it may be tents, but the cuisine’s gourmet.
Kids: minimum 15 years old
Price: around £584 (three days, two nights) www.rafting.co.nz
Your tyre’s the limit
Rush rating: 1–5
When: All year round, weather-dependent
Environmentally–commendable Fat Tyre Adventures offers one-day or multi-day mountain bike tours with options ranging from heli-biking (chopper up, cycle down the mountain) to a picnic ride. More than 20 trail options are tailored to suit your level of daring or fitness.
Kids: from about 15 years old, or big enough to feel comfortable on the smallest 15in hire bike (recent models)
Price: £76 for a one-day tour, from ?£124 for heli-biking www.fat-tyre.co.nz
Stunt it up!
Rush rating: 5
When: All year round, weather-dependent
Not so much a physical challenge as one for the nerves, this is a plane ride high above the Queenstown basin. But you’ll be birds-eyeing the spectacular lakes and mountains from all kinds of crazy angles (if your eyes are still ?open). Actionflite Aerobatics does what it says on the tin, with the pilots of these high-performance craft performing stunts in your very own airshow.
Kids: Height rescrictions apply. Passengers must be over 4ft 9ins
Price: £115 for a 15 minute flight
www.actionflite.co.nz
Continued...
Summer on the slopes
Rush rating: 1-5
When: June to early October
If you spend all summer hankering after your next winter sports trip, head to NZ. South Island gets great snow on the mountains at this time, and its temperature range is relatively mild, with the highs about 15ºC and lows about -3ºC. There are six mountains accessable within an hour and a half of Queenstown, the closest being Coronet Peak and The Remarkables, with handy new snowmaking machines and night skiing.
Kids: 6-year-olds and under receive a free day lift pass when skiing at Mt Hutt, the same for 10-year-olds and under at The Remarkables
Price: An NZ Superpass, offering activity flexibility and discounts, costs £60 for
5 days www.nzski.com
A touch of the James Bonds
Rush rating: 3
When: Mid-June to October, weather-dependent
Arrive in style, disembarking from a 12-minute helicopter flight from Queenstown airport. Pick up your specialised kit at snow base camp at the foot of the mountain range by the name of Old Woman. Then step onto your sleek, black, shiny Arctic Cat Panther 370 snowmobile and drive off into the snowy tundra, delivering sensational views from a 1,700m plateau. If you’re not 007, it’s all done under the watchful eye of expert guides.
Kids: 6-12 years old
Price: £252 adults, £181 child 6-12 riding behind adult; over-12s driving own snowmobile pay adult rate. Includes all equipment and gear
Sail Queenstown
Rush rating: 3
When: All year round, weather-dependent
Get your mitts on NZL 14, an authentic 22m-long America’s Cup racing yacht on the pristine Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown. During the two-hour trip you can take the helm, grind the winches, or just sit back and relax, as a professional skipper will be in charge (sadly not the previous one, who won the Cup three times). Wear soft-soled shoes, sailing outerwear provided.
Kids: 5-15 years old, family discounts available
Price: around £60 adults, ?£43 kids
Continued...
Way to snow!
Rush rating: 4
When: June to August
New Zealand’s most experienced heliski and heliboard operator, Harris Mountains Heliski, opens up the vast terrain of the stunning Southern Alps to more advanced and adventurous skiers and boarders. Gentle slopes can introduce the uninitiated, while steeps and chutes will challenge advanced powder-hounds. Oh, the luxury – once at the bottom, the chopper ferries you off to the top of the next mountain (with a gourmet picnic on the way)
Kids: From about 10 years old as long as they can comfortably ski or board black runs
Price: From around £60 for 3 runs and £14 for additional runs
In the know
Getting there: The quickest way to get to New Zealand from the UK is to fly to Auckland via Asia, taking 25 hours (flight time, not travel time), although you can also fly to Wellington and Christchurch with a stopover in Asia, or to Queenstown from Australia. Some of the most popular airlines for this journey are Quantas (quantas.co.uk), Emirates (emirates.com/uk), Air New Zealand (airnewzealand.co.uk) and Singapore Airlines (singaporeair.co.uk). Flights start from around £775.
When to go: March and April are good months – the weather is settled and it’s not holiday time for NZ schools (so less demand for accommodation, and it’s cheaper!)
Climate and Temperature: The north of New Zealand is subtropical and the south has a temperate climate. Warmest months are December, January and February, and the coldest June, July and August. In summer, the average maximum temperature ranges between 20 and 30ºC and in winter between 10 and 15ºC.
Currency: Exchange rate (Sept 2009): there are 2.38 New Zealand dollars (NZ$) to £1
Time zone: 12 hours ahead of GMT
