The Best Activities in Queenstown for the Whole Family

From shark-shaped submersibles to back-country heli-skiing, Queenstown's a real world action movie for the whole family.

Adventure activities in Queenstown are endless, owing to the unique full-throttle lifestyle Kiwis have cultivated for this magnificent South Island gem since the 1960s. With the jaw-dropping Remarkables mountain range always flirting in the distance, this scenic adventure town has been blessed by nature’s embrace, and a relentless army of local operators want to fill that beautiful frame with pure, unadulterated adventure.

Because there’s so much to do, at every elevation, an action-packed family holiday in Queenstown that’s both perfectly paced and varied enough to keep things interesting (and slightly competitive) for everyone takes a bit of planning. Here’s how to have several family adventures in Queenstown on one holiday, while chewing through the stunning scenery.

You don’t need to go fast to experience Queenstown’s sharp sense of adventure. Hop aboard an old coal-fired steamship, the TSS Earnslaw, which has been stalking Lake Wakatipu since 1912. The scenic journey ticks Queenstown’s best bits and can be capped with either a gourmet BBQ or a guided farm tour at Walter Peak.

Ascend the famous Skyline Gondola up to Bob’s Peak, fixing a perfect frame of storied slopes and cinematic peaks. As the cabin ferries your family 450 metres above town, snap a group selfie with those snow-tufted Remarkables looming in the background and the bright glacier-fed lake below.

What flies with the grace of an overly cautious mechanical bird must inevitably descend – preferably at significantly higher speeds. Pack the family into motorless slides for Queenstown Luge, spinning your comfort crew down a 1,600-metre track peppered with banked corners sharper than a Kiwi’s sense of humour. Given even a bouncy two-year-old can ride with a parent, everyone gets a go without feeling short-changed.

For an even gentler thrill, the Kawarau Zipride races across the treetops at a comfortable 60 kph, giving anyone over eight plenty of time to drink in the majestic scenery. Nervous kids (or parents) can ride tandem while screams from the bungy bridge fire off in the distance.

New Zealand’s definitive adventure-tourism industry began in 1965 when the Melhop Brothers started taking groups on commercial jet boats to explore the Shotover River. Decades later, the mighty Shotover Jet is still a classic: thunder through canyon narrows at 85 kph, each burst punctuated by a 360-degree spin that makes your GoPro footage look like sci-fi chase-cam.

Equal parts wondrous and wild, the river offers grade-three up to grade-five rapids. Local outfitter Packrafting gets you amongst the thunderous Mother, Aftershock and Squeeze, while grade-two-three runs on the Kawarau River swap white-knuckle for scenery as you float through Lord of the Rings country and the rugged Gibbston Valley wine region. An ideal day trip for siblings honing their communication and cooperation skills.

If you’ve arrived in deep winter, powder will be on everyone’s mind. Most families conquer Coronet Peak’s mix of beginner, intermediate and advanced terrain, but to make a holiday truly memorable ditch the lifts and board a chopper with Southern Lakes Heli-ski: six runs of untracked back-country bliss that ruin ordinary resort skiing forever.

Some days the clan wants horsepower rather than cliff-drops, and Queenstown obliges in spades. Off Road Adventures has been slinging quads, dirt bikes and side-by-side buggies through private high-country since 1990, with an exclusive playground just five minutes from town. After a safety brief and gear-up, guides lead you over ridgelines, through muddy creek beds and along jaw-dropping lookout trails. Riders as young as six can jump in as buggy passengers, making it a rare thrill every generation can share. 

Prefer gravity over revs? Swap four wheels for four ziplines on the Ziptrek Ecotours Moa Tour. Starting low and slow, the two-hour canopy course ratchets up the speed until you’re swooping above Lake Wakatipu with the Remarkables filling every peripheral pixel. Eco-guides sprinkle in Kiwi conservation tales, so older kids and teens bank a few brain gains between shrieks. Minimum age is six; maximum smugness is unlimited.

Hose off the mud, then book an evening soak at Onsen Hot Pools. Cedar-lined tubs heated to 38°C sit on a cliff over the Shotover River, giving sore throttle-hands front-row seats to sunset. It’s blissful bribery for any parent keen to convince sceptical teens that tomorrow’s 7 am ski-bus is still a great idea.

Flying through the sky at the speed of light isn’t for the faint-hearted, but it’s a delightful rush for teens aiming to out-brag their mates, adult siblings on a one-upmanship streak, and parents who still think they’re 25. Strap every daredevil aged 13+ into the Nevis Catapult and get hurled across a canyon at 150 kph. Think zip-line that suddenly morphs into a bungy cord, sending you slicing through the air like an excitable spider-monkey.

Stay in the same valley for the Nevis Bungy, New Zealand’s highest jump with a 134-metre free-fall. Pay extra for the on-board camera so you can compare everyone’s terror-faces later. Need a smaller gulp of courage? The Kawarau Bridge Bungy offers a more manageable 43-metre bounce above turquoise river water – fitting, since commercial bungy was born on this very bridge in 1988.

If everyone still has adrenalin to burn, NZONE Skydive proves once and for all who’s the bravest. Free-fall over the Remarkables, snowy peaks and jaw-dropping lakes before drifting back to earth and a well-earned group hug.

Part of staying fuelled, ready and active in Queenstown is thinking just as deeply about recuperation and convenience. Novotel Queenstown Lakeside brushes the shores of Lake Wakatipu, placing it in the heart of Queenstown so you’re never too far away from your comfy bed or comforting cuisine at the hotel’s Elements restaurant. 

The mix of alpine, garden and lake views never gets boring and almost all of the 273 rooms and suites adhere to at least one of those vistas. Design is minimal and highly functional, opening up to the outdoors as much as possible so the adrenaline that pumps through the alpine air is always present.

As always, Novotel invites kids 16 and under who are staying with their parents to enjoy the generous breakfast buffet for free.