5th January 2017

YOUR FREE, PRETTY MUCH FREE, DAY IN QUEENSTOWN

There’s so much to plan and do while on holiday in Queenstown and it often involves getting your wallet out. Sometimes at the end of a trip it’s nice to do something without forking out, but without skimping on the fun either!

Here’s our suggestions for things to do for free in Queenstown! Read it, try it, change it, share it – whatever you do, enjoy it!

First up, leave your MajorDomo villa in the morning with a thermos of coffee, packed picnic breakfast, bikes strapped onto the car, and a tank full of gas – all ready for your free day in Queenstown!

The shores of Lake Wakatipu are be the perfect place to start your day where you can enjoy your picnic breakfast and coffee as you watch the action gear up on the water for the day.

After fuelling up, head on over to the botanical gardens around the peninsula of the lake where you can dabble in some mid-morning Frisbee golf! No cheating!

If you’re still getting on with your family or friends after Frisbee golf, drive to the quaint historic gold mining town of Arrowtown 20 minutes away. Here, you can meander along the beautiful Arrow River lined by willows and colourful lupins until you find yourself at the old Chinese gold mining village. Step back in time as you get an understanding of how people lived in the late 1800s during the gold rush – even try your hand at gold panning! If you’re feeling energetic (although we do recommend saving some energy for later) take a walk up Tobins Track (60 mins return) to soak in grand views of Arrowtown, the Wakatipu Basin and the surrounding mountains. Treat yourself afterwards with a free fudge tasting at the old style Remarkables Sweet Shop. Hint: stock up on chocolates and sweets for later on.

This is where your bikes come in handy. Before you leave Arrowtown though, we suggest arranging a pick up from Gibbston as biking both ways can turn into quite the journey. From Arrowtown, cruise down the Arrow River towards the Kawarau Bridge where you can see bungy jumpers throw themselves off towards the river below. From the bridge, continue towards the beautiful Gibbston Valley to find 8+ wineries at your finger tips and, if you so desire, take a stop to taste some of the region’s award winning wines. Tummies are likely rumbling by this stage so stop at the Gibbston Tavern for some hearty “pub grub” to keep you going, or if budget’s dictate, a pre-packed picnic amongst the vineyards.

We’ve got one last stop as the cherry on top, but perhaps not before a bit of a nap. We think the best finale for your free day in Queenstown is to head up the Remarkables Ski Area access road as the sun goes down. At the top, park up, perhaps chomp into some chocolate dessert that you so cleverly bought earlier at the Sweet Shop (if you can hold off for the drive up that is) and watch the sun set behind the mountains and cast gorgeous light across the Wakatipu Basin.

That’s a wrap! Your free day in Queenstown is complete – we hope you enjoyed it!

Bon voyage from the MajorDomo team.