If you happen to be in Queenstown on a summer Saturday (October – April), a great way to start the day is a trip to the Remarkables Market. From 9-2 every Saturday, the market offers both local produce and ready made products.  Samples of cheese, honey, and pâté gave my taste buds an adventure, and the numerous food trucks made it hard to choose what to fill my belly with. Striving to be a waste free market, they serve coffee in real mugs and bakery products in compostable packaging.  Live music and free lawn blankets create a chill atmosphere to enjoy a leisurely Saturday morning. 

To stretch my legs, I spent my late morning on a short hike.  Parking at the Redemption Song car park, I hiked the Shotover Gorge Trail up and down the switchbacks along the Shotover River.  Jet boats also traverse this river, so I enjoyed watching their antics from the various viewpoints along the way.  The trail leads to the Hugo tunnel.

While plans for the Hugo tunnel date back to the gold rush of the late 1800s, the tunnel wasn’t built until the 1960s, where it was then abandoned because it was seen as unfit.  Now, over 60 years later, the tunnel has finally been completed and serves as an integral part of the Queenstown Trails expansion. 

After walking through the solar lighted tunnel, I found my way down to Big Beach to see the river and the jet boats up close. The trail is made for mountain bikers and hikers, and I came across more bikers than hikers on my trek. The track is well worn and easy to navigate because of the bike riders, but it was important to listen and make sure that I moved over if I heard any of them flying down the trail. 

I drove to the historic gold mining town of Arrowtown for lunchtime. This town felt the most like a typical tourist town that I usually encounter in the US. Buckingham street offered boutiques, tourist shops, restaurants, and art galleries – all housed in cute historical gold rush buildings.  Below the town’s main street is Arrow River where you can try your own luck in panning for gold – the Arrowtown museum rents pans.  

Between Buckingham street and the river is the Arrowtown Chinese Settlement. When gold was discovered in the area in the 1860s, Chinese miners flocked to the area. Because the miners never fully integrated into the community, they abandoned the area when the gold mining declined in the early 1900s. Remnants of their housing, stores, and community spaces speak to their unique construction techniques. 

My afternoon was spent taking in the scenery and vibes at some of the Gibbston valley wineries.  Known as the Valley of the Vines, the high altitude of the region makes it ideal for cool-climate Pinot Noir. The Gibbston Valley houses over a dozen wineries with eight being open to the public and a few offering restaurants or lodging on site as well.

My last spot of the day was to watch the bungy jumpers free fall down into the Kawarau Gorge. Queenstown is known for its adrenaline fueled adventures, and while I personally don’t need to feel like I’m plummeting to my death, I enjoy watching the energy of those who do.  This is where bungy jumping began: in 1988, AJ Hackett opened up the world’s first bungy jumping outfit and Kawarau Bridge Bungy has continued that legacy. It’s easy to tell who has bungy jumped before because they flip and spin in the air and strive to hit the water as they fall.  The bridge that they jump from has its own history. 

Built in 1880 by engineer Harry Higginson, the Kawarau Suspension Bridge pushed the design limits to withstand the destructive winds that funnel through the rocky gorge.  The 120 meter long bridge won a Telford Premium, the world’s top engineering award, in 1882.