Best Tourist Sites in New Zealand

Queenstown’s Stunning Views: Skyline Gondola, Paragliding and Bungy Jumping

One of our favorite locations in New Zealand (South Island) was Queenstown. Queenstown’s setting on the shores of Lake Wakatipu is stunning, with the unique blue waters of the lake (it’s known for it’s specific shade of blue) and the surrounding mountains.

One of the things we knew we wanted to do while in Queenstown was to take the Skyline Gondola up to Bob’s Peak right at the edge of town.

Getting ready to ride the gondola to the top of Bob’s Peak.

Paul & Robyn overlooking Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu from Bob’s Peak, about 1,574 feet above the town.

While admiring the views from the peak we noticed paragliders sailing past our viewpoint. We thought “that looks fun!” and decided to check it out.

Paragliders over Queenstown.

There was a desk inside the gondola building at the top of the peak and they gave us the information on the tandem paragliding rides, and we were lucky that they had availability within the next hour. Three of our group decided to go (including my 86 year-old mother-in-law!). What a blast this 10+ minute ride was! You could feel the wind currents take you up higher in altitude and swing you around. The guides/pilots were terrific and managed to take some great photos and video while gliding us over the town and eventually down to the landing spot.

How much does it cost? Paragliding wasn’t cheap, it was about $375 US per person including a set of videos and photos that the company provided (highly recommended). There are weight and mobility requirements to be aware of (but hey, if my 86 year-old mother-in-law can do it, so can you). This was an experience I won’t soon forget – ‘an adventure of a lifetime’ in my book.

Just before take-off: Robyn, Paul, Donna and one of our pilots. We just ran down the hill and immediately were airborne.

Above: Paul’s ride over Queenstown.

Above: Robyn and Donna’s ride over Queenstown.

The landing was incredibly smooth and easy, we basically just stood up and stopped on the grassy field.

In addition to paragliding, there are a ton of other outdoor adventures awaiting you in this breathtaking corner of New Zealand.

A list of some of the adventures you can do in Queenstown area. The costs do add up, though! (prices shown are NZ dollars).

Kawarau Bridge

Speaking of outdoor adventures, fourteen miles west of Queenstown is Kawarau Bridge, spanning the Kawarau River, which is the site of the world’s first commercial bungy jumping experience. It is a very beautiful setting and still an active bungy jumping site. We debated jumping, but in the end decided not to. Even if you’re not into jumping, it’s fun to visit and watch others jump. There is a nice facility on location with a coffee shop, restrooms and a zip line by the river if you’d rather do that instead.

Left: Kawarau River and Gorge. Right: The Kawarau Bridge and commercial facility.

Left: Friends and family waiting for the next jumper (141 feet from the bridge to the river). Right: The thrill of the jump!

Queenstown itself is worth exploring on foot too. The downtown is very enjoyable with beautiful parks, lakefront restaurants, and shops. If you have a car, you can take several beautiful drives around the lake and to other nearby destinations – we had a very enjoyable three days in the area.

Views of downtown Queenstown.

If you find yourself in New Zealand, be sure to visit the incredible South Island and Queenstown!

Hobbiton Tours: Experience the Magic of Middle-earth

Last year we took a two-week Holland America cruise that started in Sydney, Australia and ended in Auckland, New Zealand. Once we got off the cruise ship in Auckland, we flew south to Queenstown (South Island), rented a car and then worked our way north along the west coast of the South Island and then returned to the North Island via ferry. While on the North Island, one of our stops was Hobbiton. I will admit I am a not a bonafide “Lord of the Rings” fan (I’ve seen the movies, but did not read the books except for “The Hobbit” when I was a teenager). However, visiting Hobbiton was really quite interesting and it’s perhaps the most significant tourist site on the North Island.

If you visit, you check in at the visitor’s center. You will be assigned to a tour group of about 40 people and then take a 10-minute bus ride at the appointed time to The Shire (the Hobbiton movie set), located nearby. Tour groups run about every 15 minutes, eight hours a day during the tourist season.

Left: Hobbiton Tours Visitor’s Center. You will start your tour here. Right: One of the tour shuttle buses, each bus holds about 40 people. They will show you movie clips while you ride over to the movie set.

You will have a friendly and knowledgable tour guide for your visit. At the end of the tour you will be given a free drink at the Hobbiton pub before returning to your shuttle bus and heading back to the visitor’s center. You should allow at least 2-3 hours for your visit.

This image provides a perspective of Hobbiton village. The hobbit-hole (home) fronts are built into the hillside and paths connect the various homes. Your tour guide will take you on a walk to several of the hobbit-holes.

The land is privately owned and was used for the filming of the Lord of the Rings movie series and then again for The Hobbit movies. The director, Peter Jackson, thought this farm land location in the rolling hills would be perfect and he leased the land from the owner to create the Hobbiton movie set, which must have been an incredible amount of work. After the Lord of the Rings movies, the sets were removed and the land was returned to its natural state. The sets were created again for the two The Hobbit films. After The Hobbit films, the land owner decided to turn the movie set into a tourist attraction, and the rest is history.

Close-ups of two hobbit-holes. The sets are very detailed, with freshly laundered hobbit clothes swaying in breeze, food items, and other items such as garden tools outside the houses. There are actual vegetable-producing gardens on the set too, tended to by the local set staff.

Your tour guide will take your photo in front of one of the hobbit-holes.

Towards the end of your tour, the guide will take you into several furnished hobbit-holes. These interior sets were not actually used in the movies, but built afterwards to give visitors a feel for a “real” hobbit-hole!

Additional views inside a hobbit-hole, it could be a perfect children’s play house! The decorations and layout are really well done. Watch your head – the ceilings are low – hobbit-size!

Left: Bilbo and Frodo Baggin’s famous Bag End hobbit-hole. Right: The tree on top of the hill is fake, the 300,000 leaves on the tree had to be attached (by hand) to the tree twice, Peter Jackson was not happy with the original color of the leaves! The tree was shown just for a few seconds in The Hobbit-An Unexpected Journey.

Samwise Gamgee’s hobbit-hole (Sam was Frodo’s loyal friend). He longed to return here and was eventually able to do so. “Well, I am back.”
Other parts of Hobbiton – Gandalf rides on a cart over the bridge on the left, by the mill. Right: a close-up of the mill.

Inside Hobbiton’s pub – tourists gather for a free drink before leaving The Shire.
Back at the visitor’s center gift shop – some visitors really get into the characters – I wonder if they speak Elvish!

If you plan to go to Hobbiton, plan ahead and make your reservations in advance here, especially during New Zealand’s busy summer months. Hobbiton is one of the top tourist sites in the country, and it was really busy when we were there. Even with the crowds, the tours are efficiently handled and once you get out on the large set, you might feel like your group is the only one there for most of the tour. Hobbiton is about 2 hours by car south of Auckland.