Queenstown & Lake Wakatipu

Queenstown wraps around Lake Wakatipu beneath the jagged Remarkables, and it's the launch pad for Milford Sound, the Gibbston wineries and every adrenaline sport going. Even if you skip the bungy, the lake and mountain scenery earns the drive.

Holiday parks here put you close to the waterfront and the town, and it's a natural base for day trips deeper into Fiordland and Central Otago. Book ahead — it's busy year-round.

Queenstown is the one place on the South Island where freedom camping rules are enforced hard and fines are issued; use a proper campground or a designated site rather than risking it. The town is also where campervan parking is hardest, so consider staying in Frankton and taking the bus in. The drive over the Crown Range to Wanaka is the highest sealed road in the country and stunning, but not in snow.