Find things to do in Otago and Southern Lakes

Queenstown at dusk. 

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Things to do

Tohu Whenua: Bannockburn Sluicings

Located a short drive from Cromwell, the sculpted clay cliffs and pinnacles at Bannockburn Sluicings are the result of a five-decade-long gold mining era that began in the 1860s. Read the story . . . 

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Get outdoors

Visit a lake on an island in a lake in Wānaka

On Wānaka’s Mou Waho Island, you can have the surreal experience of swimming in a lake on an island on a lake.   Read the story . . . 

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Things to do

Must-Do's: Lower South Island Travel Guide

From the Southern Lakes and Fiordland, to Otago, Clutha and Southland, our latest Must-Do's guide provides all the details you'll need to find accommodation, activities and attractions on your next road trip. Read the story . . . 

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Activities

Otago Central Rail Trail: the original Great Ride

The Otago Central Rail Trail is New Zealand’s original ‘Great Ride’ cycle trail.  Read the story . . . 

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Road trips

Queenstown to Glenorchy Road: a drive to Paradise

Enjoy forty-five minutes of emerald lake water and bush-clad hills, against a backdrop of snow-touched mountains as you drive from bustling Queenstown to picturesque Glenorchy – via Paradise.  Read the story . . . 

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Get outdoors

Explore the extraordinary geology of the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark

The Waitaki Whitestone Geopark is a story 35 million years in the making. Read the story . . . 

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Walking

Loop around Queenstown's Moke Lake

On the outskirts of Queenstown you’ll find Moke Lake – a serene and scenic spot surrounded by mountains.  Read the story . . . 

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Activities

Swim at St Clair Hot Salt Water Pool

Alongside New Zealand’s most consistent surf break, Dunedin’s St Clair Beach is also home to one of the country’s few heated saltwater pools. Read the story . . . 

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Activities

Adventure time: hitting the slopes in Wānaka

Tumbling ridgelines drop steeply to tawny valleys. Spring blossoms along the roadside contrast with the snow covered mountains, glowing like beacons at the head of the valley.  Read the story . . . 

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Get outdoors

Spot penguins, seals and one of New Zealand’s oldest lighthouses at Nugget Point

A historic lighthouse on a rocky peninsula surrounded by the wild Pacific Ocean: it doesn’t get much more iconic than Nugget Point. Read the story . . . 

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Activities

Complete the world’s highest waterfall climb via ferrata in Wānaka

Scale a 450 metre-high waterfall and stay dry in Wanaka.  Read the story . . . 

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Things to do

Tohu Whenua: Totara Estate

Totara Estate is probably the most important farm in the history of Aotearoa. It was from here that the first shipment of frozen mutton was sent to England in 1882, marking the start of an export industry that has underpinned our nation’s economic prosperity. Read the story . . . 

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