2025 Kawarau Falls Travel Guide: Must-see attractions, popular food, hotels, transportation routes (updated in July)

The hike to Lake Alta is an unforgettable adventure that takes you through the stunning alpine landscape of Queenstown. Starting from the Remarkables ski area, the trail offers sweeping views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. The path is moderately challenging, with some steep sections, but the spectacular scenery at every turn makes it well worth the effort. As you ascend, you’ll pass through alpine meadows and rocky terrain, all while the jagged peaks of the Remarkables range tower overhead, creating a dramatic backdrop. When you finally reach Lake Alta, the view is absolutely breathtaking. The crystal-clear waters of the lake are surrounded by towering mountain ridges, and if you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of snow-capped peaks even in summer. The peaceful, serene atmosphere makes it an ideal spot for a break, and you can sit by the shore to take in the pristine surroundings. Whether you're hiking for the challenge or simply to appreciate the beauty of this secluded alpine lake, the experience is sure to leave you in awe. #mountainhike #newzealand #queenstown #travel #couplestrip #naturalwonders #thingstodo

| Stay in a Fairytale Happy Town. New Zealand Travel Guide: A Magical Journey Through Pristine Middle-earth 🌏 Best Travel Seasons - Peak season: December–February (summer, ideal for outdoor activities) - Shoulder season: March–May (stunning autumn foliage) - Off-season: June–August (ski season) 📍 Must-Visit South Island Attractions 1. Queenstown - Adventure capital: 🪂 Skydiving (Nzone, from NZ$439/15,000 ft) 🚡 Skyline Gondola + Buffet (Gondola NZ$46, Dinner NZ$85) - Hidden gem: 🍷 Gibbston Valley Winery Pinot Noir tasting (NZ$35/3 glasses) 2. Milford Sound - Must-do: 🚢 Scenic cruise (RealNZ, NZ$89/2 hours) ✈️ Scenic flight (Air Milford, NZ$450/35 mins) - Tip: ⚠️ Waterfalls are more spectacular during the rainy season (May–September) 3. Lake Tekapo - Dark Sky Reserve: 🔭 Mt. John Observatory (Dark Sky Project, NZ$89/guided tour) 🌸 Lupin fields bloom in spring (October) 📍 North Island Highlights 1. Rotorua - Geothermal wonders: ♨️ Hell's Gate Mud Bath (NZ$75) 🏝️ Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Park (NZ$32.50, don’t miss Champagne Pool) 2. Hobbiton - Lord of the Rings filming site: 🧙♂️ Movie set tour (NZ$89, includes drink at Green Dragon Inn) - Best photo spot: Front door of Bag End 3. Waitomo Caves - Dreamlike experience: 🚣 Black Water Rafting (from NZ$159) 💰 Budget Guide (1 NZD ≈ 4.3 CNY) Item | Price | Money-Saving Tip Hostel bed | NZ$30–50/night | BBH/YHA members get discounts Burger meal | NZ$15–25 | Fergburger has 1-hour queues Gasoline | NZ$2.3–2.8/L | Rent diesel cars for better mileage Supermarket buffet | NZ$10–15/person | Pack'n Save is cheapest 📸 Free Photo Spots 1. Wanaka’s Lone Tree: Instagram-famous angle 2. Punakaiki Pancake Rocks: 10m-high blowholes at high tide 3. Hooker Valley Track (Mt. Cook): Starting point for glacier hikes 🚗 Transport Tips - Driving notes: ➤ Right-hand drive, strict speed limits (100km/h on highways) ➤ Campervans must stay at Holiday Parks (~NZ$50/night) - Long-distance bus: ✦ InterCity Flexipass (15 hours for NZ$299) ⚠️ Important Reminders - Biosecurity: ✗ No food/outdoor gear allowed (fines from NZ$400) - Weather alert: ✔️ Mountain weather changes fast—pack a windproof jacket - Payment: ✓ Cash preferred in small towns, Visa/Mastercard widely accepted From glacier hikes to glowworm cave rafting, New Zealand’s 100% pure wonders prove this is real-life Middle-earth! Don’t forget a windproof/waterproof jacket + polarized sunglasses—the beauty here will dazzle your eyes. 🏔️🌌

✨Hotel Highlights ♨️Amenities 🛁Room Environment 🍽️Breakfast 🛎️Hotel Service 💗Guest Experience amazing ambience and great scenic. fire pit the highlight staff and accommodation first class. comfort amazing. Did not want to leave

🌿 "God created New Zealand first, and then created heaven in its image." The southern hemisphere has recently entered autumn. As New Zealand's back garden, Queenstown, with its heavenly scenery and luxurious aristocratic holiday enjoyment, has really only been here 0 times and countless times! ❗【👇Click below to start a luxurious vacation for New Zealand nobility】❗ 🏔️Queenstown: Stay at the magnificent manor on the shore of Lake Wakatipu. Each suite has floor-to-ceiling windows facing the snow-capped mountains. In the afternoon, taste Pinot Noir in the private wine cellar. In the evening, take a cruise on the century-old steamship TSS Earnslaw. The old-fashioned piano plays the melody of "The Lord of the Rings". We hold wine glasses on the deck and watch the sunset dye the snow-capped mountains into pink and gold~ 🌳Treetop Manor: The manor is located in the center of an ecological wildlife park. It has luxurious suites and villas with forest and lake views. The villas all have a seating area with a fireplace. All suites and villas offer beautiful views of the surrounding nature and wildlife~ ⛳Luxury golf: At Jack's Point Golf Course, you can swing while watching the snow-capped mountains reflected in the fairway pond 🎨Maori culture: Learn the traditional war dance from the Maori elders. The face painting is ground from natural minerals! 【🌟 Trip Highlights】 ✅Luxury accommodation: Rotorua Treetop Manor + Queenstown Rosewood Manor Super Luxury ✅Noble experience: private wine tasting + golf swing ✅ Lake Taupo Charter: Arrange private fishing and enjoy fresh sashimi ❗【👇Click below to start a luxurious vacation for New Zealand nobility】❗

💖💖💖💖💖💖

#newzealandtrip The team started to reach out to me via email to coordinate my upcoming stay and dinner reservations etc. As a Hilton diamond for years by actually staying that many numbers of nights every year, this is still the best experience Hilton hotel staff provided. It was beyond expectations. The room we stayed was as expected as shown in the pictures. Great location of the restaurant and the view was beautiful.overall awesome stay and great

| DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, a great choice for a vacation. 👑 Hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Queenstown 📍 Address: 79 Peninsula Road Kawarau Village, Queenstown, New Zealand 💖 What kind of hotel is it? DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel is located on the beautiful north shore of Lake Wakatipu, next to Kawarau Village. The hotel's unique design blends with the natural beauty, making it perfect for those who love adventure and excitement! Although the hotel is not in the city center, it is only a short drive to Queenstown and the airport, and it is also convenient to get to the Remarkables ski resort. The sunny lakeside location and tranquil environment are refreshing. 🛁 Experience · In terms of check-in experience, some people praised the hotel's location as suitable for a short break, but some guests mentioned that driving and parking are a problem. 🅿️ Parking fees are relatively high, and the charging mechanism is quite complicated. · The hotel's beds are super comfortable and are known as "the best beds in the world." The rooms are clean and tidy, making guests feel particularly at ease. However, some room facilities are slightly outdated, such as bathroom flooding and ceiling lights falling off, which need attention. 🛏️ · The staff's service attitude is generally good, and they will give you a warm welcome cookie 🍪 when you check in, making you feel warm. Some users who have stayed there also said that the breakfast and restaurant environment are very good, especially if you are a Hilton Honors member, the benefits are even more abundant. 🏆 · In terms of hotel transportation, it is suitable to take a water taxi 🚤 to Queenstown, which costs only $5 for a one-way trip, which is very cost-effective. 🌊 Nearby entertainment · Remarkables Ski Resort: Close to the hotel, a paradise for ski lovers. ⛷️ · Pandoro Panetteria: A specialty restaurant offering delicious pizzas and burgers. 🍕 · Boat Shed Cafe and Bistro: A lakeside restaurant with a beautiful environment and good food. ☕️ · True South Dining Room: A high-end restaurant, a great place to taste local cuisine. 🍽️ In summary, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel is an ideal choice for a short vacation. The rooms are comfortable, the service is excellent, and the environment is beautiful. However, parking problems and the aging of some facilities may affect the check-in experience. We hope everyone is well prepared before booking and has a wonderful vacation here! 🌞

I need to go to New Zealand because of work stress, and I want to experience how amazing this place is to wash my hands off! 🤣 Without further ado, I immediately applied for a visa, bought air tickets, and signed up for a local group of 9 people~~ Let me share some interesting things about my trip✨ - Accommodation 🏠 I stayed at the five-star Hilton 🏨 in Queenstown for two nights and the Peppers Bluwater Resort in Tekapo for one night. It is very close to the Shepherd Church, just a 10-minute walk away. The other days were four-star hotels. The environment is nice and relaxing, and the sound insulation is pretty good when sleeping at night. - Eat 🍔 Lamb leg two-course meal, green bone fish, mussel Chinese dinner, salmon dish, and lobster meal are all included in the group meal, so there are basically no surprises. The seafood here will be fresher and sweeter🍣! There are many internet celebrity restaurants in Queenstown, with good decoration and good taste. Buy sandwiches at convenience stores on the road or Subway, basically 7-10🔪 - Attractions 🌷 Going to the Tasman Glacier was really amazing! A whole ice age feeling 🔻The little blue penguins of Oamaru🐧 looked at them, they look so cute as they waddle and walk🥹 (The tour price includes night VIP tickets) 🔻Wanaka is very small, with fewer people than Queenstown. If you only visit the lonely tree, it feels like three hours is enough. 🔻Recommend a local wool store, Wools of Wanaka, which has a lot of wool products, and they are all very comfortable and soft. 🔻Be sure to watch your hands when shopping in Queenstown! 🤣Remarkable Gifts has many local specialty products 🔻Many of the attractions in Queenstown depend on the weather conditions. For example, if the weather is bad for helicopters, we won’t go 😞 🔻Skyline and Luge in Queenstown, especially Luge, if you go to play in the afternoon, you will feel like you are riding a sunset. 🔻Milford Sound, a fjord landform I have never seen before, the waterfalls are so shocking on rainy days! 🔻The dreamy blue lake of Tekapo is very eye-catching📸! Watching the stars at the Shepherd’s Church at night is amazing🌌 - I joined a group of 9 people alone and traveled in a 12-seater Mercedes-Benz. The group members were all quite easy to get along with. The tour guides are also very good. When they are not cold-faced, they will help everyone book travel tickets👍🏼 He will take photos of everyone along the way (the photos are quite nice and there is no charge for the photos). They also take care of everyone's emotions along the way, and everyone will play games together. 😁It’s really fun when there are so many people, and we can’t finish chatting. - All in all, this trip to New Zealand totaled a little over 20,000 including group fee + self-expense (excluding air tickets). It’s worth it for someone like me who is too lazy to do a guide. My trip to New Zealand has come to a successful end. I will miss everything here💕 Will come again!

✨Hotel Highlights ♨️Amenities 🛁Room Environment 🍽️Breakfast 🛎️Hotel Service 💗Guest Experience Best place to stay good price. Would love to visit again the near future. The location is abit far but it private and very good place with near water and facility is one of good we also got upgraded to big room staff are very friendly. Love breakfast view and people around

Hotel location: It is a ten-minute drive from the center of Queenstown. It is not very convenient without a car. The hotel is opposite the lake, mainly for lake views, and the snow-capped mountains are behind the hotel. The hotel has a buffet breakfast, a traditional English breakfast, which is very convenient. You don’t have to go out to find a place to eat breakfast. Dinner can also be solved in the restaurant. The menu is relatively simple, but Western restaurants in New Zealand are similar, and there are not too many varieties. The room is very clean and tidy. The room in the picture can accommodate four people, with a large bed and a sofa bed. The large bed is very comfortable and the sofa bed is a bit soft.

Complete healing healing and more healing 😍 Everywhere you look This accommodation is touching ❤️ When you look for accommodations in Queenstown, there are many local hotels with unfamiliar names. Some of them are familiar brands to us, and one of them is Hilton! I carefully chose this place after reading many reviews! In fact, it is a bit far from the center of Queenstown. However, I chose Hilton because I wanted to choose a place that was a bit quieter and had a beautiful view of Queenstown. Hilton... I was satisfied. Those who like winter sports can visit Queenstown for skiing, and even if you want to do activities and relaxation at the same time like me, I recommend Queenstown! #Emotional Accommodation #Ho-kang-seu #Unique Accommodation