Relaxing times in thrill capital of Queenstown

QUEENSTOWN is the home for thrillseekers in New Zealand but Alison Cotes found a way to avoid any sudden attacks of adrenalin.

ALL of us have a bucket list – the things to do before we die – and some of us are lucky enough to achieve about half of them.

Sailing on New Zealand's entry in The America's Cup challenge yacht race in 1992 was never on my list, but how could I turn down such an opportunity?

I had expected a racing yacht zooming through the waves at high speed, spray flying in my face and the constant danger of being washed overboard.

But I must have been thinking the Sydney-Hobart yacht race, as this was a gentle little trip with not a wave to be seen.

This particular shining hour was on a lake rather than the ocean, and on a good day you can't get a more perfect setting than Lake Wakatipu, snuggled at the base of the southern alps of New Zealand's South Island, surrounded by hills topped in snow almost all year round.

Nestled on the shore is Queenstown, the home of extreme sports such as that suicidal long drop known as bungy-jumping. But I was assured there were more peaceful activities and that autumn was the time to go.

So I found myself in the understated luxury of Alta Apartments, just a few blocks out of town with a view of the Remarkables mountain range and the lake.

I could have lounged on the balcony forever, but there were placid sights to be seen and gentle adventures to be undertaken, so here's my Queenstown Bucket List.

Arrowtown

A gentle trip in a 1937 Chevrolet bus takes you to Arrowtown, an old gold-mining village that is now a perfect tourist experience of local crafts, dinky tea-shops and jackets made out of possum skin.

Just a few steps down from the village itself is the heritage site where Chinese gold-diggers lived in cold and cramped conditions.

Adornments

On the way, your voluble driver will probably stop at his favourite jeweller (and now mine as well) for a gossip and a chance to see one of the most cottage-like gardens this side of England, where Ray Wade makes and sells exquisite hand-crafted silver temptations embellished with New Zealand semi-precious stones.

The inner person

Food doesn't come purer or fresher than from the tranquil farms and clean waters of the South Island.

The two best meals I had were here. The first was at Vknow restaurant, where I sampled so much local dry white served in genuine Riedel glasses that it had to be explained to me that the curious title was a play on the word "vino".

Vknow's wine list is divided into sections like Budget and Good (their Bloody Good Red is $A4.50 a glass) through Different and Interesting up to Must Try Before You Die (featuring Australia's own Peter Lehmann's 8 Songs Shiraz for a mere $A70 a bottle) and Wines to Drink in Heaven.

The food is almost as good, and at this time of year you'll appreciate the roasted lamb shanks on garlic mash.

The other great place is Saffron in Arrowtown, justly listed by Conde Nast Traveller as one of the world's 100 most exciting restaurants, and run by Australian Peter Gawdron, who serves whitebait as you've never tasted it before.

Steam ships and sheep farms

Another way to experience the lake, with a cream tea thrown in at the end, is on the TSS Earnslaw. A gentle chug across the lake will take you to one of those story-book farms that featured in my childhood imagination. Walter Peak High Country Farm offers the choice of a guided farm tour, a horse ride, or dinner.www.realjourneys.co.nz

Massage

Queenstown's Body Sanctum gives it to you on every level. I wasn't looking forward to the flotation experience, which promised a warm and buoyant epsom salt solution in a gravity-free environment, but I lasted half-an-hour and the full-body massage afterwards was great.

Onsen Hot Pools

From the cedar cabins of these hot pools you can lounge in water as hot or cold as you like in your own private fantasy world. If you crave some extreme adventure, you could combine this experience with a ride on Big Red, the boat that negotiates the nearby Shotover River, but save the hot pools until last.

Sunrise Balloons

If hot air is more to you taste than hot water, check that the weather is good enough for a balloon ride. A ride in a Sunrise balloon means getting up before 5am but it was worth it.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is one of the most spectacular of the South Island's many spectacular sights. The track through the ancient beech forest was described by Rudyard Kipling as the finest walk in the world.

Sunday Mail (QLD)