Wanaka/Glenorchy worth a visit?
 

I've got 7-9 nights in the Queenstown/Fjordland area. We were thinking 7 nights at a farmstay in Te Anau. Do we need to see Queenstown and/or Wanaka/Glenorchy? If so, how many nights should we alow? We plan to fly to the Nelson area from Queenstown for another week.

We are in NZ at the moment (here for 2 months in a campervan as part of a round the world trip). Te Anau is brilliant but apart from a bit of shopping, we passed right through Queenstown as it seemed to be jam packed with backpackers partying. The main purpose of QT seems to be the adventure tourism industry so it is a great place to go jet boating, bungy etc. and it has agreat selction of restaurants. Wanaka is a ski town next to a beautiful lake and Mt Aspiring. We stayed for one night and there are some great walks in the vicinity and along the highway. Have fun its a fantasrtic country!

Hi Owl -

If you enjoy hiking, Wanaka makes a great base from which to explore some beautiful hikes in the Matukituki Valley (Mt Aspriring National Park).

I'm not a huge fan of Wanaka itself, as it reminds me of a wannabe Queenstown, but the surrounding area is gorgeous, and well worth visit.

As far as Glenorchy - we've visited Glenorchy on almost every one of our 8 visits to the SI - we've not yet stayed there, but keep promising ourselves that we will.

It's a tiny little place with very few services, but the surrounding area is spectacular. There are some fabulous tracks in the area (mostly multi-day, but you can walk a portion of any of them as a day walk) and of course, the Dart River Safari leaves from Glenorchy.

The 40 minute drive to Glenorchy from Queentown along the lake is absolutely gorgeous. There are many places along this route to pull over and take a walk or have a picnic.

As for Queenstown, it's definitely the most touristy of the SI's towns and attracts old and young alike. We also visit SI on every trip to the SI - adventure activities are not the only draw - there are some nice restaurants, loads of wineries and many walks in the area.

We prefer to stay in the outskirts of QT, closer to Arrowtown.

I'm so glad to hear of someone spending so much time in Te Anau - it's an area that seems overlooked by most visitors. There's just so much to do around Te Anau - we spent four nights there in March and could have easily spent a week (all those wonderful tracks!)

Have a great trip, no matter what you decide.

One of the nicest days of an extremely lovely month long trip to the south island was the day we drove from Queenstown to Glenorchy and then hiked a portion of the Routeburn. The drive was beautiful and the hiking was great.

I enjoyed staying in Wanaka, not so much for the town, but the local hiking was great with lots to choose from.

We stayed on the outskirts of Queenstown in an apartment on the lake called Villa del Lago. It was within walking distance to town, but outside of the fray. It made for a good base for us to be able to hike and go wine tasting which was the focus of our trip.

I agree with Crellston - Queenstown is too touristy, with lots of backpackers, adventure tours, streets not wide enough for the amount of tourists they get there.
I guess I just like the quiet/scenic places!! (away from Queenstown)give me a quiet stream or lake, and my trusty old trout rod, whilst I gaze at the nearby snow peaks. As they say, some people tread the well worn tourist track, and others take the less used track which enriches your mind.