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While visiting the Queenstown Region make sure you work into your budget a little extra to enjoy some of the great adventure activities, like riding a jet boat on the Shotover River or, when the snow is falling, skiing down the slopes of one of several ski-fields in the area. 

Glenorchy

Take a half or full day trip up to Glenorchy, a village on Lake Wakatipu. There are a number of tourist operators working in the area and they offer a variety of activities, including jet boating, kayaking, horse riding and walking.  Alternatively you can just enjoy the scenic drive with your family. 

Queenstown

Queenstown is best known as the adventure playground of New Zealand and although very family friendly, it is more geared up for families with children from five years upwards and a lot of the adventure activities, such as bungee jumping, have age restrictions.

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However, for those with younger or less adventurous children,  take them down to the Lake Wakatipu waterfront and enjoy feeding the ducks or do a bit of people watching. A must while visiting the area is the gondola ride and, if time and money permits, take time out to ride on the historic steamer.

Arrowtown

This historical town sprang up around the 1860s when gold was discovered, and now tourists enjoy the pretty town. Enjoy a coffee here and take the children down to the river where they can throw pebbles into the water. It's worth setting aside half a day to visit the town, and the historical Chinese settlement is a must, where your children will see how these early gold miners lived. 

Kingston

Kingston is at the southern end of Lake Wakatipu, home of the historic Kingston Flyer steam train.  Walk for over a kilometer on the shingle beach, along the edge of the lake. The local kids kayak, water-ski, fish, boat or swim in the lake in their wet-suits.  They play games on the reserve, dam the creek and build amazing dens with drift-wood, on the beach.