Queenstown on Foot: An Audio Tour

1 h 15 min – 1 h 45 min Free cancellation Private tour

Queenstown on Foot: An Audio Tour, photo 2 — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

Queenstown isn’t just New Zealand’s adventure capital. It’s a place where every bold experience, from bungy jumping to jet boating, grew from practical solutions to harsh terrain. On this self-guided audio tour, you’ll discover how a gold-rush camp transformed into a global destination, while still preserving the calm spaces that make intensity sustainable. The tour starts at the Bathhouse, a 1932 building that reflects Queenstown’s early ambitions as a health and wellness destination. You’ll walk along Queenstown Bay, where Māori travel routes and European gold-rush logistics shaped the same shoreline. You’ll make your way up to the hillside streets where Queenstown’s earliest residents lived, and find out how William Gilbert Rees drove thousands of sheep over mountains to establish this settlement. The tour ends at the Bathhouse Playground, where you began, having traced a full circle through Queenstown’s past and present.

Private and Luxury Private Sightseeing Tours Audio Guides Cultural Tours Historical Tours Walking Tours Short term availability Weather Dependent - Low

At a glance

Duration: 1 h 15 min – 1 h 45 min
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Your group only
People per booking: 1–15
Audio guide: English
Written guide: English
Operated by: VoiceMap Audio Tours

Ages: Adults (6–99 years)

What is included

Included

Included: Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
Included: Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
Included: Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
Included: App for Android and iOS
Included: Directions to the starting point so that when you’re in the right place, the tour will start

Not included

Not included: Smartphone and headphones
Not included: Transportation
Not included: Food and drink
Not included: Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour

Itinerary

Stop 1

Passing by

Stroll along this sweeping lakefront beach, where the steel-blue waters of Lake Wakatipu meet the heart of the town. This is where Maori travel routes and European gold-rush logistics once converged on the same shoreline, and where the lake's legendary rise and fall can still be felt today.
Steamer Wharf

Passing by

Walk out along this historic wharf, where fine dining and boutique shops now occupy what were once working freight sheds. This is where the TSS Earnslaw, a 1912 steamship that carried sheep, supplies, and settlers around the lake, continues to dock to this day.
Queenstown Gardens

Passing by

Explore this peaceful Victorian-era park, where exotic trees planted in the 1800s now shade parkruns, disc golf courses, and quiet memorials. It is the green heart of a town built on intensity, and one of the few places where Queenstown slows down.
Queenstown Market

Passing by

Enjoy the lively atmosphere of this popular lakefront market, where local producers, artisans, and food vendors bring the community together. It reflects the same commercial energy that has driven this town since the gold-rush era, now channelled into everyday local life.
Queenstown Mall

Passing by

Stroll through this bustling pedestrian precinct, the compact commercial core that grew from a tent city established during the 1860s gold rush. The surrounding streets still follow the original layout of Campbell's Township, the settlement that boldly reinvented itself as Queenstown.
Skyline Queenstown

Passing by

Marvel at the gondola base station clinging to the hillside above the town, where engineered vertical access turned a sheer mountain face into one of Queenstown's most visited attractions. It is a vivid example of how this town has always found a way to make the impossible terrain work in its favour.
Stop 7

Passing by

Pass this legendary Queenstown institution, whose queues stretch down the street at almost any hour of the day or night. What began as a simple burger joint has become one of the most talked-about food stops in New Zealand, as much a part of the Queenstown experience as the mountains themselves.
Stop 8

Passing by

Walk past this cheerful outpost of one of New Zealand's most beloved homegrown brands, a sweet reminder that not everything in this town is about adrenaline. It sits comfortably among the adventure operators and fine dining restaurants that define modern Queenstown's eclectic character.
Queenstown

Passing by

Marvel at the full sweep of this compact but extraordinary town, framed by the Remarkables mountain range and the shimmering expanse of Lake Wakatipu. What began as a remote gold-rush outpost is now one of the most visited destinations on earth, drawing three million visitors a year to a town of just thirty thousand people.

Meeting point and pickup

Everyone meets at the meeting point.

Meeting point

This tour starts at The Bathhouse. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.

End point

This tour starts at The Bathhouse. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.

Using your ticket

VOICEMAP CODE

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Please check your email at the address you provided when you made this booking. You've been sent an eight character code you'll need to redeem your tour.

This code can be used by every member of your party. If you've booked for three people, for example, three people can download this tour using the same code.

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS

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Once you've received your code, please follow these steps:

Install the VoiceMap Audio Tours mobile app

Create an account

Select Tour Codes from the menu, then select Enter Codes

Enter your code then select Download Now

PLEASE NOTE

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You can download the tour at any time, before or after your booking date. It’s best to download the tour before you set off for the starting point.

This tour follows a set route and includes turn-by-turn directions. It works best if you start it in the right place and follow the directions from one location to the next.

When the download completes, you’ll see a screen with a photo of the starting point and directions to it. The red start button will become active when you are at the starting point.

Remember to bring your own headphones, unless you have booked a driving tour.

SUPPORT

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For technical support and other queries, please email [email protected]