There’s a good reason why Queenstown is known as the adrenaline capital of the world. If you’ve got adrenaline activities on your bucket list, there’s a strong chance that activity was invented right here. 

We’re the birthplace of commercial bungy. Home of the world’s highest cliff jump, the world’s steepest zipline, the world’s biggest human catapult, and one of the world’s largest giant swings. Tandem skydiving and paragliding were also pioneered here. The first commercial jetboat rides in the world were right here on the Kawarau River. Queenstown is the birthplace of New Zealand whitewater rafting, New Zealand’s first commercial ski resort and the home of the ski-plane.

Now we’re home to a new generation of adventure firsts; adrenaline activities on a journey to give back to the environment and the local community. That means even more fun for you, as these adventures immerse you in Queenstown’s epic landscapes and connect you with intrepid Queenstown locals on a whole new level. 

So, gather your courage and test your limits with the new pioneers of more meaningful adventures. 

 

Do a Queenstown bungy, swing or zip

To misquote Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that when you’re in Queenstown you must proceed straight to a very high place and pay a nice, trained professional to throw you off it.

Queenstown has a wide range of vertigo-inducing options for you to get high with. Start with those bucket list bad boys, the bungys, swings and ziplines to get your fix of plummeting towards the earth.

 

AJ Hackett

The granddaddy of big bungy thrills, AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand offers a smorgasbord of bungys, swings, ziprides, and catapults, with the knee-trembling Nevis Bungy the highest in New Zealand at 134 metres (that’s 8.5 seconds of freefall, and we’re here to tell you, that’s a long time).

But it’s not just about living more for AJ Hackett. It’s also about doing more for the community and taking less from the planet. They’ve declared their intention to be carbon neutral by 2030. But that’s not all. They have a strong sense of social purpose, working with youth charities and community organisations in Queenstown, Taupō and Auckland to deliver life-changing camps and adventure experiences.

 

Ziptrek Ecotours – Queenstown’s first carbon neutral adventure 

Exhilarating zipline adventure, Ziptrek Ecotours is Queenstown’s first carbon neutral tour operator. Take their Kea Tour to experience the world’s steepest tree-to-tree zipline. You’ll glide through the forest with views across Lake Whakatipu to the Remarkables, while your guides tell stories about local ecology and conservation.

Ziptrek’s beautiful treehouses made from local timbers sit in Douglas fir trees, so 90% of their infrastructure is living. They offset their modest emissions by planting native forests in New Zealand (certified by Ekos).

 

Canyon Swing, making adventure accessible to all

Canyon Swing is the world’s highest cliff jump. That’s every bit as terrifying and exhilarating as you’d imagine. But they’re also serious about accessibility, working with inclusive tourism expert Jezza Williams from Makingtrax to improve their experience for all.  

With a quarter of the population identifying as disabled or experiencing special access needs, more accessible adventures are good news for everyone.

The Canyon Swing team do all they can to make access possible, which is why they’re a Gold Seal member of the Makingtrax directory of inclusive adventures and listed in our guide to inclusive Queenstown adventures.

 

Canyon Swing

Climbing & mountaineering in the Southern Alps

The Queenstown region is a playground of crags and cliffs, and the Remarkables offer a range of mountaineering challenges from gentle slopes, to rock and ice climbing. You can also try your hand at abseiling and canyoning, or warm up on indoor climbing walls.

 

Hire an expert mountaineering guide

Connect more deeply with the landscape and the people of Queenstown by adventuring with a local guide. Not only will a guide help you climb safely, but they’ll also help you match your climbing experience to your skill level.

Queenstown Mountain Guides operate guided mountaineering, skiing and rock climbing trips on the Remarkables mountain range. Their team of ski and mountain guides have a vast wealth of experience guiding in the Southern Alps and other mountain ranges around the world. When it comes to a personal introduction to the peaks around Queenstown, you couldn’t ask for a more storied crew.

 

Meet the locals on indoor climbing walls

Locals like to practice indoors at Rockatipu Climbing Wall and Basecamp Adventures, and both climbing walls are the perfect place to find a climbing partner or hang out on a rainy day.

The Rockatipu wall is 12 metres high, offering over 30 climbs for intermediate and expert climbers with vertical and overhanging rock features. While Basecamp Adventures is a new Sport Climbing wall with over 40 top-rope and lead climbing routes, an Olympic-style speed wall, and a family-friendly Clip ‘n Climb.

 

Queenstown Mountain Guides, Guided climbing adventure

Jet boating & whitewater rafting in Queenstown’s wild rivers

For big thrills in the water, jump in a jetboat. This is a spectacular way to get up close and personal with the landscape, rocketing up mountain rivers between steep cliffs through whitewater rapids.

If riding on the water isn’t enough of a buzz, and you want to immerse yourself (literally), Queenstown is a whitewater rafting paradise. The Kawarau and the Shotover offer a grade of rapids for everyone, from family-friendly grade 2 fun to gnarly grade 5 rollercoasters.

 

An electrifying ride on Shotover Jet

Shotover Jet is the only jetboat allowed to take you into the Shotover River canyons. Ride the rapids, rocket between the cliff faces at up to 90 kilometres an hour and experience hair-raising stunts. Owned by Ngāi Tahu Tourism, Shotover Jet has always been committed to reducing its environmental impact. Māori people are mana whenua, the people of the land, and feel a strong sense of kaitiakitanga, or guardianship, over the environment.

Shotover Jet recently began testing an electric jet boat prototype. The electric jets have no engine noise, so in future, your ride up the Kimiakau, or Shotover River, will be even more immersive, as you slice through the icy alpine water with no sound but the wind in your ears.

The Shotover crew have also done their best to make the experience as accessible as possible, so get in touch when you make your booking so they can give you all the support you need to enjoy the wild ride.

 

RealNZ raft the wild rivers

RealNZ also offer adventures on the Shotover River. But you’ll be getting even more up close and personal with the whitewater, experiencing grade 3-5 rapids in a raft, followed by a paddle through a 170m tunnel. RealNZ takes you into some of the world’s most remote wilderness areas from whitewater rafting on Queenstown’s alpine rivers, to conservation expeditions into Dusky Sound.

Their love for these wild places makes RealNZ passionate about preserving them for the future. They’re working on a line-up (or should we say raft) of environmental initiatives including renewable power, pest trapping, and supporting hydrogen technology. 

 

The new electric Shotover Jet