Queenstown · With kids

A steep gondola to a viewpoint above town, then a wheeled luge track down; height limits apply for riding solo. Ages 3+ with an adult.

A coal-fired steamer crosses Lake Wakatipu to a working high-country farm with sheepdogs and shearing; ninety minutes each way. All ages.

Twenty minutes away: a gold-rush main street, a Chinese settlement by the river and pans for hire. Autumn colour in April and May. Ages 5+.

Kiwi in a nocturnal house plus conservation shows and tuatara, in the gardens beside the gondola base; ninety minutes. Ages 4+.

Weather turns hourly year-round, so pack layers and repellent for the sandflies. Most adventure operators set minimum ages between eight and twelve.