Welcome to Aotearoa Adventures

Queenstown is New Zealand's adventure playground—but some of the most stunning locations lie just outside the town limits. Whether you’re chasing alpine views, remote lakes, vineyards, or charming small towns, these day trips from Queenstown are all worth adding to your itinerary. Here’s a detailed guide to my favourite day trips based on personal travel, scenic routes, and unforgettable experiences.

The Perfect 7-Day North Island Road Trip Itinerary. New Zealand’s North Island packs an incredible variety of experiences into a relatively compact space—from beautiful beaches and volcanic landscapes to rich Māori culture and geothermal wonders. This itinerary will take you through some of the North Island's best highlights.

New Zealand’s South Island is a hiking fever dream—alpine spires, cedar-green valleys, rivers the colour of sapphires, and beaches that look faked. Below is a region-by-region guide to the best trails I keep returning to. I’ve added the kind of detail I wish I’d had the first time: when to go, how to pace days, what the weather really does, and a few stories from the track that might help you avoid my mistakes.

Auckland is a fantastic city—but sometimes you just need to escape the urban bustle and explore nearby wonders. Having spent plenty of weekends adventuring from Auckland, here are my favourite day trips that offer beaches, vineyards, islands, and more, all within easy driving or ferry distance.