People visit Queenstown, New Zealand, for the thrills. But maybe that’s a mistake.

You can ski the Southern Alps in August or drive a speedboat on the rapids of Shotover Canyon in January. You can even go bungee jumping off the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge.

There’s more to this part of New Zealand than adrenaline. We were smitten by the beauty of this place—the jagged mountains (cue the Lord of the Rings theme) and the crystalline waters of Lake Wakatipu.

Queenstown, it turns out, claims to be one of the most sustainable destinations on Earth. And since we cover tourism sustainability, we had to find out if that was true. (Spoiler: Truer that you might think.)

Question of the week: What’s the most unusual form of mass transit you’ve ever taken?

We ask because Queenstown is planning to build a gondola—yes, a gondola—from the airport to town. Tell us about your mass transit experiences, from tuk-tuks to canoes. We love your comments and will read them in our next podcast.

Everything gets recycled here

Queenstown loves to repurpose things. Consider the TSS Earnslaw, a historic, coal-fired passenger steamship operating on Lake Wakatipu. It was launched in 1912 and decommissioned—and slated to be scrapped—in 1968. Conservation-minded citizens saved the ship, restored it, and it now carriers visitors around the lake. Now that’s what we call recycling.

Pro Tip: If you’re thinking of visiting southern New Zealand, aim for December to February for a warmer experience. The best skiing here is in August, according to insiders.

Lots of eco-lodges in Queenstown

We visited two fascinating eco-lodges in the Queenstown area. Kinloch Wilderness Retreat is a case study in respecting the past while powering the future. It featuring solar-powered “Ecoscape” huts constructed from New Zealand-sourced materials. And, like any self-respecting eco-lodge, there’s a yoga studio.

The Headwaters Eco Lodge, another eco-lodge we saw, is designed to something called the Living Building Challenge standards. It doesn’t get much greener than that. Headwaters has a massive solar garden and guest chalets with composting toilets. We talk about that in the podcast, because composting toilets is where we draw the line

What we thought of Queenstown

Queenstown is stunning, a little pricey, and exhausting. It’s a city that prides itself on being the ultimate playground, but seasoned traveler will see past the high-gloss world of its tourism machine and see the pristine beauty of the place. And they’ll appreciate the way its tourism officials are trying to keep their destination sustainable for future generations of visitors.

Don’t forget our question of the week: What’s the most unusual form of public transport you’ve ever taken? Our top commenter gets a free one-year subscription to Elliott Confidential, our sister newsletter.

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