Cecil Peak at Queenstown: Photograph by Will Tenney

Cecil Peak at Queenstown

Queenstown, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, is the self-proclaimed world capitol of extreme sports. What they seem to love to do here is hang visitors upside-down by their ankles, bounce them on rubber bands over deep gorges, toss them off cliffs on a kite, speed them up narrow canyons in jet-powered boats doing 360s, and in other ways scare the pants off them while attempting to shake the last bit of spare change out of their pockets. And the visitors just love it and keep coming back for more! All that being said, it is a beautiful place, the food is delicious, the people are very friendly, and the view of Cecil Peak across the lake in the evening sun can be just dazzling.