Epic Places to Paddle - Queenstown NZ

Every camp I run, someone always asks me what's the coolest place I've ever paddled, so I thought I'd do a little write up on some of the really cool places I've been lucky enough to go to and find someone to take me out paddling.

First up on the list is Queenstown, New Zealand. Obviously not exactly an out of the way spot to go to but probably not the first place that pops to mind when you think of paddling or downwinding. Pretty much smack bang in the middle of the South Island, Queenstown is immediately different as a paddle destination simply for the fact that it's not a coastal town.

Lake Wakatipu is one of the first reasons paddling here was so epic. With the surface of the lake sitting 310 meters above sea level (definitely a bit of a novelty) you still feel tiny as you are surrounded on all sides by the immense landscape that has made Queenstown so famous. The mountains literally start under the water and rise up over 2km above you.... The lake is also roughly 380 meters deep which technically doesn't make a difference but to be in 380m of water on the Sunshine Coast I would have to paddle 60km straight out to sea, off the continental shelf.

The lake is also fresh water, and I mean really fresh. It's literally melted off the top of a mountain and run down into the lake. No need to wash your boat down or worry about your car going rusty. You literally don't even need to take a drink bottle if you don't mind drinking straight from your hands...

Now fun facts about the lake aside. The set up for downwinding is actually awesome. Queenstown sits in the corner of the lake where two long straights meet at a right angle. Because of the sheer height and scale of the mountains around the lake the wind can literally only blow in two directions with any real push. Usually pushing you straight back to Queenstown.

But back to my paddle there. We found the local "kayak" club on facebook and went down to meet them at their standard launching point just out of downtown Queenstown. These guys are absolute legends. We had brought nothing with us to paddle so turned up with our boardshorts and they sorted us out with Skis, PFDs and Paddles.

We had actually arrived the week after one of their main events, the Coast to Coast, so they were basically going for a cruisy paddle up the lake and back. The sun was out, it was warm and the lake was glassy so seemed like just what the doctor ordered. Paddling out of Queenstown and into the lake proper the size of everything around you is absolutely insane. You can't stop looking up at the mountains and feeling very very small out on the water. The scale of where you are really becomes apparent after paddling for about 40min and realising that apart from Queenstown looking very small behind you nothing else seems to have changed.

We were about to turn when infront of us you could start to see the glassy water was changing to chop. I've never seen this before but there was literally a line of wind and runners storming down the lake at us. I had to ask one of the locals and they said yep looks like we are downwinding back!

So we paddled another few minutes up towards the wind until we crossed into the bumps. Instantly it was a different paddle. We paddled into the wind just a little longer to make sure we got the best of it and then turned back towards Queenstown in the distance.

Obviously there is no swell in the lake but the way the wind funnelled down the gorge made the bumps seem like the wind had been blowing for hours. Energy levels had clearly lifted in the group and we started the 7km paddle back to Queenstown. Perfectly groomed bumps with wind blowing directly on your back no swell and some of the most insane scenery you can put on a postcard. 7 tiny little dots out in the middle of the lake.

Now it wasn't the best downwind I've ever done in terms of bumps but it definitely scored a lot of points in other areas. One of which being after a few km we were caught by a mass of dandelion seeds blowing in the wind. Weirdly this made me realise for all the times I've gone downwind I've never actually seen the wind blowing with me. For some reason I always feel like I am going with the wind but of course its actually going slightly faster than the bumps it's pushing. Sitting on a bump surfing along at 15/16kmph and watch dandelion seeds blow passed you at 20kmph was something I have never experienced before.

In any case all good things have to come to an end and we made it back to Queenstown where you turn back inside the little headland and somehow the water is instantly glassy again. No washdown, no shower needed, no sandy or dirty feet.

Was this the coolest place I've ever paddled? It definitely ticked a whole lot of boxes and was the cherry on top of an already awesome holiday to Queenstown but luckily I have quite a few other paddles to compare it to so its not a clear cut decision. Without a doubt though it is a paddle you should put on your to do list.