Queenstown Hill, also known by its

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

name of Te Tapu-nui (mountain of intense sacredness), is a small mountain near

Queenstown, New Zealand Queenstown ( mi, Tāhuna) is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It has an urban population of The town is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long, thin, Z-shaped lake forme ...

in the South Island. The lower levels of the hill contain housing especially near Queenstown, Frankton Road and Marina Heights. Midway up the hill is a large forest of mainly douglas fir and

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains fur ...

, while the top is largely clear and the ground cover is that of tussock and native vegetation. Queenstown Hill is also home to a farm consisting of 1800 sheep which is owned and operated by the Middletons who purchased the lease in 1963 and freeholded the land in 1978. The Queenstown Hill Time Walk is part of the land owned by the Middletons.

Queenstown Hill Time Walk

The Time Walk is a walk on the Queenstown Hill that was created to mark the Millennium in the year 2000. The entrance to the trail is on Belfast Terrace. At the start of the walk is a wrought iron gate which shows symbols of the local area. There are many panels along the walk describing the history of the area. The walk takes about three hours return, but can be shortened by not walking the full loop.http://www.nzine.co.nz/features/qt_s.html This walking track is not allowed to be used by bikes. Dogs are allowed halfway up the track until the private land boundary, but must be leashed at all times.

Basket of Dreams

Not far from the top is a sculpture called the ''Basket of Dreams'' by Caroline Robinson. There are expansive views from this point of the whole basin including

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake ( finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori n ...

, Cecil Peak and

The Remarkables The Remarkables ( mi, Kawarau) are a mountain range and skifield in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. Located on the southeastern shore of Lake Wakatipu, the range lives up to its name by rising sharply to create a remarkable backdrop ...

References

Queenstown-Lakes District Mountains of Otago {{Otago-geo-stub