Queenstown Hill Time Walk is a 5.6km heritage trail located in Queenstown Hill Recreation Reserve that climbs 500m to the summit of Te Tapu-nui – the mountain of intense sacredness.

Easily accessible from downtown Queenstown, it’s popular with the locals – we only met people walking their dogs or running – and often simply referred to as Queenstown Hill Walkway. Except for the elevation climb, the track makes for an easy, family-friendly walk or run with information panels along the trail illustrating different epochs in the history of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu.

Starting from a small car park at the top of Belfast Terrace the trail zigzags uphill through pine forest that provides plenty of shade on a sunny day and arrives at a small trail junction.

Forking off to the right is the more gradual but slightly longer route and to the left, the shorter but steeper trail. We went left on the way up and returned on the more gradual trail, but it makes very little difference either way.

Where the track meets the tree line, you’ll come to a small tarn, the first viewpoint, and the famous ‘Basket of Dreams’ sculpture. The metal spiral set on a schist foundation by artist Caroline Robinson forms a large basket-shaped seat and is a lovely place to rest and admire the views.

The trail continues across golden tussock-covered grasslands to the 840m summit with magnificent 360-degree views over the city, The Remarkables, Cecil Peak, the Kawarau River, Lake Wakatipu, and the surrounding mountain skyline comprising many other peaks.