Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin lake shaped like a staggered lightning bolt, and has spectactular views of nearby mountains.
There are various apocryphal accounts of how the town was named, the most popular suggesting that a local gold digger exclaimed that the town was "fit for Queen Victoria". It is sometimes disparagaingly referred to as "Vegas by the Lake" for a perceived fixation on commerce-oriented tourism, especially adventure and ski tourism. It is popular with young international and New Zealand travellers alike.
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