Colonel's Homestead at Walter Peak: History, Gardens and Dining

A family home for the Mackenzies

Europeans first ran stock at Walter Peak in the 1860s. The station takes its name from Cecil Walter Rees, son of William Gilbert Rees, the first European settler of Queenstown.

The Mackenzie family took over in the 1880s and farmed Walter Peak for around 80 years, into the 1960s. Their merino wool topped the wool sales in New Zealand and Australia three times in the 1930s.

The homestead went up in the early 1900s as a wedding gift for Colonel Peter Mackenzie, the family’s son, which is where its name comes from.

What happened to the original homestead?

In 1977 an accidental fire badly damaged the homestead. It was carefully reconstructed, keeping the character of the original exterior, while much of the interior was rebuilt.

So the building you see today is not untouched from the early 1900s. It still looks the part because the rebuild set out to keep its colonial appearance and its relationship with the gardens around it.

The gardens are older than the house

Planting at Walter Peak began in the 1870s, a generation before the homestead was built. A sycamore and an oak from that first planting are among the oldest introduced trees in the region and are now protected. The Mackenzies planted most of the rest, and a native kauri was added in the 1960s.

Those old trees are why the grounds feel like a long-settled country estate and not a visitor attraction built for the boat.

What are the gardens like?

Expect mature exotic trees, lawns, flowerbeds and lakefront planting, with mountain views in every direction. There is also a working restaurant garden of vegetable beds and an orchard that supplies produce for the kitchen.

The grounds right around the homestead keep their traditional European style. Further out, parts of the station are being returned to native bush (more on that below). Every Walter Peak trip leaves some time to walk the gardens before the boat home.

The arrival is part of the visit

Most visitors reach Walter Peak across Lake Whakatipu. If you travel on the TSS Earnslaw, you step off a coal-fired steamship launched in 1912 and walk up through the gardens to the homestead. The Earnslaw’s own history is a story in itself.

The sequence runs:

Queenstown → Lake Whakatipu → TSS Earnslaw → Walter Peak jetty → gardens → Colonel’s Homestead

That slow approach gives the building far more sense of place than pulling into a car park would. Which boat you are on depends on the option you book, and during the Earnslaw’s annual maintenance the Spirit of Queenstown covers the crossing. Our vessel comparison explains the difference.

What happens at the homestead today?

Its best-known modern role is as the setting for the Walter Peak Gourmet BBQ. You come for a long lunch or dinner, and the trip combines the return cruise, a buffet of local and homegrown produce cooked over a wood-fired grill, time in the gardens and a farm show with sheepdogs and sheep shearing after the meal.

The whole outing takes 3½ to 4 hours. RealNZ lists it from NZ$175 per adult, and the GetYourGuide listing starts at US$99 (4.8 out of 5 from 3,197 reviews). The menu, dietary options and dress code are in our Colonel’s Homestead restaurant guide.

Lunch or dinner?

Choose lunch if you want the most daylight for the gardens, photographs and mountain views.

Choose dinner if you’re travelling as a couple, celebrating something or want a more atmospheric evening. In winter an evening sitting lands after dark, so you’ll see little of the gardens. Our lunch versus dinner guide goes through it month by month.

Can you visit without eating?

Yes, depending on the Walter Peak experience you book. The Farm Tour (from NZ$139 with RealNZ) ends with tea in the old woolshed and leaves time to wander the gardens. The Garden to Table Experience (from NZ$169, highly rated on GetYourGuide but from only 16 reviews) starts with a guided walk through the gardens and the restaurant’s vegetable beds. The Walter Peak Horse Trek lands at the same jetty too.

What you can’t do is turn up for a meal without a booking, because the buffet sittings are catered in advance. If you are torn between the two most popular trips, read our Farm Tour vs Gourmet BBQ comparison.

Walter Peak and conservation

The modern Walter Peak story is about more than preserving pastoral history. RealNZ took over the lease in 1987, and in 2014 it began the Walter Peak Land Restoration Project. That work has cleared 155 hectares of wilding pines and weeds, replanted native bush and built a public walkway along the foreshore to Beach Point, and the pine clearing continues.

The result is an interesting mix: a colonial homestead and its European gardens, with land around them slowly returning to native cover. Guests on the Garden to Table Experience plant a native tree as part of their visit.

Is Walter Peak Homestead worth visiting?

It makes most sense as part of the whole Walter Peak trip. On its own, a reconstructed historic homestead would not justify several hours of a Queenstown itinerary.

Combined with Lake Whakatipu, the TSS Earnslaw, the high-country farm, the gardens, the Gourmet BBQ and the farm show, it adds up to a very good half-day. If you are still choosing, our guide to every Walter Peak option compares them side by side.

Frequently asked questions

What is Walter Peak Homestead?

The Colonel’s Homestead is the historic lakeside building at Walter Peak High Country Farm. It now houses the main Walter Peak restaurant.

When was the Colonel’s Homestead built?

In the early 1900s, as a wedding gift for Colonel Peter Mackenzie. A fire damaged it in 1977, and it was reconstructed with the character of its original exterior.

Can you eat at the Homestead?

Yes. Book a lunch or dinner sitting of the Gourmet BBQ, which includes the return cruise. RealNZ lists it from NZ$175 per adult.

Can you visit without eating?

Yes. The Farm Tour and the Garden to Table Experience also bring visitors to the property, and both include time in the gardens.

How do you get there?

By boat from Steamer Wharf in Queenstown, on either the TSS Earnslaw or the Spirit of Queenstown, depending on the option you book.

Is Walter Peak still a working farm?

Yes. It is a working high-country farm, and RealNZ has run it since 1987.

How old are the gardens?

Planting started in the 1870s. A sycamore and an oak from that time are now protected trees.

Is lunch or dinner better for seeing the Homestead?

Lunch, for daylight in the gardens. Dinner has more atmosphere, especially in summer, when it is still light when you arrive.

For the full picture of the station, read our Walter Peak High Country Farm guide. Operator prices and history checked with RealNZ on 9 October 2026; the booking options show current dates and fares.