What to Expect on a Walter Peak BBQ Cruise

A step-by-step account of the Walter Peak BBQ cruise, from Steamer Wharf to the farm and back

Before you leave town

Check in at the RealNZ Queenstown Visitor Centre, 88 Beach Street, on Steamer Wharf, thirty minutes before your departure. It is about five minutes’ walk from the middle of Queenstown, downhill, and you will see the ship before you find the desk.

There is no parking at the wharf. Leave the car at your accommodation or in a Queenstown CBD car park and walk down. Bring a card rather than cash — both vessels are cashless and so is the bar at the homestead.

Your voucher names the vessel. The berth depends on which one you booked, and the two are a minute apart, so read it before you queue.

The crossing: 45 minutes

There is no public road to Walter Peak, so this is not a transfer you could skip. The boat runs west down the arm of Lake Whakatipu, past Cecil Peak, with the Remarkables behind you the whole way.

If you are on the TSS Earnslaw, go below early. The engine room is open to passengers — you stand on a grating above two working steam engines and watch a stoker shovel coal into the fireboxes. Then the wheelhouse, the small photograph museum, and back up on deck. Someone often plays the piano in the saloon on the way home.

If you are on the Spirit of Queenstown, take a window seat and enjoy the quiet. The catamaran is faster to board, smoother when the lake gets up, and has considerably more glass.

Both have a licensed bar. Neither includes a drink in the fare.

Ashore: about two hours

You land on a lawn below the Colonel’s Homestead, the white-and-red colonial building that is, apart from the woolshed and the stables, essentially all there is at this end of the lake. The original burned down and it was rebuilt on the same site in 1977.

The buffet

The grill is outdoors and wood-fired, and the meat is carved to order. Around it: salads, hot vegetables, fresh breads, New Zealand cheeses and a long dessert table. It is a buffet, not a set menu — you serve yourself, you can go back, and nobody has to negotiate a fixed plate, which is why it works for mixed groups and children.

Tell RealNZ about serious allergies before the day, not at the counter. It is a buffet service and the kitchen needs notice to lay on an alternative.

The farm demonstration

After the meal a rural host takes the group out to an open amphitheatre cut into the hillside and works a mob of sheep with heading dogs and huntaways. They are two different breeds doing two different jobs — one runs wide and quiet to gather, one drives and barks — and the host will explain which is which while it is happening.

Then the animals. Sheep and red deer in the holding pens that you can hand-feed, and Scottish Highland cattle with horns wider than a child is tall. The farm tour option adds a blade-shearing demonstration and a longer farmyard walk; the BBQ sittings use that time for the meal.

The gardens

If your sitting leaves time and there is light, the lakeside gardens between the homestead and the jetty are open to walk. Roses, hydrangeas, and a view straight back down the lake. Evening sittings in winter do not get this.

The trip home

Another 45 minutes, and you are back on Beach Street three and a half hours after you left. On an evening sailing the return is the part people remember: a dark lake, the lights of Queenstown coming up ahead, and the funnel lit from below.

What to wear, and what to bring

A warm layer, always. It is colder on Lake Whakatipu than in town, in every season, and colder again once the sun is off the water.
Closed, non-slip shoes. You will be on a wet deck and then on a working farmyard. The operator recommends non-slip soles.
A card. Cashless vessels, cashless bar.
A camera, sunglasses, sunscreen. The reflection off the lake is stronger than it looks.

Leave the heels and the good white trainers at the hotel.

Three things that catch people out

You cannot swap the boat on the day. The vessel is part of the booking option. If you want the steamship, book the option that names her — and book it early, because those sittings go first. Our vessel comparison covers the choice.

An evening sitting in winter lands in the dark. You will eat well and see almost nothing of the farm. Between about May and September, book lunch — the lunch versus dinner guide has the month-by-month picture.

Drinks are never included. On any option, at any sitting. The bar is good and it is separate.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the Walter Peak BBQ cruise in total?

Three and a half hours: 45 minutes across Lake Whakatipu, about two hours ashore for the buffet and the farm demonstration, and 45 minutes back to Steamer Wharf.

What time should I arrive for check-in?

Thirty minutes before departure, at the RealNZ Visitor Centre, 88 Beach Street. It is a five-minute walk from central Queenstown and there is no parking at the wharf.

What food is at the Walter Peak buffet?

Local meats carved off an open wood-fired grill, with salads, hot vegetables, fresh breads, New Zealand cheeses and a dessert table. You serve yourself and can go back within your sitting. Drinks are not included.

Can the kitchen handle dietary requirements?

Contact RealNZ before your departure date with the details and the kitchen will do its best to provide alternatives. Because it is a buffet service, notice in advance matters far more than asking on the day.

Is Walter Peak wheelchair accessible?

Partly. The catamaran is the easier vessel to board, and parts of the farm are manageable, but the farmyard is a working surface with gravel and slopes. Ask the operator before booking and describe what your party needs — they will tell you honestly what is and is not reachable on each vessel and at the farm.

Do I need to book in advance?

Yes, especially December to February and over the ski season. Sittings are catered and timed to the boat, so they sell out rather than overflow. Free cancellation runs to 24 hours before departure, so booking early costs nothing.

Is there anything to do at Walter Peak besides the BBQ and the farm show?

The lakeside gardens, if your sitting has light. Beyond that, the station also runs a horse trek and a garden-to-table lunch as separate bookings — you cannot add either to a BBQ sitting on the day.