Labour Weekend in Queenstown: 3 Days, 1 Bungy, Zero Regrets

You’ve decided to spend Labour Weekend in Queenstown, so what should you actually do when you get here? For couples and small groups, we suggest keeping it simple: arrive Friday (October 23), start Saturday with the iconic Kawarau Bungy, then spend the afternoon around the lake or exploring Gibbston wine country; go bigger at the Nevis Playground on Sunday; then finish with a slow Queenstown brunch on Monday before heading home.

Here is your full long weekend activity, with everything you need to know, including tips from the locals.

One important piece of advice before we get into it: Book your Bungy experiences before you arrive.

Labour Weekend is a public-holiday weekend, and if a bungy experience is on your list, we’d rather you spend Friday deciding where to have dinner than discovering your preferred adventure time is already booked.

Book your Queenstown bungy experiences now, then build the rest of your weekend around them.

Your Queenstown Long Weekend Itinerary

Friday: 

Arrive, check in, and don’t overcomplicate things

Whether you’re flying into Queenstown or driving in, Friday is not the night to create an ambitious itinerary.

Check in. Drop the bags. Walk down to Lake Whakatipu. Have a drink and eat something delicious.

Your work here is done.

If you’re staying for the whole weekend, central Queenstown is the easiest option if you want restaurants, bars, and the Queenstown Bungy Centre within walking distance.

Frankton can be a good choice if you’re driving or want easier airport access, while Arrowtown suits couples or groups who want something a little quieter and more relaxed, with a bit more of a locals vibe.

Remember: this is a long weekend. Accommodation can disappear quickly, so this isn’t necessarily the trip for the “we’ll figure it out when we get there” approach.

Save the spontaneity for deciding who jumps first.

Saturday Morning: 

Start where bungy started.

Coffee. Breakfast. Nerves. Time to head to the Kawarau Bungy Center.

AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch opened the world’s first commercial bungy site here in 1988, and more than three decades later, people are still standing on that same bridge.

The Kawarau Bridge Bungy is 43-metres above the Kawarau River and makes a pretty spectacular introduction to a Queenstown adventure weekend.

If you’re travelling with friends, plenty of viewing areas offer moral support, photo ops, and the inevitable replaying of someone’s scream afterwards.

Not everybody wants to Bungy either. That’s okay.

The Kawarau Bungy Centre also has the Kawarau Swing and Zipride, plus viewing decks, a café and bar, so couples and groups don’t necessarily need to choose the same adventure to enjoy the morning together.

Getting to Kawarau

If you have a car, the Kawarau Bungy Centre is around 25-35 minutes from central Queenstown via State Highway 6, with free parking available onsite.

Don’t have a car? That’s perfectly fine. 

Bungy Bus transport departs from the Queenstown Bungy Centre on the corner of Shotover and Camp Streets, subject to availability. Check your booking carefully and arrive early: Bungy Bus passengers need to check in 30 minutes before departure.

Then there’s only one thing left to do.

Walk to the edge… and leap. 

Saturday Afternoon: 

You jumped from a bridge before lunch. You’ve Earned the Slow Part

The afternoon is for slowing down, and you have two great options.

Option One: Lake Whakatipu or Arrowtown 

Head back into town, find lunch and spend the afternoon enjoying Queenstown’s beauty.

Walk part of the lakeside or Arrowtown trail. Find somewhere sunny. Grab a drink. Sit beside Lake Whakatipu and watch the mountains doing their ridiculous Queenstown thing.

This is particularly good if your group doesn’t want every hour of the weekend scheduled. 

Some lunch spots include: 

Arrowtown: Historic Fork and Tap, Cave Japanese, or Provisions Cafe

Queenstown: Visit a street vendor by the lake, Steamer Wharf, or Botswana Butchery

Option Two: Make a Day of Gibbston

If you’re self-driving to Kawarau, you’re already positioned near one of Central Otago’s best-known wine areas.

Which creates a very appealing equation: Bungy in the morning. Wine in the afternoon.

There are cellar doors and wineries throughout Gibbston, so book a tasting or lunch and settle in for the afternoon.

One obvious option nearby is Gibbston Valley Winery, which offers a cellar door, restaurant and wine-cave experiences. Other Gibbston producers include Brennan Wines, Peregrine Wines, and Kinross. 

If everyone wants to taste rather than nominate a sober driver, book a wine tour or transfer instead.

The wine will taste so much sweeter when you’ve earned it and are on a natural adrenaline high. 

Sunday: Time to Go Bigger

Saturday was the warm-up. Today, we’re heading to the Nevis Playground.

After all, you’re a connoisseur now. 

Hidden away in the Nevis Valley, this is where you’ll find three distinctly unreasonable ways to spend a Sunday morning:

• Nevis Bungy
• Nevis Swing
• Nevis Catapult

The Nevis Bungy is 134 metres high, making it New Zealand’s highest Bungy, with around 8.5 seconds of freefall.

Want something you can experience together? You can do the Nevis Swing in tandem.

Want to feel what it’s like to be launched across a valley? The Nevis Catapult accelerates riders towards 100km/h in 1.5 seconds.

Or, if you’ve decided Labour Weekend is the weekend you abandon all sense of moderation, there’s the Nevis Thrillogy: Bungy, Swing and Catapult in one visit.

Which Nevis Combo Should You Choose?

For couples, we’d look at combining the Nevis Bungy and Nevis Swing. You get the individual challenge of stepping from the Bungy platform, then a completely different experience on the Swing.

Small groups can mix things up depending on what everyone wants to do.

And if one member of your group has taken one look at the Nevis photos and announced absolutely not, they don’t have to miss the day.

Spectators can travel to the Nevis Playground and even cross over to the Nevis Bungy Pod without participating. Which means they’ll still be there to cheer you on.

Getting to Nevis: Leave the Car Behind

This one’s easy because you don’t have a choice. You cannot self-drive to the Nevis Playground.

Access is via AJ Hackett’s 4WD Bungy Bus, with return transport included in Nevis experiences.

The bus leaves from the Queenstown Bungy Centre at the corner of Shotover and Camp Streets, and you’ll need to check in at least 30 minutes before departure.

Allow roughly four hours for the total Nevis experience from Queenstown, including transport.

That means you shouldn’t cram your Sunday afternoon with bookings immediately afterwards.

By the time you make it back to Queenstown, you might feel a little different from the person who climbed onto the Bungy Bus that morning. 

The Nevis might only take a few seconds. But that “if I can do that, what else can I do?” feeling can stick around a whole lot longer.

Sunday Afternoon: Absolutely Nothing Heroic

You’ve spent the morning dangling, swinging, or being fired across the Nevis Valley.

Now we relax.

Head back into Queenstown for a late lunch. Walk by the lake. Find somewhere for a drink.

Compare everyone’s photos and videos. Listen to the person who was most terrified rewrite history until they’re claiming they “weren’t actually that nervous.”

Tonight is for dinner, drinks, and repeatedly showing your Bungy footage to people who did not ask to see it.

Monday: Brunch. Lake. Home.

Nobody needs an alarm. Nobody needs a harness. Nobody needs to stand on the edge of anything voluntarily.

Labour Day Monday should be slow. Sleep in, check out and find somewhere for a long brunch.

Some options include: Vudu Cafe in Queenstown Eatery by Frank’s in Frankton, or The Dishery in Arrowtown. 

If you’ve got a later flight or drive home, leave yourself time for one final wander along Lake Whakatipu, grab a coffee, and do some last-minute shopping before heading out.

After two days of adventure, there’s something satisfying about doing very little.

But What If the Weather Doesn’t Cooperate?

Welcome to spring in Queenstown.

October can give you blue skies, crisp mornings, rain, wind, and the occasional reminder that you’re surrounded by alpine terrain (sometimes with impressive efficiency).

Historical climate normals put Queenstown’s average October daytime maximum at around 16°C, with average minimums around 5-6°C. October also historically receives meaningful rainfall, so layers and a waterproof jacket deserve space in the suitcase.

The key is not to panic because there’s rain in the forecast.

Adventure activities aren’t automatically cancelled because the weather looks a little dramatic, rain, light wind, and even snow. We bungy! Operational decisions depend on actual conditions and day-to-day safety considerations.

So don’t reshuffle your entire itinerary based on an app five days beforehand. Keep an eye on communications from the AJ Hackett team and make sure your contact details are correct when booking.

For the rest of the weekend, build in flexibility.

Rainy afternoon? Swap the lakeside wandering for a long lunch, wine tasting or something indoors.

Then if beautiful weather unexpectedly arrives, get outside and make the most of it.

Queenstown is very good at Plan B.

What Should You Pack for Labour Weekend in Queenstown?

The short answer? Layers.

Late October is spring, not summer. Bring a warm layer, a waterproof jacket, and comfortable shoes, plus lighter clothing for warmer afternoons.

For your Bungy experiences, wear flat, secure, enclosed footwear.

And don’t assume that because Queenstown looks sunny from your hotel window, the Nevis Valley will feel the same.

Take the jacket. Future you will be grateful.

Do You Need a Car?

Not necessarily.

If you’re staying centrally and using Bungy Bus transport, you can build this itinerary without hiring a car.

Central Queenstown makes Friday night, Monday brunch, and your Nevis departure easy, since restaurants, the waterfront, and the Queenstown Bungy Centre are all nearby.

A rental car gives you more flexibility for Saturday’s Kawarau-and-wineries combination, but remember that if you’re wine tasting, you’ll need a designated driver.

Your Queenstown Labour Weekend, Sorted. If you’ve been staring at 27 browser tabs wondering how to fit Queenstown into three days, here’s your answer: 

• Friday: Arrive, check in, lakefront, dinner.
• Saturday: Kawarau Bungy in the morning. Lake Whakatipu or Gibbston wineries in the afternoon.
• Sunday: Nevis Playground. Go as big as your nerves allow. Recover slowly afterwards.
• Monday: Sleep in. Brunch. One last look at the mountains. Head home.

It’s enough adventure to make the weekend feel huge without turning your holiday into an endurance event, and importantly, it leaves room for the best bits you didn’t plan.

Just don’t leave the big stuff until the last minute.

Labour Weekend gives you three days to live More and fear less. Book your Kawarau and Nevis adventures now, then start counting down to the long weekend.

FAQs:

Do I need to book bungy experiences in advance for Labour Weekend?

Yes, you should book your bungy experiences before you arrive. Labour Weekend is a public holiday weekend, and preferred adventure times can sell out quickly. Booking in advance allows you to secure your spot and build the rest of your itinerary around it.

Do bungy activities still operate if it rains?

Yes, adventure activities like bungy run in rain, light wind, and even snow. Operations only depend on actual conditions and safety considerations on the day. Since late October weather can be unpredictable, bring layers and a waterproof jacket rather than rescheduling based on a weather forecast.