Queens Town Calling

Once a well-kept secret, New Zealand’s charming ski town is attracting more than Antipodean powder hounds.

- Gina Johnson

When the Silicon Valley super rich started piling into New Zealand’s real estate a few years ago, the world started to take notice. Until then, the mysterious South Pacific nation was deemed either too remote or too callow to attract mainstream tourism. Despite its abundant natural beauty, world-class fine dining, vineyards, and some of the best luxury lodges on the planet, it remained uninteresting to most global travellers, outside of Australasia.

A perfect storm of awareness ensued after the release of local director Peter Jackson’s cult film franchise Lord of the Rings in the early 2000s, culminating in 2016 when Emirates, the Middle East’s largest airline, launched its first non-stop flight between Dubai and Auckland.

It was during this time that stories began circulating of a clutchful of American billionaires – including the tech mogul, Peter Thiel and hedge fund founder, Michael Nock – who began buying up large swathes of acreage to develop as reclusive (and certainly exclusive) holiday homes.

The location of this whispered nirvana was in fact Queenstown, a charming skitown perched on the edge of Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by The Remarkables mountain range on one side and Ben Lemond on the other.