Walter Peak Gourmet BBQ Lunch & Queenstown Lake Cruise
Overview
Available languages
3 hours 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
A return scenic cruise from Queenstown Bay, across stunning Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak High Country Farm on a vessel of your choice, a farm demonstration and a delicious BBQ Lunch at the Colonel’s Homestead.
The rural demonstrator will give guests an insight into life in the New Zealand high country by providing an entertaining farm show including working sheep dogs.
Enjoy a unique dining experience at Walter Peak where the menu showcases food and wine from the wider Central Otago region. Chefs prepare a tasty selection of meats on the outdoor grill, while fresh, seasonal salads and vegetables are available from the dining area of the Colonel’s Homestead. Top off lunch with a selection of delicious sweet treats and local cheeses.
Choose between sailing on the iconic 1912 TSS Earnslaw Steamship or the spacious and modern Spirit of Queenstown Catamaran.
Additional Info
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Note: Menu items are subject to change based on chef's discretion and seasonal availability.
Note: Please let RealNZ know in advance if you have dietary requirements via messaging through Viator
Note: The TSS Earnslaw is cash free and we reserve the right to refuse cash as a means of payment when purchasing products or services.
Note: When the TSS Earnslaw is on survey, the modern catamaran will be substituted
Note: The TSS Earnslaw will undergo annual maintenance between May 18th - June 27th 2026. The Spirit of Queenstown vessel will be available during this time
What To Expect
Lake Wakatipu
Return Cruise on Lake Wakatipu on the either the Vintage Steamship, the TSS Earnslaw or the Modern Catamaran, Spirit of Queenstown. Your vessel of choice will travel from Queenstown to Walter Peak. Stop at Walter Peak for lunch and a sheep shearing demonstration, before returning across the lake to Queenstown.
Enjoy a quintessential Kiwi experience – a delicious gourmet BBQ lunch and a farm demo in a stunning lakeside setting. Your lunch starts with a cruise across Lake Whakatipu to Walter Peak High Country Farm. Once there, you can sit back on the lakeside terrace of the Colonel’s Homestead Restaurant and savor the delicious aromas as our chef has the best of local produce, sizzling away on the grill. Our lunch menu has been refreshed with the introduction of our new executive chef, so you'll have a plenty to choose from our seasonal menu - salads, vegetables, succulent meat cooked on the outdoor rotisserie or grill. If you’re vegetarian, don’t worry, you are well catered for too. Then finish your meal with a scrumptious dessert. After your lunch, you can join an entertaining farm demonstration or explore the beautiful lakeside gardens. Return cruise back to your original starting point in Queenstown, convenient to continue exploring.
What‘s Included
Cruise across lake Whakatipu and back to Queenstown
GST (Goods and Services Tax)
Live English commentary on board as well as interpretation handouts in English, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Thai, Korean and Chinese
Gourmet BBQ Lunch
Farm Show
Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Options
BBQ Dining & Cruise TSS/Spirit
Cruise across to Walter Peak on the historic and iconic TSS Earnslaw Steamship and return on the Modern Spirit of Queenstown
BBQ Dining & TSS Cruise
Cruise both ways on the iconic TSS Earnslaw, a coal-fired steamship that’s been a part of the region’s history since 1912
BBQ Dining & Modern Cruise
BBQ Dining & Modern Cruise : Cruise both ways on the spacious and modern Spirit of Queenstown Catamaran. Epic viewing platforms to take the best photos
Reviews
1,312 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Great birthday celebration at Walter Peak High Country Farm
G5404VGlindam,May 19, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00We had a great day at Walter Peak High Country Farm with the Gourmet BBQ Dining experience aboard the TSS Earnslaw. The whole experience was very well organised, the food was beautiful with plenty of variety, and the farm tour was enjoyable and entertaining. The only downside was that it was quite difficult to find seating on the steamship during the trip.
Lovely Day!
Mama2AnE,May 18, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00Comfortable boat. Friendly crew. Clean windows (so important when visualizing the beautiful sights!). Lunch was *amazing*. Incredible spread (bring your appetite!). Service and amenities great. Farm show was sheep shearing/herding demo. Nicely done. I was sad to not see the highland cows as pictured in the ads for this tour. Overall, a lovely day of beauty and deliciousness!!!
Perfect Sunday cruise and lunch
dac d,May 17, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00What a beautiful experience to cruise through stunning nature on a steam boat with a pianist to add musical background to a dreamy Sunday sail for a delicious lunch, attentive staff in a magical location. Excellent value for money and a truly breathtaking experience which we’ll never forget. Highly recommend to others. Definitely a 5* experience for us.
BBQ Lunch worth it!
Annapa M,May 13, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00My second time with this cruise. BBQ Lunch worth it! Had a pleasant time on the cruise. Enjoyed the Sheep Shearing show.
Horrendous customer service: A very expensive mistake!
georgialE1814YK,May 10, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
1.00A very unfortunate experience all-round. Please reconsider booking this experience if you are at all, human. My poor mother had booked this very dear ($840) experience for us to spend time together as a family. Our booking was set for 1:00pm . Having only been in Queenstown for a day, we hadn’t realised that the parking situation can pose as quite the challenge (this wasn’t communicated to us initially, however seemed to be delivered to us as common knowledge by customer service after the fact). As we hastily made our way down the path to our cruise, we recieved a phone call asking us where we were. Assuring the crew member that we were only two minutes away, her only (and very blunt response) was “run”. When we arrived, we waved the cruiseship goodbye (1:02 pm). Whilst we understand that the company needs to keep to strict timing, we couldn’t quite comprehend the way in which this company dealt with our situation. I couldn’t quite understand: 1. Why we were called and given the false sense of hope that they would wait for us. After the fact, this was labelled as a “courtesy call” by the customer service rep … they may need to consider looking up the definition of “courtesy”. 2. Why the customer service at the counter were so unbelievably cold, rude and dismissive. We just lost $840.00 and this person conducted himself with no sensitivity, no empathy and a bold sense of entitlement. 3. Why this company was SO rigid and inflexible about negotiating any sort of a compromise i.e. we were happy to pay some sort of fee to re-book this experience as it was my mother’s absolute dream to experience this cruise. We were met with a strange offer to visit the farm instead?! Otherwise, our alternative was to pay another $840 or wave the entire experience goodbye. Unfortunately, trip advisor tried to do everything they could to help us, however, this company were MORE than happy to keep our money, leaving me with the sense that this wasn’t their first rodeo. No remorse, no sympathy, no desire for repeat business. If you, your friends or your family believe that occasionally, human things may happen to you, then I urge you to consider looking elsewhere. The risk of losing close to a grand with absolutely no empathy from this company hardly seems worth it and there are so many other cruises to choose from. We ended up going on a “Million Dollar Cruise” after and it was absolutely brilliant. I urge this company to overhaul their customer service team/strategy before it sinks them.
Trip on TSS Earnslaw
michelledV6564EZ,May 7, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00The boat was a pleasure. Not enough seating for everyone- space had to be shared with strangers. Short ride to the farm for food and a brief farm show.
Highly recommended@
Reid M,May 5, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00The Steam engine viewing was great. I was disappointed I couldn't talk with the engineers! Too bad, huh?
Fantastic day all round at Queenstown
Robert I,May 4, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Beautiful day boat ride was awesome music was great staff was great and the day at the restaurant was amazing topped off by a great dinner and shearing show recommend 5 stars
Excellent experience. The...
Jay H,May 4, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Excellent experience. The team lat Walter Peak are well organised, friendly and helpful. Were able to accommodate dietary requirements without a fuss.
Terrible customer service
Sean F,May 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
1.00Unfortunately are experience was abysmal. We arrived two minutes late from boarding time which is on us. However the customer service post this was terrible. No wiggle room to rebook or refund. Not even a partial refund or a fee to rebook through them. They called us 3 minutes before the booking telling us to run down the street. Which we did. Great look for all passengers on board. Although we were late. This was a terrible reaction after saving weeks to take the family on. I wish Walter peak came to the table more. I recommend some better training on customer service. If you’re considering it, don’t bother, pick one of the other companies, they’re much better to deal with.
From NZ$169.00
Want a private experience? Upgrade to a private tour
Related Experiences
Operated by RealNZ