By car only, and that is literal · Queenstown, Otago & Fiordland
Deer Park Heights, the farm you drive up into
A working deer farm 550 metres above Queenstown, with animals you feed from the car, Lord of the Rings filming locations and alpine tarns at the top. You pay per car rather than per person, and there is no other way in.
What it is
A working deer farm on Peninsula Road, Kelvin Heights, 550 metres above town. It opened in 1966. You drive up its private road with views over the whole Whakatipu basin, stop wherever you like, and at the top there are marked walkways, alpine tarns and room to picnic. The animals come to the car and you can feed them. Lord of the Rings scenes were filmed here too.
By car only, and this is worth reading twice
Entry is in your own vehicle, up to eight seats including children. No walking in, no bikes, no pets, no buses, no taxis or Ubers, and tours are expressly forbidden. Watch one easy confusion: Orbus route 3 does reach the Kelvin Heights suburb, but that is no help here, because you cannot continue on foot from the gate.
The price is per car
NZ$75 per vehicle, not per person. That is what makes it different from almost everything else in Queenstown: for a family of four it works out under twenty each, and for one person it is expensive. You book online with your number plate, and the gate opens by itself when it reads it, both going in and coming out.
The small print that bites
The ticket covers ONE entry and one exit: leave and you cannot come back without booking again. Stay past closing and they charge NZ$100 automatically, because the gate gets locked. Bring a NZ$2 coin for the sheep pellet dispensers, and set off with enough fuel: there is none up there.
The hours move with the season
June to September, which is now, it opens 8am to 6pm. In spring, October and November, it runs to 8pm, and in summer from 7am to 9pm. Check the closing time when you book, because the fine above hangs off it.
Before you leave the house, check it is open
Their site carries a road status light: open, on hold or closed. It is not decorative: it closes for snow, and that changes overnight at this time of year. This is the kind of place where the only check that counts is the one you do that morning.