Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Quickie in Queenstown (3 hrs to be more precise)...

I will be flying around NZ on 29 May as part of my last hurrah to QFNZ before it departs in favour of JQNZ. Part of that will involve a flight to ZQN and a 3 hour layover.

Now short of staying in ZQN terminal for 3 hours, I was thinking of getting out and seeing some of the town or sorts. Now I also know that leaving a mere 3 hours just to see bits of ZQN is a travesty :o, but that crime aside, does anyone have any recommendations of perhaps where to go, what to see or where to eat during my 3 hours?

A few guiding pointers:
The gondola and other attractions associated with it are closed whilst I'm there :( so scrub that option
I'd prefer not to drive (would rather public transport), but that's not to say I'd completely scrap the option (I am an automatic transmission only driver, however, which does make car hire slightly, slightly more expensive)
Prefer something that I wouldn't have to prebook, just in case the ZQN flights go a bit awry and I'm forced to make drastic changes/arrangements (I need to be in AKL 30 May 0700h - not negotiable. Yes, I can hear the howls of you that say I'm walking the proverbial tightrope anyway due to my even thinking of flying in and out of ZQN on the same day near the winter season.....)
Outgoing flight is on QF, so no access to Koru Club.

I was going to suggest Gondola. Other option is head into Arrowtown or Queenstown and just wander around the town centre. If you strike it lucky with the connectabus then take that to whichever of the two it is heading to, otherwise cab. IIRC the connectabus is not that frequent.

Note you will use up close to an hour just going to & from either place (plus waiting time for bus or cab), so not a lot of time to look around/do stuff.

If the weather is inclement then stay in the airport, grab a coffee at the cafe and ponder your odds of flying (will QF operate ZQN-CHC today or not?).

Such a shame the gondola isn't running whilst you are there. So much great stuff to do up there and the view, simply breathtaking.

As Kiwi Flyer has suggested, jump on a bus and head into the town centre is your next best bet.

A distinctive "say I've done it" thing to do in 3 hours in Queenstown is have a burger at Fergburger (http://www.fergburger.com/). They really are delicious and the scene is painfully hip.

David

I'd second the Fergburger. Definitely one of the better burger joints and something that Queenstown is famous for. Grab a burger and go for a wander down the mall, and into the Queenstown Gardens or walk near the lake.

Arrowtown is also a good suggestion, albeit in the other direction on the bus.

The connectabus service is somewhat irregular, and you could end up waiting up to 30 mins, so budget accordingly. You might want to consider taking a cab if there's no-one else there waiting or if you're tight on time.