Walter Peak High Country Farm is a 68,000-hectare working sheep and cattle station on the opposite side of Lake Wakatipu from Queenstown — reached by the TSS Earnslaw steamship and functioning both as a commercial farm and as one of New Zealand's most theatrical farm-tourism operations. The Walter Peak Farm Show (included in the Earnslaw cruise packages) demonstrates sheep mustering with working dogs, sheep shearing by a real shearer, and a tractor-drawn tour of the homestead paddocks.
The Colonel's Homestead restaurant on site serves lunch and dinner buffets that are some of the best food on the lake, using lamb, venison, and beef from the farm itself. The property backs onto the Ailsa Mountains and includes over 50 peaks of 2,000+ metres — the scale is difficult to grasp from the visitor area but gives a genuine sense of the high-country sheep-farming industry that built New Zealand's pastoral economy. Bookings combine with the Earnslaw cruise as a single package.
Verified Facts
Walter Peak Farm covers 68,000 hectares
It is reached by the TSS Earnslaw steamship
The Colonel's Homestead serves farm-sourced lunches and dinners
The farm show includes sheep mustering, shearing, and tractor rides
Get walking directions
Queenstown, New Zealand
