The four main variants compared
| |
Cruise only |
Farm tour |
Gourmet BBQ |
Horse trek |
| Duration |
1.5 h return — no shore stop |
3.5 h incl. both crossings |
3.5 h incl. both crossings |
3.5 h, with 40–45 min in the saddle |
| Food |
None included |
Afternoon tea — a light stop, not a meal |
BBQ at the Colonel’s Homestead, as lunch or dinner |
None included |
| Animals |
No — you stay on the ship |
The most: sheepdog demo, shearing (weather permitting), feeding |
Some at lunch — the dinner departure sees little of the farm |
The station from the saddle, rather than hands-on feeding |
| Family fit |
Fine for all ages; 1.5 h can feel long for small children |
The family pick — the animal programme is what children come for |
Lunch works well for families; dinner is more of an adult evening |
From age 7, minimum 120 cm, maximum 95 kg — firm limits |
| Best for |
Ship lovers, tight schedules |
Families, first-time visitors |
Food-first travellers, groups of adults |
Active travellers who would rather ride than watch |
The current per-person rates are on the cards above and in the booking table below. One experience is missing from this matrix: the Garden to Table lunch (tree planting + garden lunch, 3.5 h) — it is bookable and listed below, but with only a handful of reviews so far, we do not push it as a first pick.
First, the boat — the detail most people miss
!
Booking “Walter Peak” does not automatically put you on the steamship.
Crossings run on two boats: the catamaran Spirit of Queenstown and the vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw. If riding the coal-fired steamer is part of why you are booking, choose a TSS Earnslaw departure deliberately — the difference is easy to overlook in the checkout. And mark the maintenance window: from 18 May to 27 June 2026 the TSS Earnslaw is in its annual survey and every crossing runs on the catamaran. The farm tour, BBQ and horse trek continue as normal in that window; only the ship changes. Outside the window, both boats operate — so the ship question matters year-round, not just in maintenance season.
The variants, one by one
Cruise only — the steamship as the destination
The 1.5-hour return cruise is for people who want the TSS Earnslaw itself: the engine room is open to view, there is a small museum on board, and the crossing of Lake Whakatipu is the programme. You do not go ashore at Walter Peak. A note from the reviews: one traveller who took only the round trip found the ticket expensive. If you were curious about the farm anyway, the half-day variants include the same crossing — the cruise-only ticket earns its place when the ship is the point and your schedule is tight. During the 2026 maintenance window this departure runs on the catamaran, which removes its main reason to exist — if the steamship is why you are booking, avoid 18 May to 27 June.
Farm tour — the classic, best with children
The farm tour adds the shore programme: a sheepdog demonstration, sheep shearing when the weather allows, feeding the animals, and afternoon tea before the boat back. One reviewer travelling with children sums it up as a great day out for the kids — close-up animal contact is exactly what the programme is built around. The same fact reads differently for some adults without children, who describe the visit as small-scale and petting-zoo-like. Both impressions are accurate; they are the same programme seen from different expectations. And plan your meals around it: the afternoon tea is a light refreshment stop, not a lunch substitute.
Gourmet BBQ — the meal at the homestead
The BBQ variant swaps the farm programme's depth for a proper meal: a barbecue prepared at the Colonel's Homestead, the lakeside farmhouse, bookable as a lunch or a dinner departure. The choice that matters is the time slot. The lunch departure still gives you daylight and some of the farm; the dinner departure is built around the meal and sees little of the farm and its animals — one reviewer on a 5pm sailing found it dark soon after arrival, with little chance to explore. Families who want animals with their meal should book lunch; the dinner slot suits travellers treating it as an evening out on the lake.
Horse trek — the station from the saddle
The horse trek is the active variant: after the crossing you ride 40 to 45 minutes through the high-country station, in groups of at most 6 riders per guide. No riding experience is needed — the trek is paced for beginners. The limits are firm, though: minimum age 7 years, minimum height 120 cm, maximum weight 95 kg, and they apply to every rider in the group. If you mainly want animals without the saddle time, the farm tour covers that.
Garden to Table — small and quiet
The fifth option is the Garden to Table experience: cruise across, plant a tree on the station grounds, and sit down to a lunch built around the homestead garden. It has only a small number of reviews so far — nothing in them suggests a problem, but the rating rests on a thin base, and we treat it accordingly: listed and bookable below, not pushed as a first pick.
Two practical notes for every variant
Weather can reshape the day. The experiences are weather-dependent; when conditions force a cancellation, the operator rebooks or refunds, and individual programme parts — sheep shearing above all — only run when the weather allows. The binding policy for your departure is the one at checkout. And arrive unencumbered: the boats are cashless, and there is no parking at the wharf — walk from central Queenstown or get dropped off at 88 Beach Street.
★
In short
Book the cruise only if the steamship is the point and your time is short — outside the May/June maintenance window. Book the farm tour if you are travelling with children or want the classic first visit. Book the gourmet BBQ if the meal is the day — as lunch if you also want the farm, as dinner if you want an evening on the lake. Book the horse trek if you would rather ride the station than tour it, and your group clears the rider limits. Whichever you pick: check which boat your departure runs on.
