Sidekick is a New Zealand honey soda, family owned and run from Wānaka. Queenstown is the trip: the airport most people fly into, the lake, the walk. Kiwis on a long weekend, Aussies over for the lakes, anyone who landed here. The can is what you want in the fridge when you get home.
This is not a “best of Queenstown” list. It is a weekend: the airport fridge, one walk, the lake, a can that is not another beer.
Fly in
Airspresso stocks Sidekick in Queenstown Airport domestic departures — Sir Henry Wigley Drive, Frankton. Clear security, then look with the drinks. Open seven days.
Kiwis flying a Sunday night domestic, and anyone else clearing that lounge, use the same fridge. Aussies on the trip drink it in town too. The can before the flight is the same drink as the lake — and the one you look for at home.
Sidekick is not from Queenstown. It is from Wānaka. The airport is how a lot of people meet it.
A walk that fits the day
Best views in Queenstown is the track note. Short version:
Queenstown Hill if you have two to three hours. Town walk. The Basket of Dreams, then the summit.
Ben Lomond if you have a full day and alpine weather. Six to eight hours from Brecon Street. Water. Private land beyond the saddle. Check DOC.
The lakefront if you do not want a climb. Marine Parade, Queenstown Bay, the Frankton Track.
Soda is not hydration. How to pack a trail can: water on the hill, can after, pack the empty out.
Town, the pools, the lake
Named stockists sit on Where to drink Sidekick in Queenstown: Airspresso, Onsen Hot Pools at Arthurs Point, Remarkables Market on Saturdays, The Bathhouse on the lakefront. Fridges move. Ask staff.
Saturday is the market. Sunday is still Airspresso, Onsen, and The Bathhouse.
Cherry after the hill. Pear on the deck. Core four: Cherry, Mango, Pear, Strawberry. No cane sugar. No stevia. No erythritol.
If the rental has a kitchen
A 12-pack in the fridge is the other half of a Queenstown weekend — especially if half the house is not drinking. Shop or Fridge Fill to an address that takes parcels. Or buy in town when you land.
If you want a cocktail or a mocktail in a glass, that is Recipes. Those pages are for mixing. They are not a Queenstown itinerary.
A day in Wānaka
Hometown is over the Crown Range. About an hour in good weather. Ice and snow add time. A weekend in Wānaka if you are staying the night; Where to drink Sidekick in Wānaka if you are over for the day.
Milford is a long day from here. Buy in Queenstown before you leave. Honey soda for a South Island trip is that packing map — not a fridge at the Sound.
