TSS Earnslaw

The Earnslaw was launched in 1912, the same year as the Titanic, built in Dunedin, dismantled, railed to Kingston and reassembled on the lake. She worked as a cargo and passenger vessel for the high-country stations around Wakatipu when there was no road, carrying sheep, cattle and mail, and she is still coal-fired - two stokers shovel about a tonne of coal an hour by hand, and the engine room is open so you can stand and watch them and the twin steam engines working. That is the reason to take this rather than a modern boat. The standard trip crosses to Walter Peak High Country Farm, where there is a sheepdog and shearing demonstration and a meal option, and returns. There is a piano in the saloon and singalongs happen. She is over a century old and does go out of service for survey and repair.

What you actually see

• The engine room - open, with stokers shovelling coal by hand.
• The 1912 vessel - still working, still coal-fired.
• Lake Wakatipu - the crossing under the Remarkables.
• Walter Peak - the high-country station on the far shore.

When to go

Any season - she runs year-round, and winter crossings under snow are striking. Book ahead in summer. Check she is in service; annual survey takes her off the lake.

Honest expectations

A slow crossing - this is not a scenic speed boat. The farm visit adds two hours and cost. Coal smoke blows across the deck. Sailings can cancel in high wind on the lake.

Nearby

Queenstown town centre is at the wharf; the gondola is a short walk.