

Lester Perry sniffs out some sweet trails in sleepy Pirongia.

Trevor and Cat Worsey navigate the spectacular Moerangi Track with their 4-year-old in tow.

Will Keay discovers trail gold among the mining relics of the Denniston Plateau.

In the late 1980s Queenstown was a sleepy little town with a couple thousand residents. However, the early 90s saw the arrival of Generation X, and their propensity for adrenaline and thrill-seeking changed the face of the town. Skiing, snowboarding, bungy jumping, paragliding, whitewater rafting and mountaineering were perfect fits for the picturesque lake town on the edge of the Southern Alps, and action sports enthusiasts swarmed there to get extreme and hang with like-minded peers.