Queenstown, New Zealand, adrenaline capital of the world, has a bit of bad rap in the travel blog community. The cool thing to say seems to be “Queenstown is worth a day or two, just to see what it’s all about, but then you should go to Wanaka, because it’s so much less touristy and way more chilled out.”

I have been in Queenstown for three weeks now, and here’s my take: there’s a lot more to this place than people think.

First off, everything bad that people say about Queenstown is generally true. It is teeming with tourists (but sorry, so is Wanaka and basically the entire rest of New Zealand in February). And everyone who lives here does seem to be from somewhere else, either from elsewhere in New Zealand or Germany or England or the States. And it is wicked, wicked expensive. And it does seem a bit like a bizarre playground for people who like dangling off cliffs by their toes.

All of this is true, but here’s the other side:

Queenstown is unbelievably, ruggedly beautiful. The Remarkables hang over the town like a craggy, two-dimensional backdrop. The water of Lake Wakatipu is a milky turquoise, set off perfectly by the golden tussocks lining the far banks. Wanaka, of course, is pretty too, but the contrasts are less raw and less striking.

Queenstown is full of brilliant people who have figured out how to market the idea of experience. Where else in the world would you spend $200 for an eight-second free fall? Queenstown is about doing things, not buying things or looking at things. You won’t catch me bungee jumping anytime soon, but I admire that spirit–the idea that if you’re going to spend money on something, it should be on experience and memories and not on stuff. And frankly, you just have love the people who have figured out how to make a living by pitching people out of airplanes. I mean, seriously…

People are here because they want to be here. Usually because they want to be mountain biking or paragliding or something else outdoorsy and badass. Even among the Kiwis in Queenstown, most are transplants from somewhere else. Nobody is in Queenstown just because they grew up here or because they feel like they have to be here or because they got a job here. And while this might seem unsettling and weird, as a fellow transplant and wanderer, I kind of like it.

You don’t have to spend gagillions of dollars here. You can, if you want, but you don’t have to. You don’t have to go bungee jumping or jetboating or drop wads on beer every night. You don’t have to spend all your time with other tourists. There are mountains and lakes and rivers and warm, sunny days.

One of the favorite blogger critiques of Queenstown is that it “doesn’t feel like a real place.” To which I say, maybe you weren’t trying hard enough. Yes, Queenstown has a ritzy, touristy outer shell that can be difficult to penetrate, especially if you’re stuck in the downtown hostel scene. But it is also a fantastic place to be if you want to spend time outside, whether you’re hiking or mountain biking or, fine, jumping out of airplanes. And there is a community of people who live here for the mountains and not for the bar scene. You just have to find them.

What do you think? Have you been to Queenstown or Wanaka? Share your thoughts below!