I visited the adventure capital of the world in New Zealand. I left with an adrenaline rush but also discovered there's more to the city than its thrills.

The ways to experience thrill in Queenstown, New Zealand, are likely to feel limitless.

Adventurers travel here from around to world to do everything from heliskiing to sky diving to bungee jumping to white-water rafting to hang gliding.

This lengthy list of adrenaline-inducing activities has earned the city the title of the adventure capital of the world, outlets like National Geographic and Conde Nasté Traveler have reported.

So when I landed in Queenstown in June, I knew to expect exhilarating activities, but I didn't expect the city to also have a rich food and wine scene or terrifying highways. Take a look at a handful of the surprises I encountered on my first visit to Queenstown.

While I knew to expect adventure in Queenstown, I didn't think I'd see it before I even landed.

As our plane touched down in Queenstown, I could spot skydivers in the distance with their colorful parachutes whipping against the wind. In another direction, visible through my plane window, tiny skiers zoomed down a mountain's zigzagging slopes.

Landing in Queenstown made me realize just how much adventure fills the city. According to a Queenstown visitor survey, 32% of visitors arrive in Queenstown hoping to experience adventure, challenge, or excitement, and another 32% visit with a specific activity planned. This includes skiing, riding Queenstown's gondola, snowboarding, bungee jumping, and luging.

If I could already spot a handful of activities from the airport, I wondered what else I would discover as I explored the city more.

As well known as Queenstown is for adventure, it's also known as the backdrop for scenic shots in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. With the movie in mind, I knew to expect breathtaking landscapes.

Again, I spotted Queenstown's beauty before I landed in the city. As I peered out my airplane window, I remember thinking that I'd never flown so close to mountains — the views didn't compare to other mountainous plane rides I'd taken in Colorado or Banff, Canada.

Once I landed, the mountains only seemed more impressive. The mountain range, called The Remarkables, aptly earned its name when European explorer Alexander Garvie saw the jagged, soaring range in 1853, according to Queenstown's visitor page.

Standing in the heart of Queenstown, the views continue. The city's downtown sits on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, a 112-square-mile lake that was formed when a glacier pushed through the land, Queenstown's visitor page reports.

A few miles out of the bustling center, as I explored, I encountered icy river streams, fields of sheep, and lakes large enough they felt like oceans to me.

Queenstown's photogenic quality has also made it a go-to filming location for movies and TV shows beyond "The Lord of the Rings." "Mission: Impossible - Fallout," "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" were all partially shot near Queenstown, according to the visitor page for Queenstown.

As I explored Queenstown, I began spotting elements that reminded me of my home state of Colorado. This felt especially surprising given that I was on the other side of the world, and also because I had just traveled from Auckland, New Zealand, where I didn't see such similarities.

First, I noticed a long line of skiers waiting for a shuttle to the slopes. This felt like a familiar sight I've seen in many Colorado mountain towns.

A row of high-end stores in Queenstown also sparked memories from a visit to Aspen, Colorado, where name brands are scattered everywhere in the mountain town.

Later during my trip, I spoke with a few seasonal workers, who were spending their winters working on the mountains and in resorts. Our conversations mirrored talks I've had with seasonal workers across Colorado — tracking down short-term jobs, hunting for housing, and skiing every day.

During my trip, I often felt like I was in a more adrenaline-inspired version of Colorado. I have yet to visit a Colorado town where bungee jumping and sky diving are advertised everywhere like they were in Queenstown.

Before I arrived in Queenstown, I already had a list of things I wanted to do. Bungee jumping and a scenic flight were on my list, but I was quickly overwhelmed as more and more people I met along the way shared adventures I didn't even realize I could do in Queenstown.

The woman next to me on the plane gushed about skydiving. A couple at a bar in Auckland, New Zealand, recommended the Shotover Jet, which is a speedboat ride through a canyon.

Any time I mentioned I lived in Colorado, people would urge me to look into heliskiing, which is where you jump out of a helicopter and ski down a mountain slope.

The recommendations continued once I arrived. I didn't realize Queenstown had paragliding and was envious when I spoke to a couple in town who booked that adventure.

I knew to expect adventure in Queenstown but I didn't realize how many options I'd have for an adrenaline rush.

While I initially thought you had to love thrill to enjoy Queenstown, I quickly learned that isn't the case.

From scenic flights to dinner cruises, you don't have to be a skier, hiker, or adventurer to find things to do in Queenstown.

The city has plenty of activities for someone looking to avoid signing a liability waiver. I saw romantic dinner cruises on Lake Wakatipu depart each evening, and noticed that the town has a handful of art galleries like the Romer Gallery and the Silver Fern Gallery, and hotels like Kamana Lakehouse and Hotel St Moritz offer luxe spas.

The surrounding area of Queenstown also offers more ways to fill a day.

Arrowtown, for instance, is a 20-minute drive and a place where visitors can learn about the region's gold mining history. There, visitors can discover quaint cafes and the Arrowtown Chinese Settlement, a ghost town from the gold-rush era.

I felt like every mention of Queenstown came with a reference to Fergburger, a fast-casual burger joint home to the city.

Fergburger is known for attracting celebrities like Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran, according to Escape. It's also known for its massive patties, and in 2015, CNN gave it the title of the best burger in the world. During the peak tourist season, the line outside Fergburger can stretch around the block and I was warned by New Zealanders to carve out at least 40 minutes to wait in line.

As locals mentioned long lines to me, they often shared that they thought burgers were overrated.

I popped over to the shop on a rainy afternoon. The weather had discouraged most people from waiting outside and there wasn't a long line.

I ordered a tofu burger and fries. The warm meal was just what I needed after exploring rainy and cold Queenstown. The bun was fluffy, the tofu was crispy, and the sauces rounded out the flavor of the sandwich. Crispy fries were the cherry on top of the meal.

My conclusion could have been different if I had waited an hour, but I loved every bite of my Fergburger.

When I chatted with someone working at a car rental office, I thought he put it best when he said, "it's a touristy thing, but at the same time, there's nothing like a Fergburger."

When I landed in Queenstown and picked up a rental car, I felt confident about driving after navigating the narrow, winding roads on Waiheke Island in the North Island of New Zealand.

My confidence vanished when the rental car worker warned me to be careful on the drive to Glenorchy. The town, about 30 miles from Queenstown, was where I was spending the night. As I stopped at a restaurant and vineyard on the way up, the general manager also cautioned me about my drive and the potential for black ice.

While the Glenorchy-Queenstown road is one of New Zealand's most stunning highways, the curving, tight road can be coated in ice in the winter, according to HiChee, which is when I visited.

I successfully navigated to and from Glenorchy only to learn I had another intense winter drive the next day to Lake Hawea via Crown Ridge Road, another black ice hot zone, according to Dangerous Roads. As I drove between piles of snow on Crown Ridge Road's shoulders, I spotted a glassy top coating the road — what I could only assume was ice.

I wasn't prepared for how intense the driving near Queenstown would be. Luckily, I made it through safely and thought the roads were also some of the most picturesque I've traveled on.

New Zealand itself is an expensive country to visit, according to The Travel. Champion Traveler reports that the average cost for a seven-day trip to Queenstown is $2,786.

I thought food and accommodations were sometimes pricey in Queenstown. For example, I spent a night in the city's Kamana Lakehouse, a four-star hotel that cost me $195 a night. My meal at Fergburger was $12.50 while I spent $40 on dining at Nest Kitchen, Kamana Lakehouse's restaurant.

But what really impacted my budget were activities.

A bungee jump and swing ride cost nearly $300 together while other thrilling experiences like skydiving can cost even more. A day of heliskiing with Harris Mountains Heli-Ski in Queenstown, for instance, starts at $670.

I was surprised at how quickly these activities added up and affected my budget, and three nights in Queenstown for lodging, meals, and activities quickly cost me about $1,600.

I didn't expect to get a similar amount of joy from Queenstown's food scene as I did from bungee jumping and boat riding. But I did.

As quickly as New Zealanders recommended adventurous activities, they also shared their favorite restaurants.

Queenstown is home to Amisfield, which won New Zealand's best restaurant of the year for 2022 in the Cuisine Good Food Awards. Others praised places like Blue Kanu, a restaurant serving Polynesian and Asian fusion dishes and Nest Kitchen, a restaurant in the Kamana Lakehouse that serves contemporary New Zealand cuisine. The region's fresh produce has enticed chefs like Michelin-starred Josh Emett and award-winning chef Vaughan Mabee to open restaurants and work in the city.

I also indulged in more casual but still impressive restaurants like Fergburger and I Love Kimchi, a Korean restaurant in downtown Queenstown.

When it was time to leave Queenstown, I was surprised to feel such a rush from both the city's adrenaline and its food.

I arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, without realizing it was home to people with a passion for wine. Initially, I thought the country's wine region was concentrated in New Zealand's north island.

So when I landed in Queenstown on the south island, I was shocked to find that I was visiting another popular wine destination.

Just 40 minutes outside of Queenstown in the Central Otago region, visitors come across what feels like never-ending rows of vineyards. According to Queenstown's official website, there are about 200 wineries an hour from Queenstown.

Kathryn Pettit, the general manager of Akarua, a vineyard and kitchen in the region, told Insider that Central Otago is the world's southernmost wine region and is famous for its pinot noir.

As someone who almost always opts for cabernet sauvignon, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed Akarua's 25 Steps Pinot Noir 2019. I thought that the light red wine had hints of fruits from the region, and after learning about the region's pinot noir popularity, I started spotting multiple local pinot noirs listed at restaurants in town.

Between the scenic beauty, food, and adrenaline, Queenstown exceeded all my expectations.

While it might be an expensive place to visit, the breathtaking scenery, giant burgers, and new activities left me surprised and thrilled to return.