Glenorchy Red Shed, New Zealand with My Fujifilm (Part 1)

Location: Glenorchy Red Shed, Queenstown New Zealand (South Island). 

Taken with Fujifilm XT-50 and Fujinon XF 23mm f2 lens; Edited in Lightroom. Photos taken in last week August 2026.

Hi everyone! I've just come back from a wonderful stay in the South Island in New Zealand. My first time to the south island was back in 2016 when I used to snowboard. This time though, I spent 8 days there, attending a dear friend's wedding at QT Hotel. However for our stay we booked Crowne Plaza Hotel in Queenstown, a few minutes walk from the wedding and (slightly) closer to the shops - only 5 minutes walk from the famous Fergburger and Ferg Bakery. To get our food fix, of course.

I decided to attend a half day Lord Of The Rings tour booked via Viator because I am a huge fan of the movies and the books. I missed out on booking the LOTR tour via horseback because I did not realised its so popular - it was booked out for the next four months!

But luckily I found this more weather-friendly option. At 8am, we departed from Marmolada Cafe, Queenstown and Dan, our tour guide packed us into a mini-bus to drive to multiple LOTR movie location sites. Halfway through we drove along Lake Wakatipu to the most photographed shed in New Zealand - The Glenorchy Red Shed, also known as the Steamboat Depot. This town is only a 45 minute drive from Queenstown. Inside the shed, Dan set up a cute mini picnic with tea and coffee, lamingtons and cookies.

We drove through the quaint and charming town of Glenorchy before settling at the pier where we see this bright red shed against the beautiful backdrop. Dan mentioned that the shed has been burnt down and washed away by flood many times but the town has lovingly rebuilt and repaired it many times over the years. 

When we got out of the mini-bus, I was in awe. The landscapes are like no other. As we were in the last week of Winter here, the mountains still had beautiful snow peaks and you best believe I brought my camera out. This trip I challenged myself to photograph in narrow/small aperture shooting in large f numbers such as f8 to f11. I wanted to capture the whole view and keep everything in sharp focus. This of course restricted the light so I lowered my shutter speed and cranked up the ISO. Luckily most of my subjects didn't move so I wasn't worried about motion blur.

Equipment: Fujifilm XT-50 and Fujinon XF 23mm f2 lens

Camera Settings - Shutter: 1/125; Aperture: F11; ISO 400-800

Fujifilm Recipe: Reggie's Porta; also edited in Lightroom

Such a beautiful location, honestly. I have photos of the surrounding pier, mountains and trees which I will post in a Part 2, this post will focus on this iconic landmark. I can see why it is such an icon. It is beautiful in Winter. I wore all my thermals, beanie, converse shoes and puffer jackets. And I felt the weather here is quite unpredictable. It was predicted to rain all day, but it only drizzled for a few minutes before the clouds parted to reveal beautiful sunshine and a rainbow. So pack an umbrella and a waterproof jacket.

Map of the Red Shed:

Location: Glenorchy Red Shed, Queenstown New Zealand (South Island). 

Taken with Fujifilm XT-50 and Fujinon XF 23mm f2 lens; Edited in Lightroom. Photos taken in last week August 2026.

We spent about half hour here before moving onto the next location. We went to in total 5 to 6 pit stops and got back to Queenstown by around 12pm. One of them was the local General Store (Mrs Woolly's) so we could go bathroom but also browse the souvenirs. Well you can guess here I got this cute wood ornament that came flat packed so I built it at home. It's a tiny replica of the Red Shed. So cute and now it sits on my bookshelf. I would highly recommend the tour even if you are not a LOTR fan because you get to discover unique sites just like this.

Good To Know: Red Shed Glenorchy

Booked the half day LOTR mini-bus tour via Viator; Morning and Afternoon sessions available.

Time from Queenstown by car to Glenorchy: 45mins

Free parking available via the carpark

Surrounding: Pier that overlooks the lake

It can get muddy when it rains so pack suitable shoes

Souvenir bought at Mrs Woolly's General Store in Glenorchy (bathroom and cafe also available)

Photos taken in last week August 2026 (end of Winter in NZ)  ❤︎ Natalie