Unforgettable Skippers Canyon

Queenstown Heritage Tours Skippers Canyon Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:52:00 +0000

Which Skippers Canyon tour is for you? The 'unforgettable' gives you 1 hour more in Skippers, but the 'vista' is cheaper.

Let me explain the differences a little bit in more details:

Our unforgettable Skippers Canyon tour takes you for 4 hours into Skippers. We offer several photo stops, short walks and we cross Skippers Bridge during this time. We visit Skippers Point where you can visit the restored Schoolhouse as well as the Homestead, while we prepare the outdoor picnic. You can enjoy some home-made cheese served on crackers, sweet biscuits with some coffee, tea or a glass of Queenstown local wine.

Our Skippers Canyon Vista tour takes you for 3 hours into the canyon. You will have plenty of time to take pictures, enjoy Skippers Road while walking short distances and get familiar with Skippers' gold rush heritage. We will turn around at Skippers Bridge and head back to Queenstown.

On both our Skippers Canyon tours, we travel on historic Skippers Road which is now protected by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. This one-way mountain road offers a true kiwi experience and adds to the excitement of both tours.

Would you like to have more information? Find them here on our official website pages:

Unforgettable Skippers Canyon
Skippers Canyon Vista

If you require any further information which is not explained on any of our pages, please don't hesitate to contact us immediately.

2012 Resolution, Carbon Neutral and Skippers Canyon

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 02:27:00 +0000

Are you still looking for a 2012 New Year's Resolution that fits you and is in fact achievable? Well: have you ever thought about making your next holiday a 'Carbon Neutral' one? Yes? Wonderful! Maybe I could share my thoughts with you...

First, you should know that my company's operation is carbon neutral. We offset our yearly CO2 emissions that we can not omit by donating funds to our business partner Carbonfund.org. And here is how we do it:

For every tour that we perform during our season - which starts on September 1st and goes naturally until August 31th every year. We calculate how many kilometers we did, estimate how much rubbish we through away - you know, roughly; most of our rubbish, like tea bags and leftover biscuits or cheese are either put into our compost or we recycle the empty bottles and paper or cardboard. Everything else is put into the rubbish. Furthermore, we clean those used coffee mugs and wine glasses by washing them by the 'economical' dishwasher program. The dishwashers nowadays are truly set up to use only so much water that is in fact required. As a logical consequence, we note how much water we use every season for the dishwasher and for cleaning the minibuses after every tour.

As mentioned, we work together with our business partner Carbonfund.org. We use their online calculator to find out how much CO2 we created. Or course, they offer several possibilities to offset the damage done. Have a look!

And then of course there is always the discussion about why we should offset the damage done AFTER we did it. It would be more efficient to omit doing anything that could cause damage to our planet in the first place. True! My entire team does not deny this. The only question for us remains that if we were to quit doing those things that do create CO2 emissions, then we would... stop doing what we do entirely. And to be honest with you... this is not what we want.

Having this point in mind, we choose to offset our created CO2 emissions every year and to be honest again, it does not cost a fortune. All it takes is a little bit of administrative work and our commitment to keep doing it.

And you know, there will be always someone who argues that all this discussion about CO2 emissions and the damage to the earth's ozone layer is not worth having. "It was always like this - the earth gets warmer and colder - that's a natural change'... Maybe... Who knows this for sure? All I know is that current facts show that our planet is getting warmer and that growing trees can offset this occurrence - at least a little.

I am happy though that I don't have to convince you about doing something about our environment, right? I say, if only every person would do a tiny little thing, we might change something for the better - don't you think?

Gold in Skippers Canyon: Star Dust or Santa was in Queenstown

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:09:00 +0000

Have you already heard of the theory that gold is an alien substance? No? Just recently, we got confirmation from one of our clients that gold originally did not exist on our planet but was brought to us by... Santa :-)

Well seriously: our client was a well travelled and obviously well educated gentleman. His suggestion was that gold was formed through a supernova and therefore was brought to our planet long before we humans even walked on earth. Is this theory true?

An intriguing question, don't you think? We already heard some theories that this actually might be true, so we did a little bit of research and found in a nut shell the following:

It is still not quite clear how exactly gold was or is created. Some suggest that

MHD Jets
Quark—Nova
Neutron Star Mergers
Collapsar
Supernova itself

COULD be the origin of our gold we find on our planet. Interesting. But what does this all mean? We found some understandable descriptions here on the web site of San Jose Astronomical Association. Have a read for yourself... it is in fact quite intriguing!

At the end of the day, gold is a product of some reactions, triggered by big things, like a supernova - at least bigger that we can think. It was created many, many, many, many years ago and fascinated humans at the time it was discovered here in Queenstown, in Skippers Canyon around 1862. Gold can still be found in Skippers Canyon (and we own proof of this...) - Goldminers still find the little glistering, shiny flakes in the waters of the mighty Shotover River. Gold seems to be out of this world but still fascinates us humans to this very day.

In any event, gold exists and we value it - in one way or the other. The theories (or shall we say truths) about how exactly gold was created might be a little bit difficult to understand for us normal human beings. But we can believe in a fairytale that Santa did in fact bring us this precious metal accompanied by all the little mysteries that we humans still have to discover.

Merry Christmas to all of you! We trust that you will spend some golden moments with your family and friends.

Are you Ready for Christmas?

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:12:00 +0000

Christmas - the time to reflect, the time to give and simply enjoy some quality time with family and friends!

Christmas... when in fact does everyone celebrate Christmas? We here in New Zealand celebrate it on the 25th of December. We open our presents in the morning of this very same day, enjoy the day and have a barbecue in the evening on the porch or somewhere in the outdoors where we can put up a tent, enjoy the company and the unique freedom of this wonderful country.

As you might know, I am originally Swiss - I immigrated to New Zealand a couple of years ago and I truly call this accessible National Park my new home. In Switzerland (and Germany for this matter - or we could say Europe in general) we celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December. We have this big 'party' in the evening; open the presents before dinner and usually enjoy some snow outside. Not here on the Southern Hemisphere.

Right now, it is a glorious summer day - about 25 degrees, which is about 77 degrees fahrenheit. I trust this gives you some indication about the very nice weather here in Queenstown. It is close to 5pm and we enjoyed a remarkable summer's day today and yesterday.

Which brings me right to the point that I wanted to bring to your attention. Are you already organized with all your Christmas presents? I know... it's always something - every year... 'what should I give to so-and-so... they already have everything'... I know, it's difficult.

Let me inspire you a bit: how about an unforgettable sightseeing tour into Skippers?

No... ok... I'm sorry... that was too blunt... sorry.... :-)
Or maybe a wine tour? .... ok, just a thought...

I wish you some inspirational thoughts and I trust that you WILL find the right presents for your loved ones.

Together we sponsored 2 students

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Like every year, we raised some funds for the Queenstown local Wakatipu Highschool. They take their year 10 students to the Branches in Skippers Canyon. During 2 weeks, the students are isolated, while experiencing outdoor pursuits including abseiling, rafting, tramping, bush craft, kayaking, shooting and archery as well as important personal and leadership skills. This camp has a tradition of over 35 years and is one of the longest running school camps under canvas in the country!

This year's fee for attending the camp is NZD300.-- per student. We could raise enough money to support 2 of them!

We achieved this outstanding result through the generosity of our visitors who either donated some coins just like this or bought some merchandise from us. We collected the coins and donated ourselves $2.-- for each merchandise sold.

Yesterday, we could hand over this money to the Wakatipu Highschool and as every year, the grateful smile which we get in return is simply priceless!

Have you ever ran out of superlatives?

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:06:00 +0000

That's an interesting question, don't you think?

Though first let us summaries a few superlatives that best describe Skippers Canyon near Queenstown. Let's see:

most stunning scenery
best kept secret
most intriguing historic background
worth every penny
better than other half-day or day tours

Those are the most common superlatives we hear more or less every day. But it was just yesterday as in fact one of our guests made the remark 'I ran out of superlatives' after she joined our unforgettable Skippers Canyon tour.

I have to confess: yesterday was the most breathtaking and stunning spring (even nearly summer) day in Queenstown. The New Zealand weather god treated us more than well and even we Queenstown locals enjoyed Skippers Canyon to the max. The Shotover River had the most vivid and icy blue color that you can only see when the weather is nice and it hadn't been raining for at least 2 days.

It was just a real treat to share this most extraordinary photo-goldmine with our customers.

Well: I guess, I will never run out of superlatives when it comes to Skippers Canyon :-)
But at the end of the day, it is only YOU and your impressions about Skippers that matter most to us.

See you soon here in Queenstown.

More than just 1 click

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:23:00 +0000

Spring is definitely here in Queenstown. The days are getting warmer - at least the majority of them - and a sightseeing tour into Skippers Canyon is on several cards of Queenstown visitors.

Just the other day, we took a couple of Americans into this wonderland which is located in the backcountry of Queenstown. We spent 3 hours in the canyon and had a fabulous time.

The customers joined our Skippers Canyon Vista tour because we promise to stop 'on demand' for photos. Apparently, we kept the promise as the Lady-Visitor repeatedly asked for stops which we did (...when ever it was save to do so).

After a while, we asked her how many pictures she took. Her answer was swift and enthusiastic: "about 200..."

Now let me bring this number into perspective. Our Vista tour takes about 180 minutes. We travel from Queenstown to Skippers Canyon in about 15 minutes. This leaves around 150 minutes in the canyon. This in return means that the Lady-Visitor took nearly 2 pictures every minute - that's simply fantastic!

What a unique and special homage to Skippers Canyon and its features. Our visitors are sure to take home some lasting memories and great impressions of Queenstown's backountry.

When are you coming and visit with us Skippers Canyon?

Your Get Rich Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 07:57:00 +0000

So: you are here to learn how to get rich, right? Rich... really rich... and we mean truly, unbelievably and undoubtedly .... RICH!

Tell me: is anyone out there who doesn't want to be rich? I'm actually not sure. Who knows; there might be some people who believe that being rich is not everything... nah... really... EVERYONE wants to be rich, so here is your guide to it.

But first let's have a look at the definition of richness. What actually does it mean?

People who have possessions and wealth. having an abundant supply of desirable qualities or substances. People how have things of great worth or quality.
That's the theory. This definition can be found in all major online dictionaries.

The Wealth Gate for example states that some people are rich in their own eyes when they get twice as much as they already received.... interesting, don't you think?

Though Seneca (a philosopher and humorist) believed that 'Wealth is the slave of a wise man. The master of a fool.' Benjamin Franklin said that 'If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting.' - wise words!

Cicero (a philosopher, too) explained that 'Not to be avaricious is money; not to be fond of buying is a revenue; but to be content with our own is the greatest and most certain wealth of all.'

Those philosophers in the good all times said it easily. But what does this mean to you? How do you get rich now? Well, if you are looking for THE recipe to earn endless amounts of money, I'm sorry, I have to disappoint you - I can't give it to you - unfortunately. If however you are reading this to learn more about how to acquire some immaterial wealth - at least a little bit of it - then here are my guidelines:

plan your next holidays to New Zealand - why not...? Come on: we won the Rubgy World Cup and we have the best Pinot noirs of the world.
Travel to Queenstown. It is on the South Island and 'Worth a Queen'. Even the Lonely Planet declared the Southern Lakes Region as a must-visit destination for 2012 - come and see for yourself.
Visit Skippers Canyon with us - this is the place where so many people tried to find their own material wealth. This region is famous for the gold rush in Central Otago. In fact, real gold can still be found.
Bring your camera and plenty of storage cards. You will need it to collect your own wealth of... experiences, impressions and timeless memories. You will capture moments of history, take home your private collection of breathtaking snapshots of this beautiful natural landscape and of course you will own the bragging rights that you actually survived this smooth-adventure.

So there you have it - this is my get rich guide.

But let me say one last thing in the words of Bonnie Friedman. She believes that 'an unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth.'

So very true... Thank you for reading my blog. And thank you for imagining to travel into Skippers Canyon. Here - and I am sure about this - you could become richer; in experiences and ultimately in sharing something special with the one(s) you love.

The Thrill of a Bungy Jump in Skippers Canyon

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:17:00 +0000

Some of you might know that Skippers Bridge used to be a platform for a Bungy Jump. It must have been quite a thrill to do this. I mean just simply jumping off this bridge and then plunge into the canyon, surrounded by this breathtaking gorge - Ah... not for me anyway...

But just in case you wondered how it would look like: here is a commercial illustrating this very experience. Have a look.

Even though, Skippers Bridge is not any longer in 'Bungy operation' the platform is still there. In fact, you will see this remarkable structure up close and personal on all our Skippers Canyon tours.

Anyway, we regularly host a little photo camera competition in Skippers Canyon. I am absolutely convinced that this Fuji camera will capture all your special moments in the canyon.

New Zealand, the South Island, Queenstown and Rugby

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:23:00 +0000

It is official: the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup! This is not a small thing to do, considering that it took 24 years to repeat this success. They did it though yesterday - we did it! - and the entire Nation of New Zealand celebrated a glorious win over France.

The last 6 weeks were more or less Rugby World Cup oriented. Now it's over and it seems that nearly everything is back to normal. Nearly...

Skippers Road, Mount Aurum in the Back

Queenstown is gearing up for Spring which has finally arrived in our beautiful mountain resort. The trees are getting green again, the temperatures truly rise and create an invigorating climate that brings a smile on every single face.

And the Daffodils are out. This lovely flour is believed to be a symbol of unrequited love - what a cold description. Daffodils are a family member of the Narcissus plants. Apparently, in Western countries they are perceived as a symbol of vanity, in the East though as a symbol of wealth and good fortune. Me personally, I like the Eastern notion as it is absolutely true that we are blessed with the natural beauty of the South Island, but especially with the area of Queenstown.

Daffodils in Skippers Cemetery

The goldminers back in the early 1900s certainly found their wealth and it is only fair that the Daffodils grace some of their last resting places in Skippers Canyon.

The year 2011 was a difficult year for New Zealand: the earthquake, the mining tragedy and now the oil spills. Those shattering incidents did weigh heavily on New Zealand's awareness. But yesterday, all Daffodils veraciously brought good fortune to our Nation: we won the Rugby World Cup!

As said before, nearly everything is back to normal. The 1 thing that has changed since yesterday is having smiling faces everywhere, true happiness and clearly visible excitement and anticipation of the things to come. We New Zealanders -whether Native or immigrated - are truly blessed with good fortune.

There is only 1 thing left to say to all you people out there: WISH YOU WERE HERE!

Fundraiser for Wakatipu High School

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:07:00 +0000

It is this time of the year again where we proudly support our local Wakatipu High School with a fundraiser.

Every year, all year 10 students spend 2 weeks in Skippers Canyon, namely at the Branches Station. During this time, the students are isolated, while experiencing outdoor pursuits including abseiling, rafting, tramping, bush craft, kayaking, shooting and archery as well as important personal and leadership skills. This camp has a tradition of over 35 years and is one of the longest running school camps under canvas in the country!

Students have to pay a fee in order to participate. In these difficult economic times, not all parents are able to afford this fee which could mean for some students that they would not be able to attend and share this experience with their school mates.

Queenstown Heritage Tours strongly believes that all students should have the possibility to attend. Therefore, we started our yearly 'give-something-back' initiative: we will donate $2.-- for every merchandise sold between 1 October until 23 November 2011. We will hand over all donations to Wakatipu High School on 24 November 2011, as the camp starts on the next day.

Today is a very unique and humbling day for us: we collected $100.-- in donations given by our customers. Some bought merchandise and others simply gave cash! This is incredible and we are extremely proud to announce this today. THANK YOU!

Skippers Canyon Travel Journal of 1909

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 01:38:00 +0000

The following is an excerpt of the Otago Witness, dated 27 January 1909.
A man, Willow Brooe, summarized his experience in and around Queenstown.

".....The course followed by the steamer [from Kingston to Queenstown] is within a stone's throw of the jutting rocksof the western shore, which, surmounted with fuchsia, rata, and olearia, make aneffective foreground to the huge peaks which tower overhead. All the way up thelake you steam with the ranges on each side of you until passing Colin's Bay. The steamer rounds Mount. Cecil and you have your first glimpse of Ben Lomondand a most picturesque view of the Remarkables. In a little while the steamerrounds the beacon and there directly ahead nestled in peaceful quietness, asthough in repose, is Queenstown.

As the steamer approaches the wharf it is seenthat there is quite a crowd to meet the boat and on landing visitors have togo through a regular ordeal, in that they have to pass through long lines ofwaiting people and be severely criticized in the process. It is a regular habitof the people to meet the boat and line up in this way......

That night, before turning in we [Willow and a new friend] resolved on driving to Skippers the next day. So next morning wewere up early and having made up a party of seven we made an early start in awaggonette with four horses for Skippers.How can I describe Skippers - thatwild, rough, and rugged road? Though I might try ever so hard I could not dojustice in my description of the ruggedness and grandeur of the manymagnificent scenes to be met with on this road. At one point of the road ourdriver called our attention to the exact model of the head of a man on thehillside.

Head Sculpture in Stone

There it was: eyebrows, nose, mouth and chin, as complete as ifsculptured by human hands, and yet on such a massive scale as to show that itwas not the outcome of human industry.

Hells Gate in the front

The load we travelled was steep, andheavy on the horses, so when going over a particularly steep piece we all gotout and walked by a short cut over the hills so as to ease the horses. Presentlythe waggonette caught up with us and we got aboard again. As we proceeded thedriver pointed out to us the many items of interest. We passed through, theCathedral, a huge cutting in the rock that greatly resembles a Cathedral, andthen through the Abbey, where you can easily imagine yourself entering thecourtyard of an old abbey. Another place through which we drove with the greatrocks frowning over us called Hell's Gate. The Lighthouse, also the Mushroom Rockand the Toothpicks, all most appropriately named according to their shape, werepointed out to us.

Lighthouse Rock

And then we came to a place where, on the other side of aravine round which we were passing, could be seen a castle with battlements andturrets strong and powerful-looking and while we were wondering what a castlewas doing in that lonely spot our driver broke the charm by informing us that itwas the Castle Rock we were looking at that it was not the handiwork of man, but of nature.

Castle Rock

At last we arrived at the little Welcome Home Hotel where we ordered dinner to be ready for our return. Awayagain, and now we strike the most rugged part of the road. On one side of usthe mountains rise steep as a wall, and now and again the swingletrees touchthe rocks as we turn the corners. On the other aide, far down below us, betweentwo and three hundred feet, the Shotover River muddily discoloured with sluicing,flows on its way.

Driver over Skippers Bridge in 2011

In some parts of the road there is very little to sparebetween the wheels of the waggonette and a precipice as steep as a house-side.It is a drive which anybody troubled with "nerves" should neverattempt. One member of our party dare not look over, so frightened was she. Allalong the river we passed sluicing claims, and at one place we saw four wildgoats. .... At last wearrived at Skippers Bridge anddrove across it. And then pulled up. The bridge is 300 ft above the river. Itis a suspension bridge and is 300 ft from span to span.
We were amusing ourselves by dropping stones into the river when someone suggestedwe should time a stone from the bridge to the water. I accordingly pulled out mywatch and was astonished to find that it took about five seconds for a stone toreach the water in a straight drop.

Enjoy the view, but please don't drop a stone...

The horses having been turned homewards weboarded the waggonette, and away we went for Queenstown.

Welcome Home Hotel back then

Arrived at the Welcome Home Hotel we had dinner abouthalf-past 1 and having rested the horses for some little tune, we againstarted for Queenstown, which place we reached about 6 30 p.m. after a veryfine day's outing.

But there was one thing I forgot to mention about this trip and that wasdust. It was from 18in to 2ft deep all the road and you can just imagine whata dusty-looking crowd we were. We could not have been worse had we been employedin a flour mill...."

Photo Camera Competition in Skippers Canyon

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 03:45:00 +0000

It was just yesterday that we had our very own photo camera competition in Skippers Canyon near Queenstown, New Zealand.

We hosted a small group. They came to our little paradise from Ireland and from Australia. Of course, the group had to discuss the current developments at the Rugby World Cup and which chance their teams have to play in the finals. We are naturally convinced that our New Zealand team - the All Blacks - will win, so we let the group have their little teasing and friendly rivalries. It was all good fun, though!

In between those discussions, we invited the group to step out of the minibus and experience Skippers Canyon up close and personal. They all had their photo cameras with them and after a while the discussion started, who would have the best of them all.

The one thing that the cameras had in common was that they were digital; but that was about it: one had a huge lens in the front which could be taken off, the other had a wide angle perspective as an option, the next could record movies...

We are not quite sure if all those fancy features were used. But we observed that the cameras were frequently in action. We could observe as well that all camera owners had plenty of storage devices with them - and that was a very good thing!

At the end of the tour, all cameras did exactly what they were supposed to do: secure their owners numerous great and unique shots of Skippers Canyon. We are sure that those captured memories will amaze their families and friends at home.

Skippers Canyon - one of those Queenstown tours for boys only

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 06:52:00 +0000

Yes, you got that right: it just happened the other day and I endeavor to tell you exactly how it came about that we discovered that our unforgettable Skippers Canyon tour is for boys only. Here we go:

We hosted a small group of 6 passengers. They booked their tour through their travel agent a couple of days earlier. So far so got. We went to pick them up at their Queenstown hotel, we seated them in our comfortable 4WD minibus and off we went into Skippers Canyon.

We had the usual tour on the way in: several photo stops, some short walks in particular over Skippers Bridge and we prepared morning tea while our guests marveled at the historical attraction called Skippers Point.

After a while, the entire group returned to our picnic spot and we had a little chat - like you have it. And then it happened! We asked two friends who knew each other for many, many years, where they would come from and why they joined our tour. They explained that they were retired farmers from Australia and that they joined the tour because they were intrigued by the promise of a beautiful scenery and the comfort of the 4WD minibus. We continued asking why their wifes did not come and they replied "our wifes thought this was a tour for boys only and that they would rather join the Shotover Jetboat..."

So there you have it! And what did we learn from this feedback? Firstly: we learned that their wifes thought that our Skippers Canyon tour would take them on a true 4WD course with endless amounts of bumps to overcome. In fact, Skippers Road is an unsealed mountain road, that's true. There are some bumps on this road, that's true, too. But...

...and that would be our second lesson: bumpy is not the same as bumpy...

I believe I can conclude this story like this: if you think that a sightseeing tour where retired farmers feel like home is not for you, please take a minute and think about it - it is in fact a little bit more bumpier on a Jetboat...

We had the chance to talk to the couples briefly later on this day. Both parties enjoyed their Queenstown experiences very much and that is the most important conclusion at all!

How to build a Snow Man in Skippers Canyon, Queenstown

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 01:05:00 +0000

Haven't you always wondered how to build a snow man in Skippers Canyon? No? ... Yes? :-)

For some of you travelers out there, this question might be a little bit odd. For other travelers however, this little hint could trigger a decision to embark on a very special journey.

So here is your 'how to guide':

Plan your next (or your first) visit to Queenstown in Spring or Autumn. Only during those seasons you will have the chance to enjoy some warmer climate in our mountain resort and still have the opportunity to meet Mr. Snow on the mountains.
Plan a visit to Queenstown for a couple of days. Book a nice hotel online and
make your confirmed booking with us for the 'unforgettable Skippers Canyon tour'. Book a morning tour and bring your family and/or friends along - it's more fun...
On the day of your special encounter with Skippers Canyon, get up early, eat breakfast and wait for us in the lobby. We will pick you up.
then, enjoy the ride up to Coronet Peak and up to Skippers Saddle. There (if you book your tour on the right day) you will meet Mr. Snow for the first time.
indulge in the beauty of the canyon. This outstanding natural landscape will surely impress you all the way to Skippers Point where you will enjoy morning tea.
Here at the very latest, you will have time to build your own snow man. Your driver/guide will assist you regarding forming the snow properly. This can be a bit tricky if the snow is powdery or slushy but you will get there.
Don't forget to bring your camera and take THE proof picture.

Unfortunately, you will not be able to take your snow man with you as a souvenir. Your proof picture will have to carry this burden for you.

If you would like to know how long it will take you to create your snow man then please let me inform you that it will take only a couple of minute and it certainly is a lot of fun - at least this is what our customers told us just a couple of days ago.

Not convinced yet that our Skippers Canyon tour is one for you? Have a look at some feedback others posted on TripAdvisor.

Queenstown Heritage Tours Confirmed as a High Quality Carbon Neutral Operation

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 01:04:00 +0000

We can proudly announce today that we are again confirmed as a high quality company that operates carbon neutral.

During our last Qualmark assessment, we reached a score of 82% which represents our best result ever. Next to this, we received from Qualmark again their 'Enviro Silver' award for our contributions to the environment.

We partnered again with Carbonfund.org and offset all our carbon emission that we could not omit during the past 12 months.

Read here our press release for more information.

TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:50:00 +0000

Unforgettable Skippers Canyon Tour

We are very proud to have received this Certificate of Excellence from our customers who left their feedback on TripAdvisor.

We will endeavor to keep up this excellent service and are looking forward to welcoming you here in Skippers Canyon, Queenstown.

Thank you!

There is a place called Paradise, but Skippers Canyon...

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Mon, 30 May 2011 08:05:00 +0000

... is Heaven.

Isn't this a lovely comment? We could hardly believe what one of our customers told us after the 4 hours unforgettable Skippers Canyon tour the other day. They joined us quite spontaneously - just thought that they would like to have a decent tour into the back country of Queenstown. They heard about us from a friend who told them not to miss Skippers Canyon.

This verdict that Skippers is worth a trip was confirmed by the local I-Site here in Queenstown and so they called us and arranged their tour.

Those customers would stay for a couple of days in Queenstown, doing all sorts of activities from water to air and land adventures, like Skippers Canyon. They enjoyed and marveled at the majestic Doubtful Sound and loved Milford Sound, of course. But Skippers Canyon was - as they said - better than Paradise: it was Heaven!

Behind the Scenes: we prepare to showcase at TRENZ 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Thu, 05 May 2011 03:56:00 +0000

TRENZ or Tourism Industry Rendezvous New Zealand is organized yearly by the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand or TIANZ.

TRENZ is an international meeting where Buyers from all over the world travel to our little paradise to reconnect with their New Zealand Suppliers or start new business relationships. This rendezvous always takes place during the Autumn shoulder season and this year it will take place in Queenstown.

Next to the regular meetings, this year's TRENZ organizes some familiarization tours for suppliers. Those tours can help suppliers to experience first-hand what the suppliers do talk about.

Queenstown Heritage Tours participates for the second time at TRENZ. Last time, we joined this rendezvous 2 years ago and concluded the meeting with success. New business relationships could be initiated and existing ones were fostered.

It might appear that attending such a meeting is 'just talking' to people and easy to do. In theory, this is true. In practice, such a 3 day activity is work: preparing the pre-scheduled meetings which means to contact all preferred buyers to come and see us, preparing the documentation that is to be handed out at TRENZ, organizing who should attend and how the booth is staffed. The next preparation would be the marketing material, like banner stands, business cards, brochures and company documentation - all has to be created or at least checked if it is still up-to-date.

For our printing preparation, we use an online provider: Vista Print. This online provider creates a fantastic service for small businesses like ours.

And last but not least, after TRENZ, if needed some more information has to be sent out and information or negotiations have to be reconfirmed.

At the end of the day, TRENZ is something to look forward to. I like to meet new people and I truly like to get some rest as soon as TRENZ will be over.

Skippers stages a Comeback or True Love is hard to find

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Tue, 03 May 2011 23:39:00 +0000

Terri Macnicol summarized amongst other stories in her book 'Echoes from Skippers Canyon' the following:

By the turn of the 20th century, the goldrush was over and the goldminers disappeared. Early in the 1930s though when New Zealand was in the grip of the Depression, Skippers enjoyed a moderate comeback after being a ghost town for years. Many men, unable to find employment, drifted to backwaters such as Skippers. Here they hoped to supplement their allowance with gold, always with the thought that they would strike it rich.

One of them was Jamie. He was a confirmed bachelor and lived alone not for from his mate Mike. Jamie was reputed to be the ugliest man in the district and tongues wagged furiously when it was rumoured that he was getting married. The big question was, who was the bride?

None were brave enough to ask the prospective groom and he kept his own counsel. He did confide to Mike, who told his friends in secret that Mary was a pen-friend whom Jamie had contacted through a Lonely Hearts Club.

Jamie was been writing her for months. His friends thought it would be a bit of a risk to marry someone before they know each other. They might not get on at all...

In due course the bride came to Jamie's cottage. She was not very good-looking herself. She was about Jamie's age, friendly without being over-interested in her neighbours. Jamie's little cottage sparkled soon with cleanliness and even Jamie himself changed. He shaved regularly and always appeared tidy and smart. Everyone agreed that Jamie and Mary were ideally suited for each other.

Just when it happened no one could say, but neighbours awoke to the fact that Mary was no longer with Jamie. Instead she was living with Mike - Jamie's friend. She appeared to be just as happy there as she had been with Jamie.

Apparently, Mary was not Jamie's type and so he told Mike that he could have her if he liked.

One day Mary and Mike departed for Queenstown. Friends prepared to celebrate their return, expecting they would come home man and wife. Mike came back that night - alone.
'Where is Mary?' he was asked. 'Oh, she is gone. I just went out to see her away. She sent her regards to all you womenfolk.'

That was all he had to say and the visitor was quickly forgotten. Mike and Jamie became firmer pals and reverted to their easygoing careless ways.

Behind the Scenes: Skippers Canyon tour preparation

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Mon, 02 May 2011 04:29:00 +0000

While our customers give us feedback about how they experienced the unforgettable Skippers Canyon tour, our work is not over with the drop off. In fact, it starts with the preparation of the tour.

We assemble about 30 minutes before departure or pick up of the customers. We load the minibuses with the mugs and glasses, we prepare the sweet biscuits and put them on the respective tray and put a good size cheese ball into a jar. Next, we put the Trash Can and the serving trays into a minibus and add some wine and milk bottles.

We make sure that all windows are clean, that all our drivers know where to pick up how many passengers and then... off we go.

The tours are conducted according to the personal touch of each particular driver but in general, we follow the same rules: we like to give our customers the best time we possibly can - the feedback received so far confirms that we seem to do a good job!

After drop off, which can be anywhere in Queenstown or at the customer's accommodation, we return to our unit and clean the minibus. We consider our environment and clean the bus only with a water blaster. We then dry the windows and the carrosserie of the minibus, empty the back and put the dirty mugs and glasses into the dishwasher.

If one driver is finished with his cleaning he usually helps another one so that we all can pack up and enjoy the rest of the day a little bit earlier. While helping each other, the team exchanges their experiences and shares some feedback received with each other.

I always love it when the team comes back from a tour and I can see their happiness in their eyes. It fills me with pride to learn that our team enjoys the tour as much as the customers do - I know that they are passionate about Skippers Canyon and they love to share this passion with you - our visitors!

Distance from Queenstown to Skippers Point

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:25:00 +0000

We increasingly get asked about the travel distance from Queenstown to Skippers Point. On average, one way into Skippers covers only about 33km.

Skippers Point can only be reached by travelling on Skippers Road through Skippers Canyon. It is true that Skippers Road is a public road and the speed limit on this road is the same as on all other New Zealand public roads.

Skippers Road is a mountain road. It is unsealed and just as wide as it needs to be for 1 single vehicle. Passing maneuvers can only be performed at specific bays along the way.

It is certainly true that travelling on Skippers Road is a real adventure and it is fun. If I where to caution you to travel on your own, I would say the following:

only travel on Skippers Road with a 4WD vehicle. This road is unsealed and you want to make sure that you don't slide.
Make sure you don't take your Rental Car into the canyon. You will not be insured if you were to have an accident or create any other damage to the vehicle.
Don't take your Camper Van into Skippers Canyon - for the 2 very reasons I listed above.
Make sure you travel with at least 1 other vehicle - a 4WD vehicle. Just in case you get stuck (let's say you travel in Autumn and you go off-road), you will be glad that someone else is there to tear you out of the ruts.
Know the rules on this road: give way to uphill traffic. BUT: use a little common sense when encountering another vehicle. If a passing bay is let's say about 3 meters behind you but you are travelling uphill, be smart and don't insist on having right-away - just reverse those 3 meters to let the other vehicle pass.
Most of all, adjust your speed. It is true, Skippers Road is a public road and in theory you would be allowed to travel at 80 kph - but this is not advisable - believe me...

We travel on Skippers Road more or less every day - 365 days a year. We know the road; we love the road and the adventure it creates for our customers. It is true that we charge our customers to join our Queenstown tours but they love this different kind of adventure and they feel safe; they can enjoy the views, take pictures, indulge in the picnic we prepare and simply treasure those couple of hours during which they were taken care of - a true holiday experience.

Travel time and travel speed on Skippers Road
Traffic on this mountain road

See you soon in Skippers Canyon!

Real Gold found in Skippers Canyon Queenstown

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:25:00 +0000

Skippers Canyon in the back country of Queenstown, New Zealand is undoubtedly famous for the gold rush that took place in the late 1800s. Thousands of gold miners flocked to this area to find their luck - some succeeded but many were left trying, getting richer only in experience.

Some people might think that the gold rush belongs to the past of Skippers Canyon - those days are over. It is definitely true that there are very few people left who still maintain a claim in Skippers. Which basically means that gold can still be found in Skippers Canyon.

Just recently, we met one of those gold miners in the canyon. While on tour with some customers, we stopped to talk to him. Our customers genuinely appreciated this opportunity and quizzed him about his success in finding gold. He was happy to let us know that he found several little flakes of gold.

I personally don't know much about the hard work of gold panning, but I know that it is a very lengthy process that requires a lot of passion and patience. If you are lucky to find a resourceful claim, you are fortunate in every sense of the word but those claims are not indicated by a sign or something like it and luck still plays an important role. This suspicion was confirmed by the gold miner.

After a while, we had to continue our encounter with the historical places in Skippers Canyon. But before we left, we bought some of those gold flakes. For us, those flakes are a timeless remainder that Skippers Canyon is a true gold mine. It is very precious to the gold miners who still try and in fact do find their luck, for us as a sightseeing tour operator who loves to share this remarkable area with our visitors and for you people out there who wish to experience something different.

And who knows, maybe you will meet a gold miner in Skippers Canyon while travelling with us and you might be able to buy a very special souvenir.

Your 4 L Queenstown Attraction: experience LIFE in Skippers Canyon

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:18:00 +0000

Skippers Canyon in Queenstown's backcountry is without a doubt famous for its gold rush history. Gold was found in sheer abundance and thousands of fortune seekers flocked to this beautiful area. They learned how to live with this rough teacher called nature and flourished. They erected schools and small towns in the middle of nowhere which we call today Skippers Point.

Today, we still can observe this legacy that was brought to us by the gold miners. Queenstown - which they said is 'worth a Queen', hence the name Queenstown - flourished on the back of the gold rush and Skippers Canyon became one of the most popular Queenstown tourist Queenstown tourist attractions. Visitors to our stunning area can literally tap into this life that the gold miners had. Today, on our unforgettable Skippers Canyon tour, you can visit the restored Homestead, imagine how the women cooked the meal, how cold it must have been in winter and read how children experienced their life in Skippers Point.

Life changed this area. One very good example are the trees that cover this rugged area. Some of our visitors joined our tour a couple of years ago and are amazed by the change. Some of our guests tell us that they visited Skippers Point as a child and they can hardly believe how this area has changed.

Skippers Canyon is very much alive. It is a goldmine of life experiences which wait for you to be explored.

Your 4-L Queenstown Attraction: you will LEARN in Skippers Canyon

noreply@blogger.com (Yasmine - Owner and Managing Director) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:16:00 +0000

You might wonder "what is there so special to learn about Skippers Canyon?" Good point... Let me see:

You will learn a bit about the historic background of Skippers Canyon. Gold was and is still found in this breathtaking gorge. We will share with you what we know about this unique historic past.
You will learn more about how the area has changed over time. For example, we know about stories reported by school children from Skippers that there were hardly any trees in Skippers Canyon. If you travel today, this fact is difficult to image. Come and see for yourself.
You will learn a bit more about how this canyon was formed. The geology is in fact very interesting.

But enough about us and what we can share with you so that you learn more about our beautiful Skippers Canyon. Just the other day, we had a small group joining us in the afternoon. We were very lucky to have a Geologist on board who saw things that even we did not notice so far - the eye of the expert, no doubt - and we could learn more about Skippers by listening to his comments. Those comments were appreciated by the entire group and believe me, by us as well.

This is the beauty of our work. We learn more every day, like why our guests joined us, why they are here and what they appreciate the most. We learn that our tour convinces even those travelers who usually don't like to travel in organized groups, but simply loved the schedule of our trip and how we explain facts.

One of our goals is to enable you to learn something about this unique place called Skippers Canyon - we believe this makes this half day tour truly unforgettable.We invite you to see for yourself whether we succeed in it.