Queenstown is loctaed in a perfect location between the Remarkable Mountains and Lake Wakatipu. It was actually deserted when the first white person arrived in the mid 1850s. Sheep farmers came first, but once two shearers found gold in 1862, prospectors came in droves. Within a year there were roads, permanent buildings, and a population of several thousands. The New Zealand government said that it was a city “fit for a queen” hence the name Queenstown. By 1900 the gold was gone and the population with it. There was a mere 190 people left, but in the 1950s it became a popular tourist destination. Today it’s known as the adventure capital of the world or the adrenaline capital of the world. It was here that the first commercial bungee jump opened in 1988. Everyone thought it would be a fad and that year only 28 people were willing to try it. Of course it wasn’t a fad and today there are plethora of places to try it as well as any other extreme type of sport.
I spent the first day jetboating on the Shotover river. One the second day, I went to the Kiwi Wildlife Center and up the gondola for a scenic view.
The Skipper’s Road was built to get to the gold mining area. Today it’s so dangerous that rental car insurance is not honored here.
The Shotover River where I went jetboating.
This is a google image so you can see what I mean by going jet boating. The boats are powered by Chevy V8 engines and operate on high octane fuel.
The tuatara are found only in New Zealand and their name means spiny-back. They are the last of the sphenodontians, an order of reptiles from the time of the dinosaurs.
This is a google image of a kiwi bird. The Wildlife Center has the kiwi in a darkened enclosure since it’s nocturnal so we couldn’t take pictures. They are part of the ratite family along with the ostrich and the emu. This family lacks a bone on the sternum that would support the wing muscles.
Queenstown as seen from the gondola. The Remarkable Mountains in the background and Lake Wakatipu.
You can take the gondola up and then street luge down or mountain bike down.
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