ADVERTORIAL

In High Places

The gold rush started a visitor influx to heli-skiing and almost 60 fly people to In the run up to the Queenstown Adventure the region, and in the 1880s Queenstown remote locations for a taste of wilderness. began to blossom into a resort town. Festival on 19 March, we’re celebrating For years Queenstowners talked about Queenstown’s adventurous heart and One of the area’s first guides, Kitty Greig building an attraction to carry visitors from Kinloch was “renowned through all the to the top of Bob’s Peak. The next pioneering history. Today we remember lake country as a daring and accomplished development to bring visitors flocking how the mountains have shaped our spirit. horsewoman … Bred and reared amid came in 1967 when a group of local these rocky pastures and wild solitudes, investors built the Skyline gondola. she knows every foot of the country and is Former chair of Skyline Enterprises, Barry as fearless, and independent as the winds Thomas remembers how the gondola that whistle round Mount Earnslaw.” “virtually put Queenstown on the map, it It seems that Queenstown breeds was the first gondola in , the and attracts people like Kitty, tough first in Australasia, there was nothing like it.” adventurers with an entrepreneurial spirit. Now hundreds of visitors ride the gondola One company played a key role in opening up Bob’s Peak every day. They admire the the mountains up for adventure. In 1912 panorama, before climbing into a luge Rodolph Wigley founded the Mount and letting gravity take them for a ride or Cook Tourist Company, offering a weekly plunging down the network of trails on a Cadillac service between Queenstown mountain bike. and Mount Cook. Later he diversified into Mountain biking is a newcomer to the buses, hotels, flights, skiing, and package Queenstown scene. But it’s fast becoming holidays, becoming one of the largest a favourite after work adventure. tourist operations in New Zealand. When Vertigo bikes founder Tim Ceci In 1947 Rodolph’s son Henry Wigley and his rolled into town in 1997 there were no friend Bill Hamilton installed a rope tow at official trails. Tim started out offering heli- View of Lake Wakatipu from the summit of Ben Lomond 5,747 ft – No. 249 – Morris – S. R. Ryan, and created New Zealand’s biking trips into , but soon The Development of the Tourist Industry in Queenstown first commercial ski resort. People flocked realised Bob’s Peak was an opportunity in to the mountain. Roads were cleared and, his backyard. He negotiated access to run For many hundreds of years getting to The first European settlers William Rees in a few years, Queenstown had become a guided tours from the gondola and built Queenstown was an arduous journey. and Nicholas von Tunzelmann crossed winter destination. the Vertigo trail. Cut off by gorges and hemmed in by the Crown Range in 1859. It was a rough Sue Knowles started skiing Coronet Peak mountains, the rugged isolation of the journey. Rees wrote: “Speargrass, often In 2003, the Queenstown Mountain in 1958, aged 11, when the Mount Cook area made it impenetrable for all but the more than three feet high, and masses Bike Club came together. Today 700 Co. offered the local school a free day on toughest travellers. of matagouri constantly impeded us, committed locals work with DOC, council, the slopes. Smitten, she became a regular especially in the gullies. Our trousers landowners and the community to build Māori people were the first adventurers and recalls, “Every year in the August from the thighs downwards were filled and maintain around 60km of trails. Their to discover the area in the 13th century, school holidays you’d meet the same with blood.” hard graft is a gift to our town, just one settling at Tāhuna on the site of people in the queue for the tow, from more example of the grit and vision that Queenstown, at Te Kirikiri (Frankton) and In 1862 gold was found in the Arrow River, ski clubs in Alexandra, Invercargill and makes Queenstown so unique. at Puahuru (the junction of Kawarau and sparking the Otago gold rush. Miners Dunedin. It was a very nice atmosphere. Shotover Rivers). embarked on epic journeys, scaling Although that rope tow was an ordeal!” Tim says: “Now people come to mountain passes and fording rivers, Queenstown to ride our network of When Europeans arrived in the region In the 1950s Henry Wigley made his and Norwegian goldminers introduced spectacular trails. Biking’s all about in the mid-19th century, Kai Tahu were second mark on winter when the community to skiing, using freedom and independence, and people visiting in summer to gather kai, taramea, he invented a special ski-plane to homemade skis to reach their snowed come to Queenstown to push boundaries.” and pounamu, before returning home to take enthusiasts for back country ski in diggings. coastal settlements. experiences. Today 16 companies offer – Elizabeth Davidson

CORONET PEAK - THURSDAY 19 MARCH FROM 3PM – FREE TICKETS FROM ADVENTUREFEST.CO.NZ ADVERTORIAL

Thin air. Wild rivers.

In the run up to the Queenstown Adventure Festival on 19 March, we’re celebrating Queenstown’s adventurous heart and pioneering history. Today we soar above Wakatipu and ride the rivers wild to tell a story packed with adventure firsts.

Because of our remote and inaccessible of the gearbox,” his New Zealand Order location, Queenstowners took to the of Merit for his services to aviation and air early. The Queenstown airport tourism gives a truer indication of the role was granted a license in 1935, two he’s played. years before commercial flights began While young Jules Tapper was learning in Auckland, and five years before to fly, brothers Alan and Harold Melhop Christchurch airport was founded. were introducing Queenstowners to a For those first aviators, landing in new kind of thrill on the Kawarau River. Queenstown was an adventure itself. Engineers by trade, their Invercargill The paddocks of the old Queenstown Kawarau and Kawarau Two on Lake Wakatipu – Image courtesy of KJet. firm was the agency for the new Hamilton racecourse were the airstrip, and landing Jet. In 1958 Alan and Harold demoed a depended on the prevailing wind. speeds of 80kph, diving beneath the In the early 90s Queenstown became jet boat to a potential customer on the surface and breaching into the air. home to a hard-core group hiking up tall Local pilot Jules Tapper became an early Kawarau Falls Dam. They soon found peaks and flying off them. It wasn’t long In the 1970s, Kon Tiki Rafts introduced pioneer of flights to scenic locations when that whenever they did a demo, they before visitors wanted to have a go too, thrill seekers to white water rafting with he co-founded the Hollyford Valley Walk made a sale. Not only that, but everyone and commercial operators started offering New Zealand’s first commercial rafting in Fiordland National Park with Viv Allott wanted a go. hang-gliding and paragliding experiences. in 1968. experience. Queenstown’s two rivers offer As trustees for the Lakeland Christian a full spectrum of rafting experiences, Rene taught local Olympian Bruce Grant Jules recalls, “I always liked the outdoors, Camp, Alan and Harold were always from the serene reaches of the mighty to paraglide. Bruce then invented the first so when an opportunity came up in the trying to come up with ways to raise Kawarau River to gnarly grade 5 rapids on tandem paragliders and the duo set up G national park, we went for it. It was so money. In 1959 they started jet boat joy the Shotover. Force Paragliding off Bob’s Peak in 1991. remote we had to use aircraft and I flew rides for five shillings a spin, with huge hundreds of trips to Hollyford Valley.” In success. Recognising a good business Parasailing combines the excitement of Queenstown is also the New Zealand 1976 he applied for an air service license, opportunity, the brothers persuaded the jet skiing with epic views. For 30 years birthplace of tandem skydiving. NZONE flying passengers in to hunt and tramp. other camp trustees to invest in a jet boat, Queenstown Paraflights have been Skydive’s drop zone at the foot of the and the world’s first commercial jet boat elevating people 600 feet above Lake Remarkables is described as “one of the The Mount Cook Group brought the first tour was born. Wakatipu for panoramic vistas of the best places in the world to jump out of a commercial flights into Queenstown in snow-capped Remarkables. perfectly good aeroplane”. the 1960s. In the 1980s, Jules went to Kawarau Jet Services (or KJet as they’re now work for the group, first heading up their known) proved so popular that the council Paragliding was introduced to Bruce Grant died on an expedition to flightseeing team, then becoming regional invited them to move their berth from Queenstown in 1987 by Rene Schwaller. K2 in 1995. Before he left for his last manager, and finally leading the company. Frankton Jetty to the Queenstown Pier. Rene visited his family in Switzerland to adventure he said, “set your sights high, find people leaping off mountains for the higher the better, and wonderful The story of the Mount Cook Group and You can see a new generation of jet boats fun. He returned home to Queenstown things will happen.” His philosophy could its many initiatives is inextricably bound out on Lake Wakatipu. Hydro Attack’s equipped with two modified parachutes be the motto of all those who’ve made up with Queenstown’s evolution as an dramatic semi-submersibles are another and a new skill, which he demonstrated Queenstown the home of adventure. adventure destination. Although Jules world-first for Queenstown. Like a cross by riding up the Skyline Gondola and – Elizabeth Davidson refers to himself as a “tooth in the cog between a jet and torpedo, they hit jumping off Bob’s Peak.

CORONET PEAK - THURSDAY 19 MARCH FROM 3PM – FREE TICKETS FROM ADVENTUREFEST.CO.NZ ADVERTORIAL

An extreme scene

In the run up to the Queenstown Adventure One jumper writes: “I’ve never felt so positive impact. They harness emotion peaceful, free and confident.” Another: and storytelling and wrap it all up in Festival on 19 March, we’re celebrating “As I was up in the air, I experienced so an adrenaline experience to create Queenstown’s adventurous heart and pioneering much appreciation and gratitude, plus sticky memories. an overwhelming feeling of calmness Yeo sees the future of adventure as history. Today we investigate the extreme scene and peace.” embracing the stories of the place and that lures adrenaline junkies to our door. They are tapping into a phenomenon: points to KJet’s Time Tripper as an Adrenaline zen. example of immersive storytelling that One of the idiosyncratic things about a large scale, and I think we gave other enriches visitors’ understanding. Queenstown is that there’s a community businesses confidence.” University of Otago PhD researcher of people committed to scaring you Patrick Boudreau analysed research Today Queenstown’s allure isn’t only That first bungy kicked off a proliferation senseless. In fact, there’s a whole industry conducted on extreme athletes since the our jaw dropping scenery, or the of adrenaline adventure activities in founded on it. 1970s. He found motivations for doing cosmopolitan vibe of our city centre, Queenstown. Commercial paragliding, adrenaline activities included “entering a it’s the sheer wealth of adventures people When Henry van Asch and AJ Hackett skydiving, downhill mountain biking, and meditative-like state called flow … when a can experience. started driving around Central Otago a raft of bigger, scarier bungies, ziplines, person’s skills are equal to the challenge Here adventure is our life force, our looking at bridges in the late 1980s, catapults, and swings. at hand,” the person is ‘‘completely mountains home to men and women tourism in Queenstown was in its engaged and immersed …finding deeper Canyon Swing helps 20,000 people a year who push limits and inspire those adolescence. meaning akin to spirituality’’. throw themselves off the world’s highest who seek to explore beyond their In 1985, international tourist arrivals to cliff jump, 109 metres above the river. Trent Yeo, founder of Ziptrek Ecotours, own frontiers. New Zealand had just cracked half a Another world first for Queenstown, is also thinking about what visitors to million. Last year more than three million The godfather of adrenaline Henry launched in 2002 by Hamish Emerson Queenstown take home. He believes visitors came to Queenstown. Our van Asch said: “Life is short, take every and Chris Russell, a couple of climbers the most important part of travel is the reputation as adrenaline capital opportunity to make the most of it: live who’d been jumping off cliffs for fun for thing you bring to your own life from of the world has played a key role in more, fear less.” years and wanted to share their love of your adventures. that growth. Here in the home of adventure, we’re the experience. Ziptrek Ecotours offer a thrilling ride on Back in 1988, van Asch and Hackett set up a crucible for experiences that change General manager Stu Cordelle says: the world’s steepest zipline, but their the world’s first commercial bungy jump people’s lives. “People come for all sorts of reasons, for purpose is to send people away with an operation on Kawarau Bridge, attracting the thrill, to conquer the fear, because understanding of place, environment, – Elizabeth Davidson global media attention. It brought a they’ve been challenged, or cajoled. and how businesses can have a more much-needed boost to the local tourist The thing we hear most is, ‘that’s the best market, which was feeling the effects of thing I’ve ever done. I’ve never been so the 1987 stock market crash. scared in my life, but you made me feel It also consolidated Queenstown’s so safe.’” growing reputation for extreme thrills. Calm amidst fear is a recurring theme Jet boating, white water rafting and with adrenaline activities. winter sports already attracted dare devils. Bungy took that buzz, turned the Another Queenstown pioneer, NZONE volume up, and the world came to play. will fly you up so you can feel the wind on your face at 15,000 feet and then Van Asch thinks that New Zealanders are throw you out of a plane above the uniquely suited to extreme adventure. Whakatipu Basin. You might think that the “Kiwis are bloody good at doing overwhelming feeling associated with adventure. We deal with adversity and skydiving would be terror, but when you the environment well. It’s in our DNA. And read their screeds of five-star reviews, we’re very safe. With bungy we showed three words jump out repeatedly. Safe. it was possible to commercialise an Calm. Peace. activity perceived to be dangerous, on Kawarau Bungy first issued by Standards NZ, 1991. Image courtesy of AJ Hackett Bungy NZ.

CORONET PEAK - THURSDAY 19 MARCH FROM 3PM – FREE TICKETS FROM ADVENTUREFEST.CO.NZ