With thirty continual days of activities available to you in Queenstown, you could never describe the town as being dull! When you throw the beautiful Lake Wakatipu with its crystal clear and 90% pure waters and the stunning surrounding Remarkables mountain range in to the mix, it is easy to see why people flock here. With a planned couple of days we had a look through the countless leaflets advertising everything from bungee jumps, canyon swings and sky diving, to jet boat rides and crazy golf! After remembering watching a program where Jeremy Clarkson had a go on the ‘Fly by Wire’ (see photos) I was keen to have a go, so we booked on for later that afternoon. With the morning free we headed into town to have a look at the lake, which is where I saw the 700bhp Kawarau Jet boats. As previous boat trips have left Debs feeling sea sick, she decided to give the hour long trip where the boat spins and rushes down rapids at 50mph a miss. After getting togged up in a poncho and life jacket I got into the boat and we set off. Due to the still waters of the lake the journey was remarkably calm and apart from when we went into a spin or rushed towards an oncoming tree or bridge, it was very difficult to judge the speed. The highlight of the trip was when we rushed down the tributaries of the Shotover River, some of them less than 10cm deep. More than once we could hear the bottom of the boat, make contact with the river bed as we twisted and turned through the narrow streams. One hour and 43kms later, it was all over as arrived back in Queenstown and I went to meet Debs. The shame was that the whole journey had been so smooth that Debs would have probably been alright; oh well maybe next time!
With the morning seemingly having rushed past it was time to go and meet our ride to the ‘Fly by Wire’ site. During the short journey we were given a brief introduction to what we were going to be doing and before we knew it, the moment of truth had arrived. Basically you are strapped into a small fan powered plane/rocket that is attached to a steel cable, winched 200ft up a mountain side and then by means of a throttle and handle bars, you swoop up and down through the valley. If you get the whole thing right, you can reach speeds of 171kph and stay weightless for 3.17seconds at each turn. After 5 minutes you are out of fuel and you slowly swing around the valley until you are lowered on to the platform. It has to be said it was definitely more my type of thing than Debs, she gave it a good go but she didn’t really manage to get to grips with what she was supposed to be doing. Part of the problem is that you are in a laying position and to turn the handlebars at the top of the arc requires quite a lot of strength, which I don’t think the staff really explained to her. Nevertheless with the adrenaline still coursing and our wallets considerably lighter it had been a good day.
Settling for a slower pace the next day we headed straight for the ‘Caddy Shack’ crazy golf course, where we had a hilarious time playing through the 18 holes of beautifully designed obstacles; somewhat unusually for crazy golf I won! After the golf it was straight on to the cable car that would take us to the top of Bob’s peak and the start of the Luge track. Unlike the sledges you see on TV, these are purpose built Go karts that you steer down your choice of scenic or advanced concrete tracks. The luge track has to be some of the best fun you can have, for surprisingly little money. After racing down the tracks several times our turn was over so we contented ourselves with the beautiful views of Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables mountain range.
It would be very easy to spend ages in Queenstown, but it would also be very easy to spend a huge amount of money. The problem with all of the adrenaline pumping attractions available is that while you are enjoying the high it is very easy to say “just one more go”. With our wallets still intact, it was time to move on, a Heli hike on Fox Glacier beckons.
With the morning seemingly having rushed past it was time to go and meet our ride to the ‘Fly by Wire’ site. During the short journey we were given a brief introduction to what we were going to be doing and before we knew it, the moment of truth had arrived. Basically you are strapped into a small fan powered plane/rocket that is attached to a steel cable, winched 200ft up a mountain side and then by means of a throttle and handle bars, you swoop up and down through the valley. If you get the whole thing right, you can reach speeds of 171kph and stay weightless for 3.17seconds at each turn. After 5 minutes you are out of fuel and you slowly swing around the valley until you are lowered on to the platform. It has to be said it was definitely more my type of thing than Debs, she gave it a good go but she didn’t really manage to get to grips with what she was supposed to be doing. Part of the problem is that you are in a laying position and to turn the handlebars at the top of the arc requires quite a lot of strength, which I don’t think the staff really explained to her. Nevertheless with the adrenaline still coursing and our wallets considerably lighter it had been a good day.
Settling for a slower pace the next day we headed straight for the ‘Caddy Shack’ crazy golf course, where we had a hilarious time playing through the 18 holes of beautifully designed obstacles; somewhat unusually for crazy golf I won! After the golf it was straight on to the cable car that would take us to the top of Bob’s peak and the start of the Luge track. Unlike the sledges you see on TV, these are purpose built Go karts that you steer down your choice of scenic or advanced concrete tracks. The luge track has to be some of the best fun you can have, for surprisingly little money. After racing down the tracks several times our turn was over so we contented ourselves with the beautiful views of Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables mountain range.
It would be very easy to spend ages in Queenstown, but it would also be very easy to spend a huge amount of money. The problem with all of the adrenaline pumping attractions available is that while you are enjoying the high it is very easy to say “just one more go”. With our wallets still intact, it was time to move on, a Heli hike on Fox Glacier beckons.
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