Skyline Queenstown is a tourist attraction service in Queenstown, New Zealand. Skyline provides a gondola, a restaurant at the top station, and a luge back to the base station. It is owned by Skyline Enterprises. [1]
Skyline Queenstown is a tourist attraction service in Queenstown, New Zealand. Skyline provides a gondola, a restaurant at the top station, and a luge back to the base station. It is owned by Skyline Enterprises. [1]
The prominent hill above Queenstown known as Bob's Peak (itself part of Ben Lomond) was a popular vantage point, but difficult to access due to the steep terrain. Ian Hamilton, a bus company owner, had a road cut in 1961 with a gradient of 1 in 4.5 in places so that he could drive tourists to the view point. Two years after Hamilton's death, Jon Dumble bought his shares and took on two business partners for Skyline Tours. They built a chalet on Bob's Peak, which opened in January 1964. In 1965, planning permission was received to build a gondola, upon which Skyline Enterprises was launched as a public company, which bought out Skyline Tours. [2] [3] Dumble became the company's first managing director. [2] [4]
A luge, inspired by the facility in Ngongotahā near Rotorua, was built in 1998. Since 2011, the gondola can carry mountain bikes up to Bob's Peak. [2]
The top terminal building is situated on the slopes of the Ben Lomond mountain peak 450 metres (1,480 ft) above the level of Lake Wakatipu. It has various activities such as a gondola, luge, a mountain biking park, and hiking sites. The main complex features amenities such as a restaurant and bar, cafe and a gift shop. [5]
The gondola carries visitors to the main Skyline complex; from the viewpoint, it is possible to see across Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Walter Peak and Cecil Peak. [6]
The luge tracks are over 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) long. The luge features two tracks, the Blue Track and Red Track, varying in steepness and corners/turns. [7]
In February 2019, the Environment Court approved the redevelopment of Skyline Queenstown. The project includes a new gondola, a multistorey car park and a new main building. In late 2020 the project was paused due to closed borders caused by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. [8]
Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It has an urban population of 29,000.
The Remarkables are a mountain range and skifield in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. Located on the southeastern shore of Lake Wakatipu, the range lives up to its name by rising sharply to create a remarkable backdrop for the waters. The range is clearly visible from the nearby town of Queenstown.
Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 7.5 km from State Highway 6. Arrowtown is located 19.5 kilometres to the east of Queenstown. As well as the route via State Highway 6 at Arrow Junction, there is also road access directly to Queenstown via Arthurs Point and a third route via the picturesque Lake Hayes.
Lake Wakatipu is an inland lake in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. Lake Wakatipu comes from the original Māori name Whakatipu wai-māori.
TSS Earnslaw is a 1912 Edwardian twin screw steamer based at Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand. She is one of the oldest tourist attractions in Central Otago, and the only remaining commercial passenger-carrying coal-fired steamship in the southern hemisphere.
Ben Lomond is a mountain close to Queenstown, New Zealand. It was named after Ben Lomond in Scotland by the early shepherd Duncan McAusland. The summit is approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) northwest of the town centre and reaches a height of 1,748 metres (5,735 ft). Connected to Ben Lomond are the large but slightly shorter Bowen Peak and Bob's Peaks, while nearby is the dominant feature of Queenstown Hill. There are scenic views available from a range of places on the mountain with the top giving a 360-degree panorama of much of the Wakatipu Basin including Lake Wakatipu, The Remarkables Mountains, Cecil Peak and Walter Peak.
The Rees River is a headwater tributary of the Clutha River / Mata-Au that drains eastward of the main divide of the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana in New Zealand. The river runs 41 km, drains an area of 406 km2, and discharges into the head of Lake Wakatipu at Glenorchy. Bound by the Richardson (Whakaari) Mountains to the east and the Forbes Mountains to the west, its snow-covered headwaters rise above 2000 m.
Eichardt‘s Private Hotel is located on the corner of Marine Parade and Ballarat Street, Queenstown, New Zealand, on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. Eichardt’s is a significant local landmark, and is listed as a Category Two historic place by the Historic Places Trust.
Wakatipu High School is a state coeducational secondary school located in Queenstown, New Zealand. Serving Years 9 to 13. A total of 1339 students attend the school as of April 2023.
Cecil Peak is a mountain in the Wakatipu Basin, New Zealand and reaches a height of 1,978 metres. It is on the south side of Lake Wakatipu south-southwest of Queenstown, and is highly prominent from around this area.
Queenstown Police Station is the largest police station in the Otago Lakes Central Area which is one of three policing areas in the Southern District of the New Zealand Police. The Otago Lakes Central Area headquarters has returned to Queenstown Police Station after a period at Alexandra Police Station. The area of responsibility covered by the Queenstown Police extends from Kingston in the south, to the Crown Range summit in the north, and from Glenorchy and its environs in the west, to the Roaring Meg power station in the Kawarau Gorge in the east.
The Queenstown Trail is a cycle and walking trail funded as one of the projects of the New Zealand Cycle Trail (NZCT) system in Otago, New Zealand. It links the towns of Queenstown, Arrowtown, the suburb of Jack's Point and the area of Gibbston. It is at least 110 km in length but is not linear and instead follows the terrain often near rivers and lakes to link key places in a series of tracks that also access public land. In some places it also passes through private land such as working farms and users are encouraged to stay on the trail. The trail is a joint venture between the Government, Queenstown Lakes District Council and the Queenstown Trails Trust.
Fernhill is a suburb of Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the lower slopes of the Ben Lomond mountain, east of Sunshine Bay on the northern side of Lake Wakatipu.
Sir John Stratton Davies is a New Zealand businessman and a former mayor of Queenstown. Through Trojan Holdings Ltd, he is a major owner of South Island tourism companies.
The Queenstown Winter Festival is an annual event held in and around the alpine New Zealand town of Queenstown. The festival has been held annually since 1975. It is sometimes referred to as "The Southern Hemisphere's biggest winter party".
William Arthur Anderson was the fifteenth mayor of Queenstown Borough in New Zealand. He served two terms as mayor, from 1939 to 1950, and from 1953 to 1956. He spent 16 years as an elected member of the Queenstown Borough Council, 10 of which were as deputy mayor.
RealNZ is a New Zealand tourism company based in Queenstown. The company offers a range of travel, cruises and excursions in Queenstown, Milford Sound / Piopiotahi, Te Anau, Fiordland and Stewart Island / Rakiura. It also operates two skifields Cardrona Alpine Resort, and Treble Cone, and the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch. The company is the successor of a series of acquisitions in the South Island tourist sector over more than 60 years. The brand RealNZ was launched in October 2021 to bring together multiple brands and businesses including Real Journeys that were previously part of the Wayfare Group, although some of the businesses have retained individual branding.
Queenstown Central is the central business district of Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand. It also contains residential areas. The area contains Queenstown Primary and St Joseph's schools, and contained Wakatipu High School until it moved to Frankton at the beginning of 2018.
Sunshine Bay is an inlet of Lake Wakatipu and suburb of Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the lower slopes of the Ben Lomond mountain, west of Fernhill, on the northern side of the lake.
The 2023 southern New Zealand floods were caused by heavy rain that struck the southern part of New Zealand's South Island on 21 September 2023. This storm caused flooding in several places across the Southland and Otago regions including Gore and Queenstown. 100 homes were evacuated in Queenstown and Tuatapere's water treatment plant was damaged. A state of emergency was declared in the Southland Region. In addition, a state of emergency was declared in Queenstown on 22 September, which recorded its wettest day in 24 years.
