Queenstown & Skipper's Canyon
Winya_wynah
Thu 4 Feb 2010 09:03
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A trip to Queenstown wouldn't have been
complete without a ride up in the gondola to take in the view and try out the
luge!
No.1 gently cruising down the
scenic track
  & the Skipper whizzing down the advanced
track!
 Followed by a day out in Skipper's Canyon.
A tour in the 4WD along the road to Skippers.
The road is single track, built for horse and wagon, cut from the rocky
walls of the valley. The most difficult section only 200m long
took 2 years to build. The road was necessary to transport
large parts of gold mining machinary into the canyon.
 Those who have seen the 'Lord of the Rings' movies
would recognise many of the locations we visited.
 Next up was the Jet Boat through the canyon, these
boats need only 4 inches of water (under the boat) and our driver Ashley
got as close to any wall, rapid or overhang as he could to thrill the
passengers. The whole thing is taken at 60 - 80 kph! The 360 degree
turns between high walls in narrow parts of the canyon were fun but wet.
This cut was made by miners to divert the river and
creates a fast flowing narrow rapid to test drivers skills.
 Another view of the same cut shows the old river
course around the bluff,
the water was diverted to allow the miners full
access to the old riverbed and any gold therein.
 This photo was taken from a bridge created on top
of a water pipeline across the gorge. The straight shadow across the
picture is the bridge, the blob in the shadow is us standing under a shelter mid
bridge. The shelter was erected to cover what was for several years the
world's highest bungy jump! Thankfully now it is not in use as the higher
bungy in Queenstown has put it out of business.
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