Counter staff was certainly not very welcoming or helpful, or else this would be a five-star…read morerating. Thankfully, our "pilot" (Dean) was a far more personable representative, not to mention his skill in steering our wickedly fast boat. Winds created quite a bit of chop on the lake, and the sands were blowing, but it was still a very fun experience. The landscape is beautiful, and there are opportunities to learn quite a bit about the surrounding area. Admittedly though, my favorite parts were carving and skidding our way along the waters of the Dart. I would love to try my hand at piloting that boat! Worried about getting wet? The complimentary spray jackets provide superb protection for your torso and arms. Yes, you will likely get a bit of spray on your head and face, but all that whipping through the wind at breakneck speeds will help dry you right off!

We had a fun & adventurous ride along the Dart river on a jet boat. We booked the afternoon tour…read morethe same morning & I'd recommend not waiting. We were looking at the funyaking however they were all sold out & we were thankful the jet boats weren't as well! It's very popular activities & we did the drive and meet there. Glenorchy is a cute town, we had a quick bite and then met our group. We had a great and fun experience and would 10/10 recommend adding some fun to your trip.

There are several competing Jet Boat companies in Queenstown, but Lord of the Rings fans will want…read moreto go with Skippers. $159NZ isn't the cheapest, but this includes a very scenic, and scary, 4WD bus tour of Skippers Canyon and Shotover river where you'll see some LOTR shooting locations for Mordor and the part where Arwen uses river magic to kill the ring wraiths. If you're really scared of heights, you might want to skip this, no pun intended. Skippers Canyon Road is a narrow gravel road that goes alongside dangerously steep cliffs...thank goodness for our expert driver!. But the entire one hour drive there and back is very scenic with stops for gorgeous photo opportunities of Mordor. The jet boat ride itself is thrilling fun, be prepared to get wet! Midway through you'll see the location where Arwen fought off the ring wraiths. There is an opportunity to use the toilet after the boat ride, but I'd highly recommend going wee wee before you hop on the bus.

This was a great jet boat tour. We picked it to get the tour and history with the jet boating, and…read moreit didn't disappoint. They stopped a few times for pictures, the first time at a beautiful overlook. They told us lots of lord of the rings trivia if that's your thing, and there are lots of lots of the rings backdrops along the way. The drive took maybe an hour in, less time out. The jet boat time is about 25 minutes, faster down than up. The driver is very good but the ride wasn't as white knuckly as I expected. We stopped by a house with bathrooms afterwards. We'd paid for a longer tour with museum stop and gold panning but it was a cold drizzly day so they nicely offered us the chance to switch to the shorter tour, which we did. They take a typical amusement park photo at the beginning. They pick up the the station bus stop on camp street, which is labeled as such, and which is a tourism store, not a city bus stop or anything like that. It's at the end of camp street closer to arrowtown. We were able to book on very short notice, but it was low season.

The Skyline Gondola offers a quick way to reach Bob's peak where along the way up, you'll see…read morestunning panoramic views of the town and lake below. Once at the top, everything is clearly signposted, with access to the Ben Lomond Track trailhead as well as the luge. We opted for the 3 luge ride package, which was the minimum number of rides that you have to do. The process is well organized, with separate lines for first-timers and returning riders. On our first run, we received a quick safety briefing and after that, we were off! There were two tracks you can choose from for the ride down. Overall, it was a really fun experience, and we had a great time!

The skyline gondola and luge at Queenstown was a great experience. The gondola is the steepest…read moregondola I've ever seen and gives beautiful views of the lake at city below. They do a gondola and 3+ luge pass that was so much fun. One thing I'll caveat though is the clientele and safety is much more reckless and lax than the Rotorua location. There were a few times when customers stopped completely on the track or rear-ended other customers, which was really concerning. My mother-in-law got rear ended pretty hard at the finish by a reckless customer, which was really scary. There's only 2 tracks currently open and you can get some air on the dart track. They're doing a lot of construction on the tracks, so hopefully they add more tracks soon. If I were to do the luge again, I'd do the Rotorua location since the tracks are longer and more scenic and seems safer.

VISIT: end of February 2020 TOUR: Glenorchy Islands Safari…read moreTour BOOKING: We booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards, booking also available directly through their site GREAT FOR BEGINNERS: 5 stars EXPERIENCE: wayy more than 10 stars TOUR GUIDE: 5 stars This was probably one of the most life changing and beautiful things I have ever done. When we started coming across Kayak tours, my husband was very excited, but I was a bit nervous as I have never kayaked (neither has he haha). I could not be more happy that our first kayak experience was THIS and with these guys. The owner picked us up from our hotel and drove us to the spot and was very friendly and knowledgeable. We were able to leave stuff in the van, if needed and they were able to accommodate and bring things in the kayak that we'd like with waterproof bags, etc. We got extremely lucky and the water was like glass and just absolutely beautiful this day. Our tour guide did a great job of explaining the kayaks and where we would be going, sharing great stories of the islands and history of New Zealand. I am so impressed with the New Zealand way of life with our tour guide saying that a lot of what he talked about he learned in school - which in America we wouldn't learn that extensively about our environment. He was also so patient and willing to stop when we wanted to take our many photos :O) We stopped on an island where he talked about the history of the island, the plants and the animals. I saw a review that said they didn't like this part and I can see how some wouldn't. But if you keep an open mind and submerge yourself into the culture and what the tour guide is talking about, my husband and I loved it and it had some spectacular views! I should also note that it was just our tour guide in his kayak and us in another. As this was RIGHT before the pandemic started reaching these areas we had a private tour. FOOD/DRINKS: our tour guide did have snacks and drinks in his kayak with him BATHROOMS: there is a small port-a-potty type toilet right as you get to the kayaks (where you get in them/out of them) BEGINNERS: I highly recommend them for beginners, as we were. I was extremely apprehensive when booking this trip, but cannot be thankful enough that we ended up with Rippled Earth.

Super fun first rafting trip for me!…read more I'll admit I was very anxious at first. I get very motion sick and I have a terror of the open water because of how sea sick I can get. BUT... my husband kept telling me that if his 60+ year old grandma could do it way back when... what am I supposed to be afraid of? This operation is very safe. They get you into a two piece wet suit, water shoes, a helmet and a lifevest on. Really, you're SUPER safe. Once you're in your gear, they take you on a drive through the canyon (about 45 minutes) and then set you up for a 1.5-2 hour rafting experience through Shotover Canyon! Our guide, Adam, was great. We didn't flip (thankfully, since I was terrified) and I had an overall great time. I did slightly roll on my ankle but that's more on my form than anything else. After 2 days, I'm on a quick road to recovery. Thanks for the first experience! I'll be doing this more in the future!

What is it with rafting guides? There must be a checkbox during their job interview that asks Rate…read moreyourself on an asshole scale of 1-10. They all seem so bitter to be taking care of tourists....But when you give it back, they get really butthurt.....I guess that happens when you live off Ramen and gut rot beer. Anyway, we were lucky enough to Grace as our boat guide and she was awesome! She asked loads of questions and seemed wholly interested in our boat of 6 but she was also no nonsense and stern when it came to our safety. She practiced with us over and over how to navigate the boat however I think we were all aware that she was doing the majority of the work. The whole set up was fine....board a bus from Queenstown. Get to a shop where you get your wetsuit, helmet, booties, and vest. This is the area where you just shake your head listening to many of these asshats berate their clients in their effort to be witty. Changing rooms with one locker for your valuables. Then another bus ride to the start of the river where you get an extensive safety talk...much appreciated. Hop in and you're off for 2 hours. Afterwards, there is a hot shower room before bussing it back to the city. Again...Grace the guide....made it great!

My husband and I embarked on a Nomad Safari 4W, all-day LOTR tour-two of nine in the complete…read moregroup, split between two vehicles convoying with each other. The tour ran 8-5pm, picking us up at our hotel, splitting the day between a morning session (complete with coffee, tea, and biscuits), dropped off for lunch paid for at Balls & Bangles, and an afternoon session (complete with coffee, tea, and biscuits) Our morning tour guide started our day off with a fantastic 'let's do this' attitude, amping us up for a day of exploration. During the drive, he blended the experience between LOTR nerdom and NZ culture & history, giving us a well-rounded South Island excursion. We could really tell he not only followed the standard Nomad script, complete with photo references of movie shoot locations & must-know facts, but added a lot of additionally researched information-it showed a passion for promoting the South Island, we truly enjoyed. For the LOTR portion, it was excellent to see specific photo references. Then when enjoying being at specific sites each tour guide had a positive readiness to help take photos, even bringing out props, at a few spots, to help re-create famous scenes. Lunch was pre-paid, we had a $20 credit at the restaurant to pick what we would like to eat, then time to meet up with the next convoy. The afternoon session was again blended between LOTR sites & NZ culture; including more movie site locations, then stopping in Arrowtown to drive the river, pan for gold, and drive along Skipper's Canyon- the tour guides in our second session added their own unique flare to the experience, driving along adrenaline pumping routes, relaying facts about NZ's crazy drives & where else to visit. Overall, the entire day was a very memorable experience. The company went above & beyond to provide a truly 5star day.

We just finished the Routeburn Track with Angelo G. As our guide. He picked us up at our hotel in…read morethe morning and explained the area history, flora and fauna along the way to the National Park. This is the best hike we have been on. Angelo was very professional and well versed in the demands of the trek. He is very knowledgeable about the plants and birds we encountered along the way. We learned a lot and enjoyed ourselves through the whole day. I highly recommend this tour! Thank you Angelo and Nomad Safaris.

This was such a great experience!…read more I'm not a daredevil by any means, but this was just adventurous enough to be fun without making me sick. Booking was easy - I went through Viator - and pickup was quick and easy to find. Once we got up to the peak, we quickly got set up and were flying in no time. The instructor was great and put in a few light acrobatics once I was comfortable. I even got to steer a bit! I will likely never sky dive or bungy jump (too scared of heights and falling) but this was a great option for me, since I was more of an active participant. This was a great way to see New Zealand from the air without either jumping from a plane or hiring a helicopter. The instructor/guide will take photos and video with a go pro while you're flying, and you have the option to buy a USB of the trip after you're back on the ground. I thought it was reasonably priced. I suggest you bring some cash in case the credit card machine doesn't work (it was fine for me, but hey, things happen, and an ATM isn't exactly handy.) Now get out there and enjoy!

We very much enjoyed our paragliding experience. The staff and guides were very friendly, helpful…read moreand informative. The only negative was the price. It is a little expensive considering the small amount of actual flight time. Also, to purchase their videos and/or pictures, it is very expensive! However, if you have a chest strap, you can wear your own GoPro. It can not be on your wrist or attached in any other manner other than the chest strap.

VISIT: end of February 2020 TOUR: Bike the Bridges -…read moreArrowtown to Gibbston Supported Tour VIEWS: 5 stars HELP FROM TOUR GUIDE: 5 stars SUITABLE FOR ALL ENDURANCE LEVELS: 4 stars DEALS: I found them through Chase Ultimate Rewards and several other sites MEETING SPOT: close to Fergburger and Fergbaker This tour was an honest pleasant surprise for us. The videos online looked cool, but mostly we got to experience so much that I don't think we would have seen. I would have never made a special trip to Arrowtown or Gibbston just based on the research I did, but what a beautiful way to view this amazing country! You meet at their meeting spot where the tour guide will drive you to your starting point. The tour guide stayed with everyone until they were comfortable on which path they were following and made sure that bikes and helmets were all sized appropriately. Our tour guide even gave special care to someone in our group that didn't speak English. You can leave items in the van, if you'd like, but my husband and I just had everything in our backpacks as the van is only there during certain check points. After that you are pretty much on your own with the bike tour, which was refreshing that you could go at your own pace. You see your tour guide at regular intervals along your track and that's always refreshing, in case you get tired you can always hop in the van. Along the way, you ride by the AJ Hackett bungee jumpers which was a nice stop to watch and use the restrooms and grab snacks, if you need. Then our tour ended at the Gibbston Winery which was just a nice treat after a good workout. ACTIVITY LEVEL: one of my biggest tenets is that the company dubs the Bike the Bridges tour a relatively easy ride and although it was, I was personally surprised at how much of a workout was. There was a good amount of inclines/declines and I workout regularly and have an active job, so I was relatively surprised. However, I realized after being in New Zealand that many of their residents are so active that I'm sure this would be an easy ride. For those on the fence, they do have electric bikes for rent, so that might be the way to go. NAVIGATION: the navigation is very easy and the trails are clearly marked. As mentioned above, your tour guide also makes sure he's waiting at regular intervals along your trail, so I wouldn't let that deter you I WOULD 100% DO THIS AGAIN: I am not a typical tourist that would return to do things again, but I cannot begin to explain how magical this was. Plus the tour was a half day, so we actually booked this the afternoon of our first full day in New Zealand to give us time to adjust to jet lag and the long tour the day before

As I was planning activities to do while in Queenstown, I stumbled upon this place that offers bike…read moretours that had really positive reviews. However, since I have never really done long distance biking before, I was hesitant to sign up for one of the tours that takes you further in and you bike back to the shop in downtown Queenstown. I decided to just rent an e-bike for half a day which would allow me to go at my own pace and return when I wanted to. Honestly, it was one of the best days of my life-the breathtaking scenery of Queenstown and the comfort of my own solitude exploring the bike paths overlooking Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown trail, Shotover bridge/river, Kawarau River... The person helping me at the shop was really friendly-helped walked me through how to use an e-bike (it was my first time using an e-bike but thought it would be the safest option in case I tired myself out later) and helped to adjust the seat as well when I had some trouble. The e-bike had different levels of support (eco, medium, and high)-I used eco mode for most of the time but used medium and high on my way back and it hardly used any of the battery life at all (there is a level usage on the screen). They provide you with a map which I used along with my phone to ensure I was on the right path but there are also many signs along the way, so I would say it would be hard to get lost. I would totally recommend this bike shop if you want a little adventure during your stay in Queenstown -something not as crazy as bungee jumping but will give you a thrill and some amazing views.