Shotover Canyon Swing

Thrill Seekers in Queenstown

Canyon swinging over the Shotover River

At Queenstown Resort College in adventure tourism management we do a lot of crazy, fun activities including the Shotover canyon swing. Our class split into two groups which went at separate times and the group I was in had the exciting chance to be the first up. The unique thing about the canyon swing is that it sits dangling over the edge of a cliff which towers over the Shotover River. The awesome thing about this is that it's the same river home to the amazing Shotover Jet, and you should see the beautiful views of the canyon. Deep blue crystal clear water running down the river between two massive cliff faces almost 400 feet high. Everyone in our group were nervous of what we were about to do, including me. I am not the biggest fan of heights but there was no way I was going to pass up this irresistible opportunity.

Canyon swing

The jump is 108 metres high where you free fall for 60 metres. At the end of the free fall, an attached rope pulls the jumper into a smooth swing for 200 metres at 150 kilometres per hour across the river. You hang swinging comfortably back and forward a couple of times then you get pulled up quickly and efficiently so there is no boring wait while you get hoisted up by the jump masters The swing is only 15 minutes away from town in the company vehicle and a 3 minute bush walk to get to the private purpose built structure perched on the edge of the cliff. This creates many different exclusive views to watch friends or other people attempt this thrilling ride.

Jump styles

There are over 70 different jump styles and they are always thinking/ interested in new ideas or styles they use to make it a different experience compared with other similar activities like bungys. Jump styles are rated in undie categories 1 - 5, 1 being weak scare level and 5 being mind blowing. Some popular jump styles are the forwards jump, backwards, the chair and the Elvis cutaway. They also have the ability to go tandem with a friend and now have a new style called the slide! The team at canyon swing have creative minds and are always looking for new styles. I did the forwards leap because I wanted to see the view of the canyon and no one else had done it before me.

Fun jump masters

The jump masters take all the nerves that you have gained by watching others before you and make it 10x worse. They tease you by pretending to let you go or push you then catch you and bring you back up onto the ledge again. The poor people weak of heat or scared out of their pants get toyed and teased the most. They employ the most amusing to the jump masters who love making people cry right before they drop you off to meet the 60 metre free fall. Never tell the jump masters you are nervous either if you do then be prepared to get the fright of your life.

Canyon swing is an extremely enjoyable experience for everyone, even families with children over 10 years old. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Queenstown to go out and get at least on jump in. The staff are amazing at their job, they have such a big personality, very friendly and are always happy and enjoying what they do.

For more information and comments on Shotover canyon swing visit:
http://dillsthrills.blogspot.co.nz/2012/09/shotover-canyon-swing.html

Shotover Jet

Shotover Jet

Shotover Jet is one of Queenstown's most well known adventure tourism activities. This breathtaking, action packed, thrill ride is perfect for a family or anyone who is searching for a thrill seeking 30 minutes of pure fun. The bus ride is excellent with speakers down the isles where the bus driver speaks to the whole bus and informs the bus about the history of the Shotover River and how it was formed, its cool how the bus has speakers because you get so many other tour buses that don't have the speakers and you cannot hear what the driver has to say. The trip from town only takes 10 minutes to get to the Shotover River base.

360 on the Shotover Jet

When we arrived at the building we were taken straight down to the container which is used as the shed to house the lockers, life jackets and spray/wind breaker jackets. We jumped into the boat when they were ready and the driver gave the passengers a rough outline of what he was going to do and the hand signals for when he was going to put the boat into the 360 spin. This was the circling finger in the air from the driver which meant hold on tight and brace to be spun.

When we got going we went up to a open area and did our first 360 spin then came back past the dock sideways for a photo shoot then carried on down the river. The amazing thrill of getting so close to the canyon rocks but never hitting them was simply breath taking. The driver drifts in snakey's down the river dodging oncoming rocks and fallen branches. There was one point down the river where the driver had to get through a narrow space between two rocks and he did it with such ease it looked like he was on a Sunday cruise.

Drifting around one of the easy corners

It's not just the one jet going up and down the river at once, there are 5 boats running all at once and they have it timed perfectly when having to pass each other. One to two boats travelling up river will wait at a designated stopping area for the boat coming down river to pass. The drivers take the time to talk to the passengers and have a chat then your off again on another heart stopping experience.

Shotover Jet has evolved into a very unique and efficient business which has created perfect timing between boats passing each other when some are zig zaging up river and others skipping down at over 80 kph. A awesome family excursion to cater for almost all ages.

For more information and additional feedback go to:

http://trevaskisadventures.blogspot.co.nz/p/canyon-swing.html

Fox and Franz West Coast trip

Middle of the day the bus rolled up and surprisingly the bus driver was a real happy and a chilled out guy. We were all happy that he got on with all the students and let us eat on his little bus. The bus was a small single axel mini-bus which was good as a big bus is slow and clumsy. There was a 5-6 hour trip so a big bus would have added an extra 30-60 minutes. We visited and viewed many beautiful sights on our way to the Glaciers such as the little town of Wanaka, famous for Lake Wanaka and two man ski fields Treble Cone and Cardrona. We made our way up the West Coast passing Lake Hawea. We went to a little café diner in the region of Matarora where we had a warm welcome by the owners who prepared a homemade soup and a good dose of mash, pie and yams. While we waited for our meal we looked around the place and noticed that they owned a very substantial collection of old number plates from many different countries all over the world. After our meal we made our way towards our final stop, the very small town of Franz Josef and its Glacier.

The next morning we had our helicopter ride, the groups were split into four people per group. The groups were staggered at different times and we had one of the later times at 10am. We were taken out to the Fox and Franz Helicopter services base in a little van and given instructions on how to safely enter and exit the vehicle. The pilot was friendly and easy to talk to, he dipped and chased the shammys around and gave people who have never been heli shooting before a good experience into what it is like. The pilot set down the helicopter on a nice snowy mound that over looked the Glacier and the neighbouring mountains. The snow was fresh powder and some places were knee deep.  The pilot took photos of us and we had a snow fight, on the way back the pilot showed us big holes in the Glacier and all the cracks that have been formed over a couple of years.

After we had lunch we got ready for our Glacier walk up the breath taking Franz Josef Glacier and the guides gave us our crampons and other equipment before they took us up to the bottom of the Glacier. On the Glacier walk we had two very well knowledgeable guides Dan and Roger, who took ups up to the where the ice starts then showed us how to attach the crampons to our shoes. We all got given poles to stab into the ice and help stabilise us. They took us to some crazy looking crevasses and gaps where we could walk between.  When we got back to Franz we got something to eat then got on the bus and headed to Fox.

When we got to Fox we went to our night’s stay named Ivory Towers, it was actually a well set out backpackers that was in good condition. They had a good hot pot of soup waiting for our arrival which was very thoughtful of them. That night’s dinner we went to the Speight’s Ale House, we had a choice of a very delicious range of food. The food far exceeded our expectations. We were able to go to the supermarket after dinner and buy some food for the next day.

We had the Kayak the next day at Mapourika with Glacier Country Kayaks. The day was clear and the water was perfectly glass flat, the two guides split our class into two groups, our group guide was Ben who had a wide range or knowledge, he is an acting Department of Conservation (DOC) ranger which has helped him know more of the environment. Ben was very easy to get along with and had a really cool personality.

When we finished the Kayak everyone got on the bus and wanted to get on the road and get home so we got comfortable and prepared for the 6 hour road trip home. Overall the trip was awesome and would recommend any of these activities to whoever is interested. If in the price budget the helicopter ride was the most enjoyable and is highly recommended.

For more information on this trip and these activities visit:
http://trevaskisadventures.blogspot.co.nz/p/west-coast-trip.html