Since there are so many things to do in Queenstown, why wouldn’t you combine your photography tour with excitement and history?

Skippers Canyon is one of New Zealand's best kept secrets. It does not only feature one of the most beautiful landscapes but is filled with history. We will share our knowledge about Queenstown's very heritage and take you comfortably and at your pace through this photography goldmine.

In 3 hours, you will take amazing pictures. We are convinced that you will say 'This is one of the best things to do in Queenstown'.

You travel for 3 hours through historic Skippers Canyon in a comfortable 4WD minibus. All photo stops are on demand and enable you to take fascinating pictures of this remarkable natural landscape. We guarantee that you will be thrilled by this breathtaking canyon - it will surely impress you by its grandeur.

You and your camera will be busy while exploring this photography goldmine. You will have motives like historic remains, unique stone formations, engineering masterpieces that were created by the goldminers and simply the natural beauty of the canyon. We are convinced that you will surely amaze your family and friends at home with the pictures you take on this photography tour.

Here is the time table of this all-weather tour - Skippers Canyon Vista:

Daily Departures at:
9 am or 2 pm - 3 hours tour

Tour concludes:
12 pm or 5 pm

Tour includes:
Pick up from your Queenstown accommodation
on demand stops and short walks

Price per Adult: NZD130.--
Price per Child: NZD65.-- (up to 15 years of age)
Prices are valid from 1 October 2011 through to 30 September 2012. Please note that this tour might not be available in Winter.

You will travel in small groups of maximun 9 passengers in comfortable 4WD minivans with a guarantee of a forward facing seat. Plenty of photo stops and short walks keep you busy on this 60 km return photography tour.

Skippers Canyon is famous for the Goldrush. Gold was discovered in the Shotover River in mid-November 1862 by Thomas Arthur and Harry Redfern.They mined continuously for about two months in the vicinity of the Edith Cavell Bridge site and in this time they secured gold worth about $8'000.

With such high rewards at stake it is not hard to believe that swarms of miners literally raced to the area. Accurate figures though about how much gold was found cannot be provided as no official record was kept. An estimation listed around 5'000 miners worked in Skippers Canyon.Close behind the diggers came those who earned their money from providing services for the miners. Packers, storekeepers, hotel proprietors, blacksmiths, butchers and bakers established settlements in what are now deserted areas.

During the 1870s the number of miners working individually decreased steadily. They were replaced by large companies who invested in dredging. Numerous ventures were floated at one time or another but most companies failed to make a success of their operations and did not survive very long.In the years immediately after the road had been constructed as far as Skippers, tourist companies operated a single-day return journey from Queenstown. Subject to road and weather conditions the coach, drawn by four horses, left Queenstown at 8 am. It took about five hours to reach Mount Aurum station where the horses were changed before the return journey began. An entry in the 1925 'Official Southland Guide' described the journey to Skippers as follows:

SKIPPERS. Lake County. Is a wild and romantic mining district, about twenty miles from Queenstown, from which place the trip to Skippers is considered the premier excursion for tourists, daily trips being made, leaving at 8 am and returning at 6 pm, the mode of conveyance being by coach, each comfortably accommodating ten passengers, all box seats, thus ensuring an uninterrupted view. The return fare, including morning tea and luncheon, is 19 shillings. Post Office and Telephone. Population, 21.
see for more details: 'The Road to Skippers' by Danny Knudson, Published by Reed Books, First published 1974, reprinted 1980, New Edition 1995

Today you can travel in comfort and style through this living history. You have the choice of combining this photography tour with wine tasting in the afternoon.