Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and Skippers Canyon

I would like to be upfront with you: this post falls into the category of 'did you know...?' So: did you know that Skippers Canyon featured in one of the Lord of the Rings movies? Yes?! how wonderful :-) Did you know that Skippers featured only for a few tiny seconds in 'The Fellowship of the Ring'? Yes? how extra-ordinary. You must be a true insider, well done!

So there you go. That was easy to share. Skippers Canyon and the Shotover River played an impressive part in this first movie of this world famous trilogy. ... I'm sorry, could you please repeat your last thought? I could not properly 'receive' it... Might it be that you were thinking 'what is she writing about?' You mean that you are not familiar with every little single detail of the Lord of the Rings settings and the stories behind them? I beg you pardon... so please let me explain.

Here we go. Do you remember this scene?

Arwen is calling for the flood. This picture is scanned from the original Lord of the Rings Location guidebook. It was published by Ian Brodie in 2003. You find this picture on page 87. This second picture was taken at the very same place just last month by Simon Stone who is kind enough to let us use it.

As you can see, Arwen rode with Frodo through the Shotover River, followed by the Black Riders. And this is all she did - she rode through the river. She could not ride down into the river from the other side (as it is featured in the movie), because... there is actually a steep drop... The Shotover River is only accessible from one side; at least at this point here. Arwen and Frodo rode down a ford that is located in... Arrowtown.

Peter Jackson and his team truly created a masterpiece. They succeeded in placing us all into this very scene of the pursuit that Arwen and Frodo had to endure and they absolutely made a terrific job in putting together scenes that created those unforgettable movie moments.

No wonder that everyone is waiting eagerly to see what the 'master' Sir Peter Jackson has in store for us with 'The Hobbit'. A couple of months ago, the production team for 'The Hobbit' was in Queenstown. They did not find a suitable location in Skippers Canyon which they wanted to feature in this upcoming latest edition of the tale. But nevertheless, the wider area of Queenstown still plays a noticeable role in the movie.

One of my team members volunteered in driving a truck from A to B for the filming crew. He told me that he drove the make up truck and it was a HUGE one. He did not see any actors - unfortunately. But anyway, his contribution gave us a little glimpse of how work-intensive such a movie production is and how many people find work for even those seemingly unimportant tasks like transferring the make up truck from A to B - truly remarkable.

So there you have it. Skippers Canyon only played a short role in the first movie 'The Fellowship of the Ring'. It will not feature in 'The Hobbit'.

Nevertheless, Skippers Canyon is and always will be OUR precious...

Skippers Canyon or when Words are not enough

I would like to share a comment which we frequently receive from some of our customers. They tell us that 'everyone' should have come on our unforgettable Skippers Canyon tour and that we should get the word out there far better that we currently do. We are glad to hear that as soon as our customers joined our Skippers tour they are hooked like we are - thanks so much! - but then, as soon as we ask them 'how exactly would you describe what you just saw and experienced?' the astonishing answer is usually 'I actually don't know - you truly have to see Skippers Canyon in order to understand what it's all about'.

Yeah, we know... sometimes words are hard or even impossible to find. And then there are the firm believers of the fact that a picture often says more than a thousand words. True, very much so - thank you for sharing!

Skippers Canyon seen from Maori Point Saddle

You may have guessed that we do ask our customers 'which picture of the canyon would you use as your 1 picture to portray this unique area?'. Would it astonish you to learn that the answer to this question is more or less the same as we already discussed? 'I actually would not know' is the conclusion.

Which picture IS the right one? The one that shows the entire beauty and diversity of Skippers Canyon? Which description should be added to the 1 picture so that everyone would understand immediately why Skippers is worth a visit?

I know... questions over questions - and answers are not easy to come by.

But then again: we can only share what we can offer and that is Skippers Canyon, its historic background, combined with some entertainment but most of all, free time to experience something unique. And this very last point, experience something unique, can only be done by every single traveler who decides to join us. We aim to let you feel our own passion for Skippers, we try to breathe some life into the area by talking about the goldminer's legacy. From what I understand from our customers, we do a pretty good job with this - at least so far.

But then again: YOU would be the judge of our success. And please be assured: I am dying to hear your thoughts...

Skippers Canyon: when Theory meets Practice

Didn't we learn it all in school...? How ash and molten rock were stacked on layer upon layer upon layer, creating unique and mesmerizing stone formations, how glaciers carved out the details of nature's work or how canyons were created by those mighty rivers? Yes, yes... I know... it was in school and we heart it all. Back in those days, this was all theory and I have to confess, this information was a little bit out there - I was basically asking 'why is this important?'

Well: now that I am a little bit older and the manager for Queenstown Heritage Tours, those theories get a different meaning. Skippers Canyon and its natural beauty would not be here and would not be something my team and myself LOVE to share. For me - nowadays - theory meets practice.

This very same conclusion was shared with one of our customers who joined our unforgettable Skippers Canyon tour the other day. He told us that he is a retired teacher who used to tell his pupils exactly those stories: how ash and molten rock were stacked and how rivers would carve out this remarkable creation. He said 'here in Skippers Canyon, I can see what I used to teach'.

This is what we so love about our business and the work we do. We do not only share this stunning, breathtaking, unique and remarkable area with our customers (yeah, I know - I am still biased...:-) ) but we are truly blessed with our own once-in-a-lifetime experiences that our customers offer to us: sharing their stories and explaining why Skippers Canyon is special to them, too.

Thank you all for sharing!

150 Years Goldrush Anniversary

This coming November 2012 marks a unique milestone in the history of Skippers Canyon. It will be 150 years ago when gold was first found in the Shotover River at Arthur's Point. This site is named after Thomas Arthur who was the one who discovered the shine and precious metal.

And the goldrush was born. People flocked to this area. The goldminers started their venture in 1862 and continued to digg for gold for nearly 40 years.

Today, Skippers Canyon is one of the areas where we still can see the impact of this goldrush. Next to the stunning natural beauty, Skippers Canyon remains nearly frozen in time, quietly showcasing all sorts of adventures.

This year's November will be special to us. Come and visit this goldmine of history, breathtaking landscapes and remote New-Zealandness.

unforgettable Skippers Canyon - book your adventure today.

Queenstown Heritage Tours Skippers Canyon Tour

Which Skippers Canyon tour is for you? The 'unforgettable' gives you 1 hour more in Skippers, but the 'vista' is cheaper.

Let me explain the differences a little bit in more details:

Our unforgettable Skippers Canyon tour takes you for 4 hours into Skippers. We offer several photo stops, short walks and we cross Skippers Bridge during this time. We visit Skippers Point where you can visit the restored Schoolhouse as well as the Homestead, while we prepare the outdoor picnic. You can enjoy some home-made cheese served on crackers, sweet biscuits with some coffee, tea or a glass of Queenstown local wine.

Our Skippers Canyon Vista tour takes you for 3 hours into the canyon. You will have plenty of time to take pictures, enjoy Skippers Road while walking short distances and get familiar with Skippers' gold rush heritage. We will turn around at Skippers Bridge and head back to Queenstown.

On both our Skippers Canyon tours, we travel on historic Skippers Road which is now protected by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. This one-way mountain road offers a true kiwi experience and adds to the excitement of both tours.

Would you like to have more information? Find them here on our official website pages:

Unforgettable Skippers Canyon
Skippers Canyon Vista

If you require any further information which is not explained on any of our pages, please don't hesitate to contact us immediately.