There wasn’t much that I liked about Queenstown, to be perfectly honest. It was swarming with people, everything was focused on the winter activities and the town looked like any ski resort town found around the world. That being said, there was one experience that saved the day and made me rethink my opinion on zip lining and the town.
ZipTrek Ecotours, as I later learned, has several locations around the world, but their flagship locations are in Whistler and Queenstown. They obviously have the ski town market covered. More than just offer a thrilling ride through the tree tops though, the guides actively educate the participants along the way about the regional natural habitat and the importance of conservation.
Before Queenstown, the only other time I had zip lined was on Grouse Mountain outside of Vancouver. While the experience was ok, each line ended with me slamming into the end, a fact which didn’t make me particularly happy. That’s why I was a little nervous as I walked down to the first line of the day in Queenstown.
Imagine my surprise when, at the end of the line, the guides gently reeled me in rather than let me slam into a block. I was instantly hooked and looked at my guides with admiration and thanks.
The rest of the morning was a blur of trees, mountain and lake views and adrenalin rushing fun. Everyone in my group was sad when we approached the last line, but happy to have spent a fun morning in the resort town.
While I wasn’t totally enamored by Queenstown, ZipTrek turned what would have been a total disaster into a great morning. If through some unlikely quirk you find yourself in this New Zealand snow town, skip everything else and take the ZipTrek adventure for yourself.
