Ziptrek Ecotours

Queenstown Attraction To Open Soon

Date: October 19, 2009

High in the forest on Bobs Peak above Queenstown, a network of tree houses and flying foxes is growing in the canopy.

Hundreds of metres of steel rope, invisible to walkers on the ground below, anchor one giant bird's-nest to the next.

Two months from completion, the zigzag of wires will form a $1 million-plus visitor attraction on which tourists take three-hour guided flights through the vegetation.

Ziptrek Ecotours director Trent Yeo said the project was the second in the world, following a successful parent operation in Whistler, Canada.

So camouflaged was much of the attraction that many Bobs Peak hikers seemed oblivious to its construction, he said.

"A lot of people just don't notice, it's all so high in the trees, it's recessive."

Apart from the 25mm steel flying fox cables, the attraction was built from not much more than felled wilding pines, untreated macrocarpa planks and large bolts.

"We could dismantle the course in less than a month and you probably wouldn't know we'd been here."

Four of the six flying fox cables were now operational and work on the tree houses, some of them several storeys, was almost halfway through.

To protect the undergrowth, the team had avoided using heavy machinery and scaffolding, instead transporting logs through the air on zip lines wherever possible.

Mr Yeo said the company hoped to clear some of the invasive wilding pine in order to connect a small copse of native beech with a larger grove.

Ziptrek Ecotour's resource consent is the subject of a High Court judicial review, brought by neighbouring operator Skyline Enterprises. The case was heard last month with a decision expected soon, but Mr Yeo said he decided to forge ahead with developing the attraction after taking legal advice.

The land is managed by the Queenstown Lakes District Council, which granted Mr Yeo a 33-year lease in March.

All going to plan, he hopes to open in December and is now recruiting 40 staff in preparation.

Pricing for the attraction was yet to be confirmed.