Ziptrek Ecotours

Here, everyone can hear you scream

All is quiet in the forest canopy on Bobs Peak, save for the occasional peal of bird song. Mist shrouds the steep slopes and fat drops of rain drip from towering douglas firs. The air smells like dirt.  Suddenly the still is pierced by a shrill scream, the shriek growing more urgent as a girl flies out of the trees with her legs akimbo above her head. Welcome to Ziptrek Ecotours. The Queenstown attraction opens on Friday after several years fighting through red tape to operate its flying fox tours on Bobs Peak.  Yesterday, I got to fly down it myself. Guide Ian Rummer begins the day with a colourful safety briefing, in particular reminding participants they should not grab the steel flying fox wire above their heads while in flight. "I don't know if you've grabbed a chainsaw in operation before, but it's not a good idea."

I am also given a shiny new helmet and trussed up in a BDSM-quality harnesses, replete with all manner of straps and clips. The first flight is about 100 metres and warms up both my expectations and vocal cords. With a gentle whirr from the wire above, and branches accelerating past on both sides, I glide from the first enormous treehouse to the second.  I like.

My group congregates in the treehouse and our other guide, Madoc Hill, delivers the first of several chatty spiels about the geological origins of Queenstown and wider environment issues; manmade climate change deniers beware – this one is not for you. All other comers are likely to enjoy themselves no end – both the short treehouse interludes and especially on the following ziplines. The second ride induces blood-curdling screams, hollers and whoops as members of the group experiment by flying upside down with the legs aloft. Like something out of the Blair Witch Project, the forest sings the song of impending death. Each flight gets faster and longer, with the fourth delivering the best views of Lake Wakatipu.

But all too soon, the two-hour tour is over.Two more wires stretch down the hill and will eventually transport guests to the bottom of Bobs Peak. Though currently just a four-zipline tour, the experience does not feel underdone and drew praise from the tourism-weary workers in my party. At $119 for an adult, the attraction represents good dollar-for-minute value for a Queenstown tourism attraction and is likely to be one of the hottest tickets in town this summer.