Queenstown

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Skyline Gondola, Restaurant and Luge

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dawn
dawn
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
4
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Editor Pick

For the Little Kid Racer in You

  • February 22, 2009
  • Rated 4 of 5 by lo7la from Elmhurst, Illinois
For the Little Kid Racer in You

To even get up to the luge you have two options. You walk up the steep hill in front of you or you travel up the gondola. While the walk is free the gondola ride is factored into your luge package price. Seating for 4 and the view, on a good day, is spectular. You get sweeping views of the city the lake and the surrounding mountains. I would suggest going up in early afternoon (depending on the season) to see it in the light and coming back down in early evening to see it with all the lights on.
Once at the top building you walk through and up a few steps to collect your helmet. These may look absolutely ridiculous and once you spot the luge carts you may begin to wonder why you need them. It doesn't look so hard core. A two seater lift takes you even further up the hill to the beginning of the luge track.
There you swipe your ticket through and chose your track. There are two to chose from: scenic or advanced. However on your first run you are forced to chose scenic. The experienced staff mark your hand to show you've done the scenic track as practice and explain how to work the carts. Mainly, how to stop. Once they are satisfied you have mastered this skill they send you down 1 or 2 at a time. Then it's everyone for themselves. 800 meters of fast paced downhill luging. While you might be squeeling like a child you realize this isn't childs play. You navagate yourself through sharp corners and tunnels while to pass or keep from being passed yourself. And that was the scenic track! At the bottom you come to a stop before the track feeds you into a narrow tyre lined path back to the chairlift. Take care around this area as pileups have been known to happen.
Once is almost never enough and soon you are placing your cart back on conveyerbelt and you are back in line for the next run. The advanced track runs even faster and you are glad to have your helmet firmly on your head.
The company takes pictures of you while in the chairlift if you want to shell out $20 for a picture if you've forgotten your camera. Otherwise there are spots that onlookers (and those with the faint of heart) can stand and watch or take happy snaps.
The package deals are well worth the money for the enjoyment they bring. And after you can enjoy a beer or soda or even dinner in the resturante bar area and take in the views.
Prices: Gondola & Luge packages range from $29 - $42 NZD.

From journal The Adventure Queen

Skyline Gondola & Adventure Activities

  • August 14, 2007
  • Rated 3 of 5 by Guanilo from Mclean, Virginia
Skyline Gondola & Adventure Activities

Perched on the ridge high above Queenstown, Skyline provides a commanding view of the entire lake region and the Remarkables. It's worth the $15 or so (US) for the gondola ride up to the top for the views. Once you're there, there are quite a few things to do -- the land luge (more like a gravity powered cart), bungee jumping, a restaurant and a Maori show. To get down off the ridge, you can take the gondola down, or you can do a tandem paraglide back to Queenstown.

We elected not to avail ourselves of the more dramatic options on Skyline, and rather just had lunch. The food at lunch buffet was pretty much average and the service was non-existent. A disappointment, really, even it was only $25 (US) per person.

www.skyline.co.nz

From journal 2005 Trip to New Zealand

Editor Pick

Skyline Gondola

  • April 21, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by stomps from Houston, Texas
Skyline Gondola

The Skyline Gondola is something that can be seen from pretty much anywhere in Queenstown. Its path snakes up the side of a hill behind Queenstown, opposite from Lake Wakatipu.This is a ride that every visitor to Queenstown should take, no matter how adventurous. If you think it is not interesting enough for you, then go for the bungee jump nearing the top—not only can you jump off a platform 43m in the air, you can do it while everyone going up and down the mountain are watching you!Compared to everything else in Queenstown, this activity is actually relatively cheap—at least you don't have to consider not eating dinner to fit doing this into your budget. I believe I paid around NZ$35 for both the gondola and three luge rides at the top.The gondola ride itself is just a typical gondola ride, although if you are on your own it can be interesting. Luckily, the only other person in the cabin with me was a fairly normal British guy. As you creep up the mountain, Queenstown spreads itself out in front of you, along with Wakatipu and its surroundings, and the Remarkables become more and more stunning. Every once in a while, if you're lucky, you'll get to see someone jump off the AJ Hackett bungy platform to the left of the gondolas.At the top, there is the typical shop, along with a restaurant that is rather expensive and requires advance donations. I just stood transfixed by the views from seemingly every direction. I eventually pried myself (and the camera) away, and headed for the luge track.The luge track is up another small ski lift. Before you get on the lift, you are given a helmet. If you go at a time that isn't very busy, like I did at 5 o clock on a weekday afternoon, when you get to the top, you are put onto a luge car and sent down the beginner track. And although this is not actual luge (you are on a sled-type thing with wheels with handlebars which you can push away or pull towards you depending on the amount of speed you want, rather than on an iced track speeding downhill as fast as possible with no way to break unless you break yourself), it is still exhilarating to be rushing down hill that quickly. It's kind of hard to keep your eyes on the track when there is so much to be seen around you as well.I'm glad I bought more than one trip down the luge, because the advanced track looked much more exciting than the beginners track. I headed up the mountain and found that I was right—and my advice is, when it says slow down, big drop, they mean it! I didn't exactly heed this advice and found myself flying through the air, which was exciting and slightly scary. I definitely advise buying the three rides because you always want one more trip!

From journal Adventures in Queenstown

Editor Pick

Skyline Gondola & Adventure Activities

  • February 20, 2002
  • Rated 4 of 5 by dawn from Chicago, Illinois
Skyline Gondola & Adventure Activities

Gondola ride-$14
5 luge rides & gondola-$26
Kiwi Experience movie-$8
Tandem Paraglide-$120
Bungee jump-$85

Did I tell you that I'm not fond of heights? You would never get me to jump off a perfectly stable mountain unless there was a raging wall of flames at my back! I hate to question the mental state of those waiting in line to hurl themselves into the abyss !

On the other hand...riding the gondola up the side of Big Bob Mountain is a fun and beautiful thing to do. There isn't a more perfect view from all of Queenstown! The ride up/down is fairly fast. Just about the time your little old heart begins to go into overload...you are safe on Terre Firma again!

The Remarkables bite at the sky beyond while Lake Wakatipu sits like a blue sparkling diamond in the center. As night falls directly below you, the neon lights of stores and restaurants alight in a rainbow of color that seems to twinkle like distant stars.

In summer, the sun sets around 21:00, so I would time my adventure being very sure that I would be up there for any fiery spectacles. All of the adventure sports and the movie close before sunset. The bar and the restaurant remain open later. My guidebooks says until 21:30, but we were still eating at that time. Perhaps they don't allow anyone else up from the bottom of the hill but continue to bring people back from dinner and music.

The tamest of the rides are on the luge track where you sit on a sled with rollers. It does have a break and you do have your choice of a fast track or a slow track. Breaks are good on a moving object!

I was propositioned to jump off the mountain with a guy who looked about my sons age.
" No thank-you" I said smiling " Do your parents know that you are doing this?"
Later, I saw someone zip past the window I was sitting at having dinner...looked like he was going to come through the building and grab my dessert! Oc course, he cointinued riding the air currants out across the valley!

I could only tolerate watching one bungee jumper. Ron was so embarrassed as I stood there pounding my fist on the railing yelling, " NO! DON'T DO IT!" I wanted to run and go hug that poor boy---saved from certain death--but I would have had to walk out on a narrow platform that juts away from solid ground. Self Preservation and my husbands restraining hand saved me from my own social disaster!

From journal Hobbit Adventures at the Bottom of the World

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