“Reception to be held at Ferburgers”

We were up bright and early and headed into town for our Skipper’s Canyon Jetboat adventure. Jetboating is the iconic Kiwi adventure right behind bungy jumping. Some companies make it a thrill ride, while others focus more on scenery. Skippers Canyon is a nice blending of the two.

Dion was our bus driver and guide and really made the trip with his sense of humor and knowledge. Skipper’s Canyon Road lived up to its reputation. It was foggy at first. The cliff faces were only inches away on one side, and sometimes both sides. The canyon dropped-off was still very apparent, despite the clouds. We did have to pass a couple of cars, but Dion handled it like the pro he is. Although he did have some tales of others who had mishaps.

We got down to the landing and geared up with raincoats and life jackets. We were advised as how to keep our cameras dry. Some folks with less expensive cameras, and sitting more towards the middle of the boat, took pictures as we screamed down the narrow and shallow gorge. I never dared until we stopped and our driver, Pete, had something to say about the area.

A great trip and well worth the money.

We were dropped off right across to Ferburgers. Fred couldn’t resist the smell any longer and there wasn’t much of a queue. So we purchased one to split to take home. How someone can eat an entire burger from there is beyond me. But it was a very good burger.

We decided to hike Mount Crichton Loop this afternoon. As we headed out, we passed Ferburger and a bride in full regalia and her bridal party being seated at a table we saw reserved earlier.

Mount Crichton Loop is about a 2.5-hour loop trail that had a lot of variety. It starts by following a beautiful forest stream, and includes bridges, a waterfall, a minor’s hut, tunnel, and views. We did the track clockwise, which I would recommend. It kept the uphill bits in the shade while the downhill portion was more exposed and had solid and even footing.

We returned to Panorama Place and called Sam. Our kayak and dinner trip was on, but he wouldn’t be able to pick us up in Queenstown. I’ve heard the drive to Glenorchy is beautiful so we didn’t mind driving it ourselves. We could stop and take pictures when we wanted to. And it certainly did not disappoint!

We found the wharf at Glenorchy easily. Heck, Glenorchy isn’t that big. Sam was ready and waiting. The lake was very calm – glasslike. After a brief safety talk, we were on our way. There were a few sandflies, but otherwise, perfect. It was about 45 minutes of paddling to get to Kinloch.

We had a very satisfying meal accompanied by a bottle of wine we brought with us from Peregrine. Sam joined us, which I was happy about. He grew up in the area and told us how things have changed. He also told us what he does in the “off” season and was very interesting.

The scenery on the return trip on the kayak was breathtaking. We had calm waters to start and the surrounding mountains looked stunning in the twilight. The wind picked up towards the end, but we made it.

The Adventure Continues>>>