Skippers Canyon 4WD Heritage Tour from Queenstown
- Travel one of New Zealand’s most dramatic and historic roads
- View the iconic Skippers Suspension Bridge
- Try gold panning on the gold-rich Shotover River
- Take in panoramic views of historic gold-mining sites from Māori Point
What to expect
Take a scenic half-day 4WD tour into historic Skippers Canyon from Queenstown. Travel the legendary Skippers Road, hand-built during the Otago gold rush and carved into the cliffs above the Shotover River. Depart Queenstown toward Coronet Peak before descending into the canyon, with expansive views across the Wakatipu Basin. Visit Lighthouse Rock lookout, stop at historic mining sites, and enjoy photo opportunities including views of the Skippers Suspension Bridge. Morning or afternoon tea is included. On the return journey, try traditional gold panning at Deep Creek. Please note: access over Skippers Bridge is currently closed due to long-term maintenance and safety works, the school house and cemetery is unavailable we offer alternate additional scenic and historical stops.
Reviews
My only point of feedback for the vendor is that they didn’t confirm our pickup time in advance; I had to email and they confirmed that morning. Otherwise the tour was as promised, tour guide was knowledgeable and hospitable. Tour was a great mix of 4WD driving, breaks, infomation, etc. Our tour guide, Peter, was lovely - engaging and a great driver. Despite this being one of the “most dangerous roads in the world”, Peter’s driving never made me nervous or uncomfortable. He also had some great tour guide tricks that he shared with us to help us get that perfect photo. I would highly recommend this tour and Nomad Safaris and I would book with them again.
Rachel was a wonderful tourguide. Very astute in the history, geology, flora & fauna of the place. We were very lucky that we were the only ones on the tour, plus an "apprentice" (new hire), so the tour was probably more detail oriented than usual. We had a great time!
It was an adventurous tour with a nice tour guide.