21/04/06
Visitors Erika Hansen and Scott Patefield got a surprise welcome at the top of the Skyline Gondola last week.
They were showered with flowers and champagne as the 10 millionth passengers to ride the gondola since it opened back in 1968.
After getting over their initial surprise they were quick to express their thoughts on Queenstown, “it’s definitely our favourite place in New Zealand, the scenery is incredible!”
Pressed for time the Colorado couple took the gondola as part of a plan to climb Ben Lomond on their final full day in Queenstown before heading home.
They received a complimentary dinner in the Skyline Restaurant on their return, complete with a Maori cultural performance from Kiwi Haka, free luge rides and a year’s pass to come back and ride the gondola.
Home to Queenstown’s most spectacular views, Skyline is without a doubt the number one activity with visitors to Queenstown. Originally accessed by a hardy few on foot, the installation of the Southern Hemisphere’s first gondola proved popular and lay the foundation for Skyline’s place as one of New Zealand’s leading tourism companies.
The gondola lifts an average of 1500 people daily to the Skyline complex located 450 vertical metres above Queenstown. Passenger numbers continue to climb – after reaching the 5 millionth milestone in 1994, Skyline carried a record 540,000 people last year.
