Our Story
Ziptrek ecotours engages the young and young at heart through a unique and fun zipline experience in queenstown.
Ziptrek is a must-do, multi award-winning adventure ecotourism business renowned for delivering awareness and appreciation of the natural environment along with a healthy dose of ziplining adventure.
Ziptrek was founded in 2001 in Whistler, Canada by Charles Steele and David Udow with a goal to provide a unique experience combining nature-based learning with a rush of adrenaline. In December 2009 Trent Yeo, a former Ziptrek Whistler employee committed to a partnership to open the first global Ziptrek operation in Queenstown, New Zealand. Yeo's background in sustainable architecture with outdoor education was a perfect fit for the business.
When our business was first established on Bobs Peak, we launched the Moa 4 line Tour. This tour incorporated four ziplines through the forest canopy connecting aerial treetop platforms (treehouses) that descended one third of the way down the mountain. In November 2010, we launched the Kea 6 line Tour which saw guests travelling all the way to the bottom of the mountain, including a beautiful walk through native beech forest. This tour now claims the world's steepest tree to tree zipline ride! Then in 2018 we launched a slight adrenaline twist with the Kereru Tour which incorporates 2 ziplines and then finishes with a 21m drop off one of our treehouses to the forest floor.
Our eco-credentials are rapidly developing momentum and within 18 months of opening we won the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce Sustainable Business Award and received the Qualmark Enviro Gold award in May 2011. Then came the Fairfax Media Sustainable 60 Award for Marketplace and in November 2012 the Chamber of Commerce Award for Best Tourism, Activities or Events as well as the Best Outdoor Adventure Tourism award at the 2013 Outdoors New Zealand award ceremony in Rotorua. Most recently we won the Environmental Tourism Award at last years Tourism Industry Award ceremony. Ziptrek also works closely with the local community and are a patron of the Queenstown Trails Trust, Sponsor of the Tuatara enclosure at Kiwi Birdlife Park and, in the past, were in partnership with the Queenstown Lakes Biodiesel Consortium and worked with Otago Polytechnic on their Sustainable 360 business program.
Since launching, Ziptrek Ecotours has caught the attention of global television and print media putting them in front of millions of people across countries such as Australia, UK, Germany, Brazil, China, New Zealand, Canada and the USA.
How we built it
It took approximately 4 months to build the Ziptrek course. All the timber used in the construction is locally sourced Macrocarpa, which is naturally durable and was all zipped into place by hand. The supporting beams of the 12 Treehouses on the course are the trunks of invasive wilding pine that was already on the course. With the Douglas Firs in New Zealand growing at 3 times the pace of their equivalent in North America, they clearly love our climate.
Ziptrek requires limited power on course for our safety gates, our Eftpos facility and our in-house photo system which is provided year round by fitted solar panels. Whilst most of our guests choose to either walk or use the pre-existing transportation hub of the gondola to access our tour area we do have one vehicle we use on course to transport our staff and equipment, this is fuelled by Biodiesel and allows for us to be as eco-friendly as possible.
In addition to being environmentally conscious in our chosen materials on course, we also have a few programs in place to ensure we are being environmentally conscious at all times. These include the eradication of wilding pines on the course and around Bob's Peak, a native tree and shrub planting program and stoat and possum traps around the course to name a few.
Lastly, our purchasing decisions are also centred around being environmentally aware by ensuring our staff uniform and merchandise we sell in our shop is organic cotton or NZ made where possible. All marketing material and collateral is printed on recycled paper using vegetable based inks.
Whilst on tour
Ziptrek delivers a fun eco-adventure that combines a personal guided zipline journey with sustainable education, in a receptive and engaging environment that creates lasting memories.
This represents our approach to our operation as we are educating our guests in environmental and destinational matters as well as giving them a great fun experience that they will remember for a lifetime.
Ziptrek Ecotours model was based on a fundamental education theory whereby we teach a systems thinking model of sustainability based on peer reviewed science called ‘The Natural Step’. Whilst our guests zip through the trees, alongside an amazing view of Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables mountain range, our guides talk on the Treehouse decks, between each zipline, about the sustainabiliy processes that we follow at Ziptrek as well as interesting information on Queenstown as a destination including Maori legends and myths.
In fact we encourage you to see what is said about us, our interpretative story and our levels of service through our Latest News or the independent social site Tripadvisor.
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