Half-day tours cost NZ$315 a seat with Nomad Safaris or NZ$995 to NZ$1,450 for a private 4WD on a 13 km gravel road rental firms ban. Skippers Bridge has been closed since a late-2025 inspection, so no tour crosses it.
| Operator | What you get | From | Length | Group | Min age | Weight limit | Cancellation | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Skippers Canyon 4WD TourIncludes Driver/guide in a 4WD vehicle, Gold panning gear and panning in the Shotover River, Morning or afternoon tea, Free pick-up from selected central accommodation |
NZ$315 per adult |
4 hours; departs 8:15am and 1:30pm |
Max 6 per vehicle; a '4 Pax Max' option keeps every guest at a window |
No minimum age; child and booster seats on request | No refund within 24 hours of departure except in exceptional circumstances; may delay or cancel in unsuitable weather. | Check dates | ||
Skippers Canyon (Historic backcountry)Includes Private 4WD vehicle with a local guide, Transfers within Queenstown CBD, Photos |
NZ$995 per group |
Half day, allow 4 hours |
Private, your group only: up to 4 (Prado) or 6 (Troop Carrier) |
All ages; child seats on request | One vehicle: no refund or rescheduling within 48 hours; two or more vehicles: 7 days' notice. | Check dates | ||
Skippers Canyon Scenic TourIncludes Guide in a 4WD LandCruiser, Gold panning in the Shotover River, Morning or afternoon tea, Accommodation pick-up and drop-off |
NZ$1,200 per group |
4 hours; departs Queenstown 8.00am and 1.30pm |
Max 4 guests per vehicle |
All ages | Check dates | |||
Skippers Canyon Discovery TourIncludes Driver/guide, Gold panning, Refreshments |
NZ$1,200 per group |
4 hours (half day); departs 1pm May to September, 2pm October to April |
Private; 4 people maximum, minimum 2 |
Child rate 4 to 15; not suitable for infants | Check dates | |||
Skippers Canyon Heritage TourIncludes Hotel pick-up, Picnic lunch at Macleans Reserve, Visit to Branches Station |
Not listed |
6 to 7 hours; 9.00am hotel pick-up, back about 4pm |
2 to 4 people |
Check dates |
From each operator's own website, checked October 22, 2026. How we compare.
Every tour starts in central Queenstown. Nomad Safaris leaves 37 Shotover Street at 8:15 am and 1:30 pm and collects guests free from selected accommodation. Off Road Adventures includes transfers within the CBD or meets you at its shop at 61a Shotover Street. Pure Glenorchy departs at 8 am and 1:30 pm with accommodation pick-up, and Private Discovery Tours collects from hotels. The Department of Conservation describes the route as Gorge Road to Arthurs Point, the Coronet Peak turn-off, then the unsealed road signposted to Skippers. Nomad says the climb toward Coronet Peak opens views over the Wakatipu Basin before the canyon entrance.
Skippers Road is 13 km of narrow, winding gravel administered by the Queenstown Lakes District Council, and DOC says only experienced drivers should attempt it. Tourism New Zealand says rental companies will not allow their cars on it. Contractors built it between 1883 and 1890, when the only way to Skippers township and the Upper Shotover diggings was a pack track. At Pinchers Bluff and the Devils Elbow a 3 km stretch was drilled by hand and blasted from solid rock to make a platform 183 m above the river. The Richardson Mountains rise to the west and the Harris Mountains to the east.
Skippers Bridge, opened in 1901 and about 100 m above the river according to Wikipedia, is closed to all vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians until further notice. On January 12, 2026 the council said an inspection late in 2025 had found failures of the wires in its supporting cables. It cannot safely assess the load the bridge can hold. Repairs will be weighed against other roading needs in its annual planning process, with no date given. Across the bridge lies the 9,100 ha Mount Aurum Recreation Reserve and the Skippers School that DOC restored in 1992. DOC puts the drive from Queenstown to the bridge at 1.5 to 2 hours.
Each operator's standard tour is a half day of about 4 hours. Nomad Safaris stops at Lighthouse Rock, a lookout over the valley, and at Maori Point, where the scale of the old workings shows. On the way back its guides teach gold panning at Deep Creek with gear supplied, and morning or afternoon tea is included. Its 4WDs carry up to 6, with guides rotating seats; the 4 Pax Max option limits a vehicle to 4 so everyone has a window. Nomad says parts of the road appear in The Lord of the Rings films.
Off Road Adventures lists Skippers Bridge, Maori Point, Heaven & Hell Gates and mining remains along the Shotover. It says it is the only tour that goes deep into the canyon to the Ford of Bruinen, where Arwen's flood scene was filmed. Pure Glenorchy's 4 hours include gold panning in the Shotover, looking for rainbow trout, morning or afternoon tea and the Ford of Bruinen, in a LandCruiser for up to 4. Private Discovery Tours includes refreshments and gold panning on its half day. Its Heritage Tour runs 6 to 7 hours from a 9 am hotel pick-up, with walks and a private picnic at Macleans Reserve.
Pure Glenorchy's page still lists crossing the Skippers Suspension Bridge and the restored Skippers township, and Private Discovery Tours names the Skippers school and the Mount Aurum homestead. All of those lie beyond the bridge, which the council has closed to everyone, and DOC says the reserve begins only after the crossing. The 1862 gold rush drew thousands of miners here; in November 1862 Thomas Arthur and Harry Redfern took about 4 ounces of gold in 3 hours near Arthurs Point. Skippers held around 700 people in the 1860s, and in 1886 a hydro plant at Bullendale became the first industrial use of electricity in New Zealand.
Nomad Safaris' operations manager can delay or cancel a tour for rain that brings a flood risk, extreme wind, snow or ice on the road, lightning or a state of emergency. Its drivers can change the route or shorten the trip, and the company warns it may be unable to cross rivers or drive the full length of Skippers Road when water is high. Off Road Adventures runs all year and says its guide adjusts the route when a road closes; it publishes no weather refund terms. Pure Glenorchy and Private Discovery Tours state no weather policy on their Skippers pages.
Nobody sets a minimum age for the standard tours. Nomad charges NZ$165 for children 4 to 14, carries infants up to 3 free and fits child or booster seats on request. Off Road Adventures also takes all ages with child seats on request, and Pure Glenorchy says all ages. Private Discovery Tours prices children at 4 to 15, says its tour is not suitable for infants, and needs at least 2 people. None of the four publishes a weight limit.
Cancellation terms vary. Off Road Adventures gives no refund or new date within 48 hours for a single vehicle, and asks for 7 days' notice for two or more. Nomad Safaris' terms, as recorded in this site's data, allow no refund within 24 hours of departure except in exceptional circumstances; its Skippers page covers only weather. Pure Glenorchy keeps its terms on a separate booking policy page, and Private Discovery Tours publishes none, though it adds card processing fees to online bookings.
Nomad Safaris is the only operator selling single seats: NZ$315 an adult and NZ$165 a child, with prices valid from October 1, 2026. A whole vehicle can be chartered for up to 6, price on request, and the 4 Pax Max version guarantees window seats. Off Road Adventures says it has been Kiwi owned and operated since 1989 and is AdventureMark certified. It charges NZ$995 for a Toyota LandCruiser Prado seating 4 and NZ$1,450 for a V8 Troop Carrier seating 6, which it works out as NZ$249 and NZ$242 a head when full. Departure times are set at booking.
Pure Glenorchy charges NZ$1,200 per LandCruiser for up to 4 guests, calls itself family owned, and says it is one of the few companies with a DOC concession and holds Qualmark Silver. Private Discovery Tours charges NZ$1,200 for 1 to 3 people, NZ$330 for each extra adult and NZ$210 a child, for a maximum of 4 and a minimum of 2. Its half day leaves at 1 pm from May 1 to September 30 and 2 pm from October 1 to April 30, though its departures box says 1:30 pm. It can pair the tour with a morning High Country Tour, and the Heritage Tour is quoted on request.
Off Road Adventures also sells an Ultimate Off Road Experience by enquiry. It pairs about 3 hours of guided 4WD touring toward Skippers with an hour driving Yamaha RMAX 1000cc buggies at a 650-acre adventure park, from age 4; buggy drivers must be 18 or over with a full licence.
from NZ$315 per adult
Skippers Canyon 4WD Tour
Runs 7 days a week, 365 days a year
from NZ$995 per group
Skippers Canyon (Historic backcountry)
Says it is 100% Kiwi owned and operated since 1989
from NZ$1,200 per group
Skippers Canyon Scenic Tour
DOC approved and Qualmark Silver, per its site
from NZ$1,200 per group
Skippers Canyon Discovery Tour and 1 more option
Skippers tours are sold as private bookings only
Prices and policies come from each operator's own pages, read on October 22, 2026. Seasons, rules and local details come from the pages below.
