Half Day Skippers Canyon Queenstown Private Photography Adventure
Description
Journey with us into wild and remote Skippers Canyon. We'll take you on a photographic adventure into some of New Zealand's most spectacular and majestic landscapes and a ride through a window into our colourful gold mining past. This tour is perfect for photography enthusiasts, from beginners to the more advanced. Your guide will bring alive the history and the stories of this rugged region. Includes take home guide to camera settings and guide to composing great photos. Whatever your level of proficiency they help you find inspirational vantage points and subjects and then work with you, giving you compositional tips and tricks, showing you the camera settings you need to compose amazing images. capturing a vision you'll be proud to take home.
Tour Options
Itinerary
From your accommodation, a short drive takes us from the bustle ofn Queenstown through rolling rural countryside to Skippers Saddle. This is the beginning of a 22km dirt road, hewn over a hundred and thirty years ago through mountains and backcountry to reach the rich gold deposits of the Shotover River. The one-lane road winds above precipitous valleys, past fantastic, sculptural landmarks and far-flung mountain vistas to reach the crystal blue Shotover River winding through a spectacular ravine. Encounter aptly named waypoints like Hell's Gate, Bus Scratch Corner and Pincher's Bluff. Around every corner, awe-inspiring features such as Gorilla Rock, the Lighthouse and Castle Rock. Every bend in the road bringing a view of distant ranges and snow-capped peaks. Your guide is a local landscape photographer who knows this road intimately in all its moods. You'll be guided in techniques of composition and camera use to create images that capture the beauty and majesty as you see it.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pickup and drop-off from your accommodation in the Queenstown area. We can also arrange pickup outside of the Queenstown, Frankton, and Arrowtown area. This may change the itinerary of the tour depending on the location.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- A maximum of 4 people per booking
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Reviews(17)
If you’re looking for a tour guide who teaches you how to take photos, you’re at the right place! This private photography tour is definitely one for the books. As beginners to photography, Martin taught us how to take better landscape photos and some technical aspects to look out for when shooting sceneries. He also knows all the good spots to capture beautiful sceneries of Queenstown and Skippers Canyon. Overall, Martin is a very informative and hospitable host who makes sure we’re well taken care of and goes at a pace which we’re comfortable with. Highly recommended!
Hey thanks Kimberly. We love it when our guests are keen to improve their photography and excited about our epic landscapes.
Our tour guild Martin is wonderful. The weather was very bad, rain/snow. But he delivered a memorable trip for us.
Thanks for your review. It just shows, even in the worst conditions there's great scenery, often it's more atmospheric. It's great to see Queenstown in all its moods.
Martin was a great host and knows just how to strike the right balance between offering helpful insights and letting you do your own thing. Easy to talk to and a very personable companion for the day. I got to photograph landscapes you wouldn’t normally be able to access in a hire car (at least without voiding your insurance). The car was comfortable and the driving smooth. I’d highly recommend Martin’s tours for any keen landscape photographer spending some time in Queenstown who wants to tap in to a wealth of local and photographic knowledge.
Our Skippers Canyon half day tour was fantastic. Martin offers a great balance of assisting with photo skills, settings and composition while also letting you do your thing. Martin's passion for and knowledge of the area helped make this tour a 'must do' for anyone interested in capturing some great images.
We're glad you got so much out of the day. Your enthusiasm and excitement make it easy.
The irony here is that this trip was a last-minute replacement for another Skipper's Canyon adventure (cancelled with little notice and no explanation). Sometimes you get lucky. This was captivating country - shared with a fellow photographer (and guide/driver), Martin. I lost count of the number of stops we made. The changing lighting conditions (we headed out at 8 am) proved to be both a challenge and opportunities for new angles. Whether you have a digital SLR or iPhone/Android you will learn something about photography - and head home with many memorable shots.
Thanks for your kind words. It was indeed a good day to explore Skipper’s Canyon, but then most days are. Your enthusiasm reminded me how spectacular this drive is.
I recently did the Skippers Canyon photography tour with Martin and it was sensational. Not only is Martin an experienced photographer, he also knows a lot of history about Queenstown and Skippers Canyon. Martin picked me up from my accommodation just outside of Queenstown in a new, very clean and comfortable car. We then made our way up Coronet Peak, stopping at a few locations as we went up in height. We then went down the Skippers Canyon track. The scenery is spectacular, but the drive is precarious—at all times I felt very safe with Martin driving. We stopped at lots of locations for all different types of photos. Near the bottom of the canyon we stopped for coffee and a muffin (both yum) before we continued along and the Shotover River came into view. All up, we were away for about 5 hours and loved every minute. I would highly recommend this tour for anyone wanting to get spectacular photos while In Queenstown. Martin is a personable and exemplary host 10/10!
Thanks Hilton. I’m glad we were able to make this a comfortable and enjoyable experience so you could really capture the grandeur of Skipper’s Canyon.
Martin was awesome. He customized our trip for my desires and skill level. I appreciated his knowledge of a photography form I was new too (landscape). He was a wonderful conversationalist willing to share his love of Queenstown.
Thanks so much for your kind thoughts. Enthusiasm begets enthusiasm. It was like a photography day out with a new buddy.
The Queenstown region has many stunning photography locations. A Remarkable Imagery tour of Skippers Canyon will ensure that you see many of the very best of these. Martin knows each of the many twists and turns along Skippers Road. He let me explore different compositions for myself whilst also providing great suggestions for different angles and techniques. A bit of rain and lots of mist added moodiness to the pictures that I took away. I had a very enjoyable morning, left with a set of images that I really like, and improved the way I think when I take photos.
Thanks so much for your kind words. It’s all we hope for that you learn some new skills and approaches to landscape photography. You certainly got the most out of a misty, snowy, rainy day in an inspiring place.
Skipper’s canyon is not an easy place to get to, so decided to go with a tour operator. And a ‘photo tour’ was a bonus. Martin was great, providing some history as well as some useful photography tips along the way, besides safely navigating the difficult road. Highly recommend!!
So glad you got a lot from this tour. A great collection of images of this amazing place.
Had a fabulous 5 hours with Martin on Skippers Road in my visit to Skippers Canyon. The 5 hours with Martin was great value for money. Martin's knowledge of the area was excellent and I learnt a lot about the Canyon and it's history. I went there to see somewhere which is dificult to visit with out a 4WD. I will gladly seek out Martin on my next visit to Queenstown.
Thanks for your glowing review. It's always fun taking out someone with creative vision and skills and giving them a new place to discover and play. Looking forward to doing it again.
