A new cruise on Lake Wakatipu has opened up a previously little-visited corner, writes James Beech.
The launch of a new tourist experience is always the talk of Queenstown and, after months of development, most visibly signalled by the arrival of a red and white catamaran on Lake Wakatipu, Southern Discoveries' new venture is up and running.
The previously Fiordland-focused tourism company continues the expansion triggered when the family-owned Skeggs Group, of Dunedin, bought it in late 2008.
Southern Discoveries has made its biggest investment in Queenstown so far by ordering the Australian 150-passenger Spirit of Queenstown catamaran for multiple daily scenic lake cruises to Mt Nicholas Station, once inaccessible to the public unless by private boat.
''Authenticity of experience'' are the watchwords of our hosts with the new tourism experience tailored around their operation because the high country sheep station is still a business owned by the Butson family.
Spirit still has that ''fresh boat smell'' on board when our trip begins.
Comparison between the two passenger lake cruisers now available - TSS Earnslaw and Spirit of Queenstown - are unfair.
More than a century of difference in maritime technology and design separates them, as well as the fact the Lady of the Lake was for generations a workhorse carrying people, freight, stock and communications between stations and townships, while Spirit is a thoroughbred, able to cut through waves at speed and has an open deck for 360-degree views.
Skippers ''drive'' more than ''sail'' the big cat and use a joystick to navigate, which is handy when gentle manoeuvring is required at Bob's Cove, clear of Queenstown's urban sprawl.
A sheltered crescent reminiscent of the Bay of Islands before settlement, Bob's Cove is a pit-stop where skipper Richard Moore explains on the public address system the variety of native flora and fauna on display.
The Spirit moves us along the shoreline to White's Point, the northern corner of the lake, which grants unspoilt views towards Glenorchy, and Pig and Pigeon islands in the far distance.
We are reminded once again just how vast New Zealand's third-largest lake is and how only a fraction of it is used for tourism or recreation.
It is possible to imagine what Queenstown's founding fathers, William Gilbert Rees and Nicholas Von Tunzelman, saw when they arrived in 1860, because the mountain and lake views are timeless.
Mt Nicholas, together with the namesake station over which it looms, is a reminder of the settler who staked his ground and the main event of the cruise is soon upon us.
The 100,000ha property, home to 30,000 sheep and more than 2000 cattle, stems from the jetty and the collection of farm buildings at which we disembark, 45 minutes after leaving Queenstown.
Operations manager Douglas Keith gives us early arrivals backpacks containing a potable water bottle and flask of hot water for refreshments to carry on our walk and guides us into the large woolshed.
Mr Keith and Mr Moore explain how the half a dozen shearers work when needed in the shed and points to some of the equipment used over the years.
Audio-visual gear was being installed when we visited and the interactive area and retail shop was also a work in progress at the back of the shed, through the authentically aromatic holding pen. It has all since been completed.
We board a signwritten ''Mt Nic'' 4WD minibus and are driven along the stony lake front, but soon halt to witness the skill of shepherd Edward Johns and his sheepdogs in guiding a huge flock of rams into their pens.
A few minutes drive up and along the gravel roads on the terraces behind the woolshed and farm buildings and we drive over a one-lane bridge and jump out.
We set off on our 6km guided walk on essentially a figure-of-eight track carved out of years of overgrown bush a few months earlier especially for the High Country Walk.
A reasonable degree of fitness and strong walking shoes are recommended, and insect repellent would not hurt, as we walk through tall grasses and pinecone strewn woodland, past introduced poplar trees and gorse, broom and rosehip.
A step over a wooden stile and the clear waters of the lake open up, lapping gently on the stony beach.
Continuing our trek, we encounter two stone schist chimneys, all that remains of the station's historic bakehouse and homestead.
The second double-sided chimney gives an indication of the size and grandeur of the original house, with platforms visible in the overgrowth where the veranda used to be.
Our walk inland and uphill reveals ''Lover's Leap'', a rocky outcrop which is to be made safer by the installation of a barrier, where the Von River and a waterfall surge far below in the gorge.
Seeing the astonishing spectacle feels like we have just discovered a well-kept secret of the ages.
The wide-open space of the Lower Von Gorge greets us towards the end of the hike.
A picnic table is a surprising sight on the crest of a hill, but a good place to reach for our flasks and enjoy a cuppa while also drinking in the unspoilt view.
With time against us, we complete our figure-of-eight tramp to the minibus and head back to the boat.
Our legs are a little sore, our faces are a little singed by the sun, but our appreciation of this until-now hidden corner of the Wakatipu is huge.
We have ticked the boxes for the High Country Walk and Scenic Cruise.
Now we want to return to Mt Nicholas Station for the completed Woolshed Experience and the full 4WD Safari Tour.
If you go
• Southern Discoveries' Spirit of Queenstown cruises depart four times a day.
• The basic cost is $55 for an adult, $16 for a child. Other activities at Mt Nicholas Station cost extra, though for this month the woolshed experience is free.
• The cruise takes 1hr 45min.
