A Rotorua-based adventure tourism company wants to establish a guided zipline operation on public conservation land between Queenstown and Glenorchy. RCT Group Ltd, the parent company of Rotorua Canopy Tours, has applied to the Department of Conservation for a 30-year term (lease and licence) for the proposed operation, which would comprise launch and landing platforms, cables and guide-led operations over new and upgraded tracks linking to existing tracks at Twelve Mile Delta Recreation Reserve and the Mt Crichton Scenic Reserve. Directors of the company, which also owns Queenstown’s Million Dollar Cruise, include resort residents Adrian Januszkiewicz, Duncan Fea and Clark Scott. Some shareholders are also shareholders and directors in other leading adventure guiding businesses on the conservation estate, including Queenstown’s Canyon Explorers, Fox Glacier Guiding and Mt Cook Glacier Guiding. The publicly notified application listed outstanding features of the Twelve Mile Delta Recreation Reserve including the high-quality natural setting, its proximity to Queenstown, the ability to integrate active conservation work with interpretation of the area’s history, such as gold-mining, for which the site provided an ‘‘authentic and compelling backdrop’’. Eight platform structures were proposed — each with a footprint less than 25sqm — along with four ziplines ranging in length from 30m to 300m. The zipline course would use a continuous belay system, in which customers would be always attached to the system, which essentially would eliminate the risk of falling from heights and provide ‘‘the highest level of participant safety available in ziplining globally’’. A maximum of 13 customers per trip, along with two guides, would be permitted. The application stated the maximum number of trips a day in summer would be 20, resulting in a ‘‘maximum theoretical capacity’’ of 260 customers a day, while in winter up to 11 trips would be operated, or up to 143 customers a day. Each trip would last about two hours, including transport to and from the site, with customers spending about 90 minutes at the Delta. Justifying the 30-year term sought, the application stated the proposal required ‘‘significant upfront capital investment’’, including site-specific infrastructure, engineering and construction costs, safety systems, brand development, marketing and establishment costs. ‘‘Much of this investment is fixed in nature, cannot be relocated, and can only be recovered over a long operating period.’’ RCT Group said new operations of that nature typically required between 5 and 10 years to reach a ‘‘break-even position’’. ‘‘During this period, there is ongoing cash burn and commercial risk, which is borne entirely by the applicant, with no guarantee of success. ‘‘A 30-year concession term is therefore sought to provide a realistic opportunity to recover the initial investment, manage commercial risk, and ultimately generate a reasonable return.’’ Additionally, RCT wanted to establish and fund a long-term conservation programme at Twelve Mile Delta, modelled on the programme operated at Rotorua Canopy Tours. There the company had funded conservation work, including pest control, monitoring and ecological restoration — it had taken about 12 years for the forest to go from degraded to one of high ecological value. Submissions on the proposal close on August 7. tracey.roxburgh@odt.co.nz
