Skyline Queenstown | The Luge Takes Off! | 50 Years Of Fun @SkylineQueenstownNZ | Uploaded October 2017 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
This Kiwi invention initially evolved from slide rides which had been seen overseas, however, Hylton Hensman felt this could be improved with a cart ride running downhill on a track.
"I’d read about these slide rides in Canada and the States but I felt the ride was always spoilt by not being able to pass anybody. So I thought of the idea of controllable wheels on a small vehicle on a wider track that you could race others with or just go at your own speed."
After numerous prototypes the Luge as we know it was finally born! The Skyline team decided to launch the Luge as part of the brand new Rotorua Gondola complex in 1985 and it was an instant hit.
Meanwhile, Queenstown was fast emerging as the adventure capital of the world: where better than to introduce this downhill ride?! In 1998 the Luge opened in Queenstown and was an immediate success – the fun was spreading.
Today the fun has spread even further with the Skyline Luge now present in Canada (Mont Tremblant & Calgary), Singapore (Sentosa) and Korea (Tongyeong and soon to be Busan) with no doubt more to come.
skyline.co.nz/en/queenstown
This Kiwi invention initially evolved from slide rides which had been seen overseas, however, Hylton Hensman felt this could be improved with a cart ride running downhill on a track.
"I’d read about these slide rides in Canada and the States but I felt the ride was always spoilt by not being able to pass anybody. So I thought of the idea of controllable wheels on a small vehicle on a wider track that you could race others with or just go at your own speed."
After numerous prototypes the Luge as we know it was finally born! The Skyline team decided to launch the Luge as part of the brand new Rotorua Gondola complex in 1985 and it was an instant hit.
Meanwhile, Queenstown was fast emerging as the adventure capital of the world: where better than to introduce this downhill ride?! In 1998 the Luge opened in Queenstown and was an immediate success – the fun was spreading.
Today the fun has spread even further with the Skyline Luge now present in Canada (Mont Tremblant & Calgary), Singapore (Sentosa) and Korea (Tongyeong and soon to be Busan) with no doubt more to come.
skyline.co.nz/en/queenstown
