Queenstown celebrates a serious birthday

Monday, 2 February 2009, 10:31 am
Press Release: Destination Queenstown

Queenstown celebrates a serious birthday

The longevity and strength of Queenstown’s adventure tourism industry was evident in Queenstown over the weekend as the world’s first commercial riversurfing company celebrated 20 years of operation.

Serious Fun Riversurfing was one of Queenstown’s first adventure tourism businesses and, like AJ Hackett Bungy and Kawarau Jet, was the world’s first commercial operation of its type when established in 1989.

Destination Queenstown CEO Stephen Pahl congratulated the company on its milestone.

“It’s fantastic to see another Queenstown operator coming of age in the town. It proves adventure tourism is standing the test of time,” said Mr Pahl.

He said the broad range of adrenaline activities positioned Queenstown as the ‘Adventure Capital of the World’ and significantly contributed to the strength of town’s marketing proposition.

“While our region has flourished into a diverse tourism destination with a range of activities in a majestic location, adventure tourism continues to put Queenstown on the map internationally.”

Back in the summer of 1989, Serious Fun Riversurfing founder Jon Imhoof turned bodyboarding with mates on the Kawarau River into the world’s first riversurfing business.

Imhoof said at first it was just a group of friends having fun on the river and then friends of friends started coming along and the odd tourist.

“In those days tourists and locals hung out together at the old Eichardt’s pub so we were soon taking tourists down the river too,” he said. “The first summer we offered free trips, accepting donations along the way. Realising that man could not live on beer alone, we acquired the appropriate licenses the following summer to become the first commercial riversurfing operation in the world.”

Serious Fun is now owned by Neil Harrison while Jon still maintains interest in the company. Neil said thousands of people from all around the world had experienced the whitewater rapids riversurfing on the Kawarau.

“While we are a significantly bigger operation than 20 years ago, with 16 dedicated guides, the level of adventure and fun remains exactly the same. Riversurfing is just so much fun.”

Serious Fun Riversurfing has also recently New Zealand’s first whitewater boarding activity to achieve Qualmark – New Zealand’s official mark of quality.

More about Serious Fun Riversurfing

Serious Fun Riversurfing is the pioneer of whitewater bodyboarding and the only operation of its type which has a family and child-friendly approach, every child aged 8 to 12 enjoys their own dedicated personal river guide.

The company is the only whitewater boarding activity in New Zealand to achieve Qualmark – New Zealand tourism’s official mark of quality.

Serious Fun Riversurfing has a clear safety record after 20 years of operating on the Kawarau River in Queenstown and offers the longest Grade 4 rapid river surfing experience in New Zealand.

ENDS

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