Business South May 2021

| 7 TOURISM Deer Park Heights Stunning vistas and friendly animals T Richard Loader Deer Park Heights is nestled between Queenstown and the Remarkables, and boasts some of New Zealand’s most dramatic landscape vistas. W hether it is getting up close and per- sonal with a menagerie of curious animals or marvelling at the breath- takingly panoramic views, one thing is certain; Queenstown’s recently re-opened Deer Park Heights is a magical experience visitors will never forget. Taking pride of place on Peninsula Hill, Deer Park Heights is nestled between Queenstown and the Remarkables, and boasts some of New Zealand’s most dramatic landscapes. Originally opened to the public in 1966 by Frank Mee, the park became a hugely popular tourist attraction where visitors enjoyed a self- drive safari-style experience on an 800-hec- tare working farm. Operating purely as a breeding and finish- ing/working deer farm for the past eleven years, last October the Deer Park once again opened its gates for safari tours, while contin- uing to operate as a working farm. An online booking system provides an access code for a specific day which enables visitors to embark on a scenic drive and ani- mal encounter. “We want to welcome visitors to a fun, good value family day out spending time outdoors with our animals,” says Deer Park Heights owner Mike Mee. “ To make it more family orientated we’ve excluding buses, minivans and commercial vehicles, limiting access to vehicles with up to seven seats. “An important part of our philosophy is that we don’t want to have a huge number of people up there at any one time. Unfortunate- ly there’s no access for hikers or cyclists from the toll gate as they tend to scare the animals away, especially the deer.” Visitors to the park on the sunny Kelvin Heights Peninsula near Queenstown will make friends with deer, goats, miniature horses, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, and the delightfully different Kunekune pigs. Self-driving five kilometres up the road to several lookouts visitors can buy sheep nuts from feeding stations to feed the animals in the journey. “The further people go up, the better the views get. From the top there are two look- outs. From the east you can see out over the Remarkables, down into Arrowtown, Frankton and across to the airport. From the western end you look over Queenstown and down to Lake Wakatipu towards Frankton.” Mike says everyone returns from their safari adventure with a smile on their face and the views firmly etched in their memory. “It’s a panorama really. You can see 360 degrees right around. “You park yourself right in the middle of the Wakatipu basin and there’s nothing you cannot look down on.” Proud to support Deer Park Heights Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. DO OUR READERS KNOW YOU EXIST? While the dramatic views may take visitors breaths away, it is the animals that steal their hearts with each animal having a personality and character of its own. “I have mates who still tell me they remem- ber when the goat climbed in the car or a donkey stuck its head in the window — it’s that interaction with the animals that adds the magic to the visit.” Mike says making the Deer Park accessible to visitors once more was very important to the Mee family and the timing to do so was right. “It’s “such a great place to come to and we want to share that.” “I have mates who still tell me they remember when the goat climbed in the car or a donkey stuck its head in the window — it’s that interaction with the animals that adds the magic to the visit.”