Skippers Canyon is a historic and scenic gorge, some 22 kilometres in length that is located several kilometres north of Queenstown. Today accessed from Queenstown via the same road that leads to Coronet Peak skifield, Skippers Canyon houses the Shotover River, one of New Zealand's richest gold bearing rivers which was named by William Gilbert Rees. Rees, his wife Francis and brother-in-law Nicholas Von Tunzelmann were the first European settlers in and near where Queenstown is now located. Skippers Canyon