Five years of community lobbying have paid off for residents around Lake Whakatipu, with Otago Regional Council (ORC) confirming that Watersports Ltd has been secured as the long-term operator of the lake's ferry service, ending its previous trial status.
The ferries now run hourly between 8.15am and 9.45pm across Lake Whakatipu. When Watersports took the helm in July, late-night sailings were also extended to seven nights a week, up from three.
ORC transport implementation lead Julian Phillips said he hoped the ferries would become an anchor of the local public transport network. "We're pretty confident that the service will go from strength to strength with community support... a service that locals rely on every day, and visitors look forward to experiencing," he said.
Watersports co-owner Iraj Barabi said his company would be adding a new boat to the service from next year and is also exploring new routes to Homestead Bay and Queenstown Airport. "We want ferry services to be a preferred option rather than just an option," he said.
The road to a permanent service was not straightforward. Otago Regional Councillor Alexa Forbes, who has been among those pushing for a settled service, described the process as "choppy waters, to say the least," noting that the government's removal of half-price public transport fares had complicated matters. She strongly urged people living on the Kelvin Peninsula to get behind the new Orbus Ferries.
"I was delighted to see Iraj pick up this business because I knew that he has the tenacity to hang in there and make it last, make it work," Forbes said. "Watersports has the energy and investment commitment to make a difference... and support the use of the lake as a blue highway."
Adult fares remain at $10 per trip with a Bee Card. The 2024/25 financial year saw 71,123 passenger trips recorded on the Queenstown ferries. ORC general manager of regional planning and transport Anita Dawe said passenger numbers had dipped after half-price fares ended in 2023, but by 2025 boardings from January to July were up 4 percent compared with the previous year. Barabi said ridership rose 9 percent in the month after late-night services were added.
