Iraj Barabi, who developed the Queenstown Marina, takes over Queenstown Bay’s Convelle Wharf, Queenstown Ferries and Queenstown Jet Boat (formerly Thunder Jet) from tourism company RealNZ next Thursday.
He has also bought Queenstown Paraflights, Queenstown Boat Charters and another venture, which he will announce soon, under umbrella company, Watersports Ltd.
And he has bought Jarrod Johnston’s Queenstown Marine to service the marina.
What he called his "acquisition binge" served two purposes, Mr Barabi said.
First, he was out to relieve Queenstown’s chronic traffic congestion "by diverting a significant portion to the lake".
"Is it not clear that the topography of the area and the roads cannot possibly handle the growth, no matter how many traffic lights and roundabouts are built?
"The solution is obvious — the lake is the answer."
Mr Barabi said he was negotiating with the Otago Regional Council, which provided a subsidy, to expand the frequency and breadth of Queenstown Ferries’ water taxi business.
He was also talking to the developers of Jack’s Point and Hanley’s Farm about providing a new service for their residents, and those who would live in Homestead Bay.
Shotover Country was also in his sights, though access via the Kawarau River would be more challenging, he said.
But he had been evaluating different types of boats, such as electric and hydrofoil, both in New Zealand and abroad.
He was also keen to complement a scheduled service, using bigger boats, with an on-demand option — "something like Uber taxi boats".
His second initiative, complementing Queenstown’s reputation as the world’s adventure capital, was for it also be known as "the watersports capital".
"We will do this by improving and expanding the activities the public will be able to enjoy."
This included a new product, which had just arrived in New Zealand and would debut here midyear.
Coming from Idaho, where he has a lakefront home, Mr Barabi said he was surprised how little lake life Queenstown had when he first arrived.
"Such a lake in the United States would be full of boats, pontoon boats, houseboats, ski boats, float planes and all that — we think this lake really is not being utilised."
Meanwhile, Mr Barabi said though he and his sisters paid almost $15.5million for Queenstown’s Brecon St mini-golf course, he was satisfied to keep it.
"Finance is not my primary goal — I’ve done that.
"Right now I want to do things that give me satisfaction."
He was also looking forward to Tim McMahon’s hot pools complex he was building on his land beside the mini golf.
He was also dusting off plans the late Kevin Carlin had for an escalator beside the Brecon St stairs to improve pedestrian access to Brecon St activities, including Skyline’s gondola, for particularly children, older adults and the physically impaired.
"Some people that want to get to Skyline take their cars instead of climbing those stairs, so we want to actually see if we can realise that."
