Floating, motorised spa pools: Queenstown's newest tourism proposal

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Otago News

From reporter Debbie Jamieson:

Two men behind a plan to bring floating spa pools to Queenstown’s Lake Wakatipu are yet to sample the soak themselves.

Civil engineer Jake Allen and aero commercial manager Michael Hawley learnt about the spas from a friend in Europe and thought it was a great idea for Queenstown.

“I think it will be pretty amazing sitting in one of the most beautiful locations in the world under the Remarkables,” Allen said.

They have formed Soak Industries Ltd and applied to the Queenstown Lakes District Council for resource consent to operate five of the motorised spa pools from Frankton Marina.

The application is being vetted and Allen said they were working closely with the Queenstown Coastguard and harbour master to ensure the spas would be as safe as possible.

That might yet require passengers wearing a life jacket belt, he said.

“We’re getting more comfortable with the idea. We don’t think it will affect the experience much.”

They were intending for passengers to be allowed two standard drinks while on board, excluding the designated skipper who would be required to be sober.

They would purchase the “high spec” pools from the United States, each costing a “large portion of a house deposit”, especially once GST, duties and shipping costs were included, Allen said.

The pools were recently approved by the US Coastguard and were considered “unsinkable”, weighing about 640kg without being filled with water, he said.

About 850mm of the spa sat underwater and 300mm above the surface.

Between two and six people would be permitted in each spa at any one time for up to 90 minutes.

They were 4m long, electrically powered and could travel up to 5 knots within an area about 1.8km long and 600m wide.

They would operate between 8am and 8pm and guests would not be allowed to access the foreshore at Frankton Beach.

A safety boat would be based at the marina and be available by radio and/or phone at all times, being only minutes away.

The water would be heated by propane or wood with a built-in saltwater cleaning and UV filtration system, meaning no water would be discharged into the lake.

The application was still be vetted by the council, but the men hoped to be operating by the end of 2023, Allen said.

“It’s a bit of an adventure.”