High flyer: Queenstown Paraflights co-owner Chris Bradley takes a rare breather from work

Others believe the turquoise water stretches all the way to Christchurch.

And there are quite a few punters who’d like nothing better than to float high above the lake in the nude.

These are just a few of the bizarre comments Chris “Squid” Bradley has heard from tourists while running Queenstown Paraflights.

The 29-year-old action man is co-owner of the highly-visible firm operating from Queenstown Bay.

The company’s distinctive red boat and bright yellow smiley-faced parachute are familiar sights to hordes of visitors pouring into the resort each year.

Even visiting celebrities including Hollywood actress Penelope Cruz and German tennis superstar Steffi Graf have queued up for an airborne trip.

Bradley loves taking thrillseekers out on the water for a birds-eye view of the Wakatipu.

But he admits to being baffled by some.

“I’ve had people ask me about the size of our sharks and dolphins and wanting to know when we’ll be arriving in Christchurch, not realising they’re on a landlocked lake,” he says.

“But one of the most popular requests in the summer is when folk quietly ask if they can fly naked.”

And he jokes: “That’s something we might look at further down the track, maybe for the ladies. But it would have to be on a case-by-case basis.”

Appropriately, for a paraflight guy, Bradley’s feet hardly ever touch the ground.

He’s often on the go by 5am and works late into the evening, seeing to business interests that also include a property maintenance service, a bus shuttle firm and a stake in the Bar Up cocktail lounge in Searle Lane.

“People see me working out on the lake on a beautiful day and often tell me that I’m living the dream,” he says.

“In a way that’s true and it’s great fun. But what they don’t see is the very long hours required.

“Still, I do like to think I have the best office in town.”

Originally from Dunedin, Bradley moved to the resort 11 years ago after getting a diploma in tourism and travel from Otago Polytechnic.

He hit the ground running, starting out as a porter at the Heritage and Millennium hotels, before enjoying seven winters as a live-in host with Ski Express.

In between, he’s been a jetboat driver with just about every company in the area.

At the start of this year, Bradley went into partnership with Carrick “The Rock” McLellan in co-owning Queenstown Paraflights, which has been operating in the resort since 1992 and attracting more than 60,000 punters.

But he’s hardly a suit-and-tie sort of business guy.

“I’m actually a qualified travel agent – but most people wouldn’t know that,” he explains. “I’m pretty hands-on.

“Early in the morning, I can be driving people to Dalefield for a flight in a hot air balloon, in the afternoon be mowing a client’s lawn then be out on the lake in the evening with the paraflights.”

On the rare occasions he’s not grafting, Bradley enjoys quieter activities like golf and fishing “where the cellphone can get turned off for a few hours of peace”.

He also likes to escape on overseas travels for months at a time, preferring more out-of-the-way destinations like Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Israel. There are future trips to South America and India in the pipeline.

But he reckons a key factor to success in tourism has been a localised approach.

“We’re the only real local boys around here doing what we do and I’m proud of that,” he says. “When we’re out on the lake flying, we like to point out things like friends’ boats and family homes, which all goes down well.

“It makes us a little bit different and hopefully gives people a more personalised experience.”