KEY POINTS:
Rotorua's Lady of the Lake is back where it belongs - cruising the waters of Lake Rotorua.
"She is a real queen now," says one of the new owners, Warren Harford.
The Lakeland Queen has been back on the water for only a few weeks and already business is booming.
"It's doing very, very well ... We have been very busy with breakfasts and lunches. We are virtually full up on Friday and Saturday nights with Christmas parties."
A consortium of local entrepreneurs, calling themselves Lakeland Queen (2006), bought the vessel in July.
Mokoia Island Tours and Cruises, which previously operated the Lakeland Queen, had tried to attract big-spending tourists.
But the company behind the paddle steamer cruises, Majpie Investments, went into receivership, owing creditors more than $850,000.
The Lakeland Queen is now 32m long after being extended by 10m and has doubled its capacity to 300 passengers.
- DAILY POST
