jet boating
Are you ready for the rollicking
river ride of your life?
In New Zealand there is only one way to catch the canyons, go
goggle-eyed in the gorges and ballistic on braided rivers - that
is by jet boat.
Nothing can fully prepare you for the healthy dose of thrill
therapy and euphoria you get from high-speed jet boat runs on
wilderness rivers. Its pure unbounded fun for thirty
eye-watering, hair-streaming, white-knuckle minutes culminating
in a 360° spin within one boat length.
Jet boating began in New Zealand around 1957 when William
Hamilton built the first boat for the purpose of navigating the
shallow shingle beds of Canterburys braided rivers. His
ingenious design has an inboard engine sucking water into a tube
where an impeller blows it out the stern nozzle in a high-speed
jet stream. The boat is steered simply by turning the nozzle
sideways.
Popular jet boating rivers in the North Island include the
Whanganui, Motu, Rangitaiki, Kaituna and Waikato. In the south,
Queenstowns Shotover, Kawarau and Dart rivers are meccas
for thrill seekers from every corner of the globe. The West Coast
has several scenic boating rivers including the Waiatoto
Ocean to Alps safaris and Southland has a service at
Otautau picking up trampers off the Hump Ridge Track.
If the Kiwis invite you to come for a spin,
dont hesitate, just do it. Feel the throbbing power of a
700 hp mega-jet as it lifts onto the plane, and be ready for the
spin - it blows you away.
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