[Queenstown, New Zealand] We can only spend two full days here in Queenstown and have to balance that with our budget, which is running tight, and with the plethora of ridiculously fun activities around town. After pouring over the brochures last night we have decided to do some Jet Boating, Canyoning and Downhill Mountain Biking. We figured 8.5 seconds of bungy is just not worth NZ$280 each!

First order of business was to walk into town and make some arrangements. Queenstown looks and feels like a purpose built resort town (something like Whistler). As we headed down to the centre under perfect clear skies we could hear screams of terror/joy from the half dozen or so tandem para-gliders up the mountain. We booked the canyoning for tomorrow morning and the bikes for the afternoon. What luck! The gondola opens for bikes tomorrow. That should be a blast.

We debated the jet boat options and settled on the one which looked the most life threatening (albeit more expensive for less boat time). The Shotover Jet boat operation is one slick machine. We arrived at their main office (they have many), paid, and within 10 minutes were on their bus out to the canyon with promo video and seat-pocket instructions in every language you could think of. 20 minutes later we were at the riverside kitted out with life vest and spray jacket staring down one very steep and narrow but beautiful canyon.

Now a bit of advertising for Shotover Jet. The boats are brilliant. Capable of navigating in 10cm of water at speeds up to 85km/h through some very tight canyons. Two 3.8l V6 Engines are hooked up to simple water jets developed in New Zealand allowing for the shallow operation and 360 degree spins. Apparently the company was one of the first ‘adventure tourism’ operations in Queenstown and has ‘thrilled over 2.5 million people since 1970’. That’s not hard to believe.

The ride was exhilarating to say the least. V and I scored the front seats and V, being on the outer side was screaming like a little girl as our pilot came within inches of the canyon walls and mid-river boulders at crazy speeds. The 360 spins were brilliant – resulting strained necks and the entire boat being soaked. Without a rudder or directional prop and a flat bottom you are just sliding around on the water in whatever direction the jets are pushing. Fantastic fun that was over too soon but well worth it. Within a minute of getting off the boat the operation had a video and photos of our run ready to purchase. Like I said, slick. We hung around a bit and took some video and pics of other groups hurtling through the canyon before catching the bus back to town.

With a town full of outdoor gear and toy shops it was impossible to stop V from doing a little window shopping. We spent a good hour checking it all out and getting a little frustrated – gear here seems to be more expensive than in the UK – that just doesn’t seem right. Guess most of it has a long way to go to get here. We ‘splurged’ on a delicious ice cream (V tried the local fave ‘Hokey Pokey’) on our way back to the campsite and passed a Queenstown icon, Fergburger. A burger joint that always has a queue out the door, it must be really good or cheap, but nothing is cheap here so we suspect the former.

We spent the afternoon cruising out along the lake towards Glenorchy. The drive along the windy lakeside and the views were magnificent – we stopped again at just about every viewpoint to take a pic. Glenorchy is a tiny little village with not much to look at so we continued out towards Paradise. The road soon turned to gravel and that was that, we were done for the day (honestly – who would put paradise at the end of a gravel road?)

Tomorrow should be a lot of fun, but you can be sure we’ll be completely knackered by the end of it.

[Pictures: A ‘wide’ part of Shotover Canyon – Spot the boat? V is such a chick sometimes, shoe shopping again! A view of lake Wakatipu]

Shotover Jet Boating.. Yeee Haaa

– Posted from my iPhone via 3G