Hold onto your seats, this is gonna be a wild ride.
360° Jetboating is quite popular in thrill-hungry New Zealand. I love New Zealand for offering so many wild adventurous activities that would never fly in Sue-Happy United States.
I went on THREE. Yes THREE of them.
Basically, it requires you to hold on to dear life as you speed down rivers, while nearly missing cliff rocks and trees in the process. In case your heart wasn't racing enough, then the driver quickly spins you around in a 360° turn. Yes, I paid to go on three of these.
My first jet boat ride was the
Huka Falls Jet in Taupo, New Zealand. When we arrived at the jet boating place we donned on unattractive bright blue ponchos and life jackets. We started off slow, and stopped in front of the falls.
Our driver would warn us by spinning his hand around when he would attempt a 360° turn. That was our cue to hold on tight! As you can hear from the video above, I laughed pretty much the ENTIRE time, so it wasn't as scary as one might think! I'm sorry I had to cut the video short just before the spin (the climax), but I liked my camera, and I didn't wanted it tossed in the bottom of the river.
My second jet boat experience was the
Shotover Jet in Queenstown, New Zealand. This one is the most popular, and apparently the most thrilling. Because of the narrow canyon gorge I was almost certain that this would be my favorite. I left feeling a little let down. It just felt a little "safe" for me. I know, I know, when does anyone complain that a boat ride is
too safe? The scenery was beautiful, but that is the best thing I could say about it.
My last jet boating experience was with
Dart River Jet Safaris in Glenorchy, New Zealand. This was by far my favorite of all three. This jet boat ride was the longest, and also included a hike through some really picturesque areas (truth be told, all of New Zealand is picturesque). We were fortunate to have two buddies leading our jet boats that day because they provided us with some competitive entertainment. They purposely tried to get each others boats soaked, and this was the only jet boat that I nearly fell out of the boat! The driver even grabbed my arm at one point because I slid so fast. FUN!!!!
The ride only got more memorable when we were off the boats and it was time to see our photos....
I did not get the memo that my life jacket had slid up my back. It just screams, "Hi, I'm a dork." Till this day, my friends on that boat remind me, "Hey, remember how ridiculous your life jacket looked when we were jetboating...."
Anyways, jetboating was definitely fun, adventurous, and perfect for those of us that like doing adventurous things without having to jump off bridges!
Date Accomplished: March 16th, 2009
