This morning the wind was blowing hard. There were white caps on the lake and water was washing over the walking trail.
In the photo, all looks calm but it wasn't. However, the sun was shining and that was a plus.
Our schedule for today was a Jet Boat ride on the Matukituki River followed by a walk to a water fall then a stop off at the heliport for a helicopter flight.
We had about a 20-30 minute van ride along the river through vineyards and farmland where we met our boat.
We geared up in rubber coats and life jackets before boarding.
Jet boats seem to be everywhere here. NZ'ers are very proud of them because Jetboats were originally designed by a New Zealander, Sir William Hamilton, who developed a waterjet in 1954 for operation in the fast-flowing and shallow rivers of New Zealand, specifically to overcome the problem of propellers striking rocks in shallow waters.
They are propelled by a jet of water ejected from the back of the craft and the one we were on had only one inch of draft when underway, according to James, our driver. He told us that we were traveling at 50 knots over the tiny river which only had a three foot depth at its deepest.
We were on a boat with a New Zealand family of three young girls and another American couple in NZ on their honeymoon.
Jetboats are highly maneuverable, and many can, including the one we rode, from full speed, be reversed and brought to a stop within little more than their own length, in a maneuver known as a "crash stop". The well-known Hamilton turn or "jet spin" is a high-speed maneuver where the boat's engine throttle is cut, the steering is turned sharply and the throttle opened again, causing the boat to spin quickly around with a large spray of water. James did the crash stop 5 or 6 times. They seemed to thrill James as much as the young girls.
The boat took us up the river where we did a short hike up the hillside to a picturesque stream and a small waterfall.
There are beautiful walking trails all over New Zealand and with all the recent rains, waterfalls appear everywhere.
We hiked back down and returned to the boat for our fast ride back down the river.
After returning to the boat launch we learned that our helicopter flight over Mt Aspiring, the highest peak in the area, had been cancelled. The winds were too high. We made arrangements to work it in another day before leaving Wanaka.
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