Fewer international tourists means more Kiwis are taking local holidays and enjoying attractions like the Shotover Jet. Photo / Getty Images
Fewer international tourists means more Kiwis are taking local holidays and enjoying attractions like the Shotover Jet. Photo / Getty Images
I went for a boat ride the other day.
Boats are okay although I've always been unsettled by the reassuring notion that land is never far away ... it's just that it's about 30 or 40 metres beneath you.
This recent watery foray was a fine and dandy voyage asthe skipper was a casual but clearly sharp lad who knew what he was doing.
For he steered a path at roaring speeds just metres away from rocky outcrops and cliff faces and the emerging rocks of rapids while we four passengers sat there all humming "if tomorrow never comes ...".
Me and the missus ventured down to Arrowtown and Queenstown to have a quick look at part of the south we had never ventured to before.
Roger Moroney: "there's a few things lying about in the garage that we can flog off to pay a few bills."
It's kind of like that ditty about "don't leave town 'til you've seen the country".
Yeah it cost a few bob but there are a few things lying about in the garage that we can flog off to pay a few bills.
So while in that neck of the mountainous woods we stepped aboard a boat they call the Shotover Jet and the bloke who steered and spun the screaming dragster was quite a character.
I saw him return from an earlier blast with a group of young guys aboard who were grinning and breathing hard upon their return.
"So you've done this few times?" I asked slightly anxiously.
He'd obviously been asked that before as he immediately replied "oh nah ... yours will only be my second one."
Then, with a grin, he added he'd done "probably about a thousand ... think I've got the hang of it."
I said I wasn't too concerned as I'd propelled a few very quick motorcycles around race tracks through the years and he simply said "then you should enjoy this".
The biggest challenge when you embark on knuckle-clenching adventures like this is trying to look calm and relaxed.
And you can, until you're 10 seconds into the ride and you sort of go "whoa" and realise just what gems this land of ours can offer up.
It was adrenalin overload, big time, as he barrelled within centimetres of cliff faces and bounced and spun the thing through the surging waters.
It was 20 minutes of superb unreality ... it was like movie special effects with plenty of spraying water thrown in.
I'll tell you now, if there was a bar at the Shotover site it would likely make a fortune serving widely grinning and buzzing disembarking passengers.
Indeed, the first thing we did when arriving to explore Arrowtown was find a licensed cafe.
"A couple of scones and jug of lager please mien host."
Would I do the Shotover run through the rapids and curving river paths again? Oh yeah, any day.
If you have a "bucket list" then put this on it.
I don't have one because I can't remember where I put the bucket.
It just makes you think how wonderfully fortunate we are in this land of plenty ... because there is plenty to see and do.
And we have fine engineers, designers, marketing, creators, administrators, winemakers and brewers of exceptional skill who all deliver their skills and passion for wanderers to discover and enjoy.
Like the bungee jumping antics and free-fall parachuting and charging down river ways you've never seen before in a boat so fast you can still hear your excited heartbeat above the roar of its jet engine.
Yep, we've got it pretty good out there, so sift through the stuff stored in the back of the garage, see what you can flog off, and go on a crazy journey somewhere.
