December 22

Shotover Jet, drive to Wanaka

I got up at 6:30, after everyone else in the room for a change. Surprisingly, it was sunny and warm today. I had breakfast and went down to the Shotover Jet counter at The Station to see about getting a boat while the weather was good, but was told that the river was too high today due to yesterday's rain. When my time came at 11 AM, it was still too high, and I rebooked for 2:30 PM to try again. I wandered around the shops a while.

I went back to the hostel, and then across the street to St. Omer's park, which begins downtown and runs along the lake shore. It was still somewhat flooded, with some benches, trees and picnic tables under water. I took my shoes off and walked along the grassy shore. The water was cold, but it was hot and sunny. I sat for a while on a bench next to the water and caught up on my journal. There were some ducks in the park. People probably fed them because a family of ducks came up to me, and a little one tried pecking on my toe.

I walked downtown around 1:30 and had lunch at a Lebanese sidewalk cafe, Habebe. I had a tasty vege-lentil pie with hummus and hot chile sauce, a cinnamon-tomato green bean salad, and a chocolate square. At 2 PM I checked on Shotover boats, and found that they were now running. At 2:30, I boarded the bus to the river, a short way out of Queenstown at Arthur's Point. The ride began near the entrance of Shotover Canyon, a short narrow section of the river with steep, jagged rock walls.

When we arrived at the Shotover Jet center, it was no longer clear, but not raining. We were given black raincoats, and boarded the boats, which held 10 passengers. The driver gave some instructions, especially to hold on tight when he waves his finger in a circle to indicate that we were about to do a 360 degree "Shotover spin". The river was high today, and silty, which makes the boat harder to control. That is why they do not run when the river is too high. Normally the river is bright turquoise, but today it was brownish-gray.

The boat took off fast upstream, then quickly turned and passed the dock for a photo, then rushed on down into the canyon. The driver buzzed many rocks along the way, coming within inches of them at high speed. This is the kind of maneuver that makes the ride so exciting. The cruising speed of the boats was said to be 55 km/h. There were some minor rapids on the river, which made a bumpy ride. I brought a waterproof camera and attempted to take some pictures. It was probably too dark for them to come out well, since it was now cloudy.

The ride continued beyond the canyon, through some narrow passages and under trees, making occasional 360 degree spins. We waited a while for another boat to come down before heading back up the river. The driver explained how the boat works, expelling 300 liters per second out a nozzle in back. We had a wild ride back up the river and through the canyon, spinning at the dock. We went upstream until we got to some real class 2-3 rapids, at a point where we saw a tunnel which carried part of the river on the side. We were told that rafts can go through the tunnel. We then made one last quick run through the canyon and returned to dock.

The whole ride lasted less than a half hour, but was very exciting. It would have been more interesting if we had gone through some real rapids. In fact, most of what I saw on the Shotover River, today and on the jeep ride yesterday, was fast-moving class 1-2 water with an occasional class 3 maybe. Someone told me there were some bigger rapids, and this must be true since it is a popular rafting river. The boat driver said there are more rapids in high water, so today's ride was actually bumpier than usual, but they don't buzz as many rocks because silt makes the boat harder to maneuver precisely. I thought we still buzzed plenty, though.

Upon return to Queenstown, at about 3:30, I went to the hostel to get my car, and drove back to Shotover Canyon for a few pictures. Then I headed for Wanaka at about 4:30, getting a fairly late start. I stopped on the way at the historic Kawarau Gorge bridge, built for gold mine access around 1890. This bridge was also the site where A.J. Hackett introduced commercial bungy jumping. I had jumped with the same company at Skipper's Canyon yesterday. This jump was only 31 meters high, less than half the size of the one I did. Here, they use a raft for recovery, and you can do a wet jump, dunking in the river. Actually, there were no wet jumps today, probably because of the silt and debris in the river due to the high water. I saw one tandem jump and several more traditional jumps.

I continued on up the road, arriving in the small town of Wanaka after 6 PM. The town was probably smaller than Te Anau, and also situated on a large lake, Lake Wanaka. The YHA was in a residential area a fair distance from the center of town. Since I had a car, this was fine. I checked into the YHA at 6:30, just before the office closed for a couple hours for dinner. I got a space in the dorm, in a room full of some people's climbing equipment. Then I went down to the supermarket for supplies. This YHA was a collection of separate buildings. It had a homier feel than some. The other YHA's I had stayed at all looked newer. This one was a bit more ragged, but comfortable, and the oriental lady managing it was friendly.

The kitchen was rather small and cramped, so I waited a while to start cooking. I made a lamb and vegetable curry with fried noodles. People who had arrived from the west said it was very rainy across the mountains, and that the bridge near Franz Joseph Glacier had washed away, creating difficulty for people expecting to use the only coastal road for several days.

A black and white cat named Sylvester lived here, and was very interested in a Japanese man's dinner, following him wherever he went and begging. Later, a table of people, mostly European, played cards and sang noisily, as if drunk. The manager came in to quiet them after 10 because it was quiet time and she was going to bed. I was the first to go to bed in my room. The others, with all the climbing gear, came in much later.

Copyright Scott A. Yost, 1996. All rights reserved.