Jetboating?

[klo]

I'm on a cruise stopping at Christchurch and Tauranga. Princess offers Jetboat excursions at each port of call. Can anyone tell me which one is better?

 

Thanks.

[MVPinBoynton]

We are going on the Diamond Princess Feb 13 cruise and will be doing a private tour that does the Longridge jet boat. I'm not sure which one that Princess takes; but I will give a report on how good ours turns out to be.

[DonahCBrown]

I'm on a cruise stopping at Christchurch and Tauranga. Princess offers Jetboat excursions at each port of call. Can anyone tell me which one is better?

 

Thanks.

 

Ian can probably speak to the Tauranga excursion, which I expect is either in Rotorua or Taupo, but we did the Shotover one in Queenstown and it is fun, and probably won't make much difference where you do it. Can't think of where in Christchurch they might do this, though. Must say my personal favorite silly thing to do in New Zealand is the Zorb.

[GottoCruise]

We did a private 'Jet Boat' from Christchurch - (Jan 2004 )- Pick up from the Circle/Square - right near the Tourist Info Office. - It was great! - found it thru Google.....We still had time for the Botannical Gardens and the Circle Market etc. etc. :D (We didn't have time for the Shotover in Queenstown - we were on the Overland - we did do the 'Luge' in Queenstown - Fabulous! )

[klo]

Thanks. Was that through Waimak Jetboats or Adventure Canterbury? I'm thinking about signing up for Waimak Jetboats which appears to be a little further out from Christchurch.

[GottoCruise]

Hope you can see the address!

[klo]

We returned from our trip and I am very happy that I decided to book with Waimak Alpine Jets in Christchurch directly. Princess Cruises used the same outfit and if you booked through the shore excursion desk, the cost was about $130/pp. I paid approximately $125USD for two which included private van transportation to the river, which was about an hour drive each way. What a deal!

 

I chose the one hour Canyon Safari Tour instead of the 30 minute Adventure tour. I recommend the longer ride since you'll see much more of the beautiful scenery. Plus the long van ride there just wouldn't be worth it!

 

Booking online, I was informed by Waimak Jets that I would be picked up at the Lyttleton Information Centre which is a five minute ride from the dock on a free shuttlebus offered by the town. When we were dropped off in Lyttleton, I was a little anxious because it's such a small town and the Information Centre is virtually a one room store. I asked if this was the place to be picked up for the jetboating tour, and I was reassured that that's the place. The van picked us up right on time with another couple that booked directly with the tour operator.

 

As you drive, you'll see the beautiful countryside of New Zealand -- pastures, fields and farms -- after you get past the city of Christchurch. On a separate note, Lyttleton is about a 20 minute drive away from Christchurch and it's definitely not walkable. The van driver narrated throughout the ride, gave us historical information about the area, and was knowledgeable about what we were seeing.

 

We were then dropped off for our jetboatting ride. We were in one boat with only two other couples and the driver. What a great experience. We enjoyed our time going up the river, stopping to see if we could see any salmon or trout in the beautiful arctic blue cold water, and of course doing the 360 degree spins. As we were coming back down river, we saw two more boats that turned around to head back to the dock. I knew it was the cruiseline's reserved boats since they were full and each person had a sticker on their shirts indicating they were from the cruise. So, I assume that the cruiseline booked the shorter or half-hour experience than the one hour ride that we did.

 

After jetboating, we were offered by the driver to be dropped off back at the ship or in the city of Christchurch. We opted to be dropped off at Cathedral Square in town and we walked the streets a bit. The van driver also drove us around the town and showed us typical houses, the university, etc. before dropping us off.

 

After walking the streets and stopping in a few shops, we then paid $5USD to the local bus service that would take us back to the ship. The service was provided to ship passengers for the day and was located in Cathedral Square.

 

Waimak Alpine Jetboats (http://www.waimakalpinejet.co.nz) provided very good customer service, and we enjoyed our experience in Christchurch and the surrounding area. I would recommend jetboating to anyone.