Wanaka: a jetboating adventure and 4WD farm tour

I’d heard great things about the Matukituki Valley. A fellow backpacker on my previous trip to New Zealand had recommended it to me. I was keen on seeing this area for myself, so I booked a day tour this time around. The morning activity was a jetboat tour along the Matukituki River with Wanaka River Journeys. I’d seen jetboats racing along on the Shotover River in Queenstown and it looked so scary. I found out it wasn’t, it was actually heaps of fun! Our tour guide was awesome, telling funny stories and some Māori tales as well. He had a great time and so were we. At least, I didn’t hear anyone complain, if that was even possible over those roaring engine sounds, haha! After a while, we went ashore to take a nice walk in the nearby forest. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful! We were lucky with the weather too, as it was a perfect day! The jetboating on the river created a breeze and the occasional spin cooled us down nicely with all that splashing water. What a perfect day it was, and the day wasn’t even over yet!

The afternoon, a few of us joined the 4WD tour with Ridgeline Adventures up the mountains near Wanaka. I love small companies like that, and the afternoon was amazing as well. Our lovely tour guide drove us over the terrain of a farm that Ridgeline has special agreements with. I love that, because you get to experience something special in small groups, which is always better than the masses, in my opinion. We were the only ones there, just a bunch of people shoved in a 4WD-vehicle, up bumpy roads to the most magnificent views! Oh, and we got to pet sheep and alpacas as well. How cute! Of course there was time for tea and some biscuits. Such a lovely afternoon!

From the farm we had an excellent view over the Matukituki River, where we’d jetboated just a few hours before. How stunning is this? Also, I love braided rivers, they are so beautiful to me!

This daytour was one of my highlights of this latest travels through New Zealand. I recommend both of those companies! And I’ll just have to come back to this area, don’t I?! 🙂