Jet Boating

Bad hair day, day 2

This is a must do activity in Queenstown. Everyone who has visited Queenstown always recommended me to do it. The famous one is Shotover jet and the boat will take us to the maximum speed of 80 km/hour accross the Shotover river canyon. Now...it is exciting....if you dressed up properly.

The company lent us a waterproof jacket. Then they told us that if you have sunglasses that are not loose when you put it on, wear it. I thought, well, sunglasses are unnecessary, it's just a minor gear. While in fact....it is the most important thing to wear....! At least for me!

Then the ride started and that's when I realised I need my sunglasses. I started to cry and I was scared the wind will blow my contact lenses away. 80 km/hour, for goodness sake. My eyes were resemblance of broken tap throughout the whole trip. But that was the only killjoy during the whole 1 hour trip, I totally enjoyed the rest of it.

We are not allowed to bring our camera on the boat, which is fair enough, because how can you take pictures when the boat is moving in such speed. The things that I saw along the river were amazing though. Rocks covered ice, forming stalagmite shape, tree branches sprouting out from in the middle of the river, covered with ice too. Awesome!

The skillful driver took us for 360 degree spin several times. He gave advanced warning before he did it by waving his right hand and pointing it toward the sky. I knew what to do when the signal came, hold on tight, girl! His skill were proved so many times throughout the whole trip. He drove so close to the rocks on the right and left of the river, I thought we're going to hit it. Other passengers were screaming too when this happen. It was exciting, but I reckon it will be better to do this activity in summer. You don't have to get scared you'll thrown into the river because it will be warm (oh yeah, and might hit your head too), but at least your face won't be frozen by the end of the trip (or during the trip). The driver told us about the history of the company and how much they have to pay the government for the whole year ($ 1 million NZ), about how the boat operates and we saw an old machine that was used to be used to strain water in search for gold in that river few hundred years ago. Welcome to Queenstown equivalent of Klondike, ladies and gentlemen.

The driver tried to talk to us several times and expecting feedback, but not surprisingly, no one feels like talking. "Rather quiet, aren't you?" he asked and someone answered, "We're frozen." It was a struggle to talk when your face is freezed, it's hard to move your mouth too and when finally you can talk, the words sounded so out there. Like a one year old who just started to learn to talk. Well, ladies, we might find alternatives to botox here.