11 Feb - Adventures in Queenstown

We couldn't ignore the Shotover Jet boats operating in the Shotover River just down the street from our RV park. These are the boats featured on a lot of travel shows. I figured we had to take a ride and Kim and I would do it separately while we traded kid watching. I asked around and was surprised to learn they would take little kids. Oh yes.

So, down to the Shotover Canyon where the operation is setup. It is very well run. Go get rain jackets, life preservers, board the boat, get quick safety briefing (do NOT put your hands outside the rail of the boat) and off you go. The boats have two V6 engines (about 1,000 hp together) driving waterjets and go about 55 mph in 4 INCHES of water. The company has exclusive access to this section of the river so they don't have to worry about hitting anything except the canyon wall and they cut that close.

We were worried the boys might get really scared, but they had a blast.

Outfitted and ready to go

Just pulling away from the dock

And on the high speed pass


Our video

After lunch back at the RV park we headed down into Queenstown for the Skyline Gondola. Gondola rides a couple thousand feet above to a mountain right outside of town. Boys first gondola ride.

View from the top looking down the gondola

Heading up

As usual, the boys weren't exactly digging the scenery like we were

So we told them we were going to ride the street luge. Everyone got helmets..

.. and everyone got happy

To the top

and back down. Twice. It was a lot of fun.

One last picture at the top and then down the gondola to the Kiwi Birdlife Park

Here's the deal with kiwis. They are native to New Zealand and flightless because they had no natural predators. Of course everything changed and now they are in trouble - mostly from dogs. As it is the national symbol of New Zealand (and it would be pretty embarrassing to be called not only a flightless bird, but an extinct one) there is a lot of effort in maintaining wild and captive kiwis.

Kiwi Birdlife Park is a small conservation center/zoo right next to the gondola. We saw lots of native birds and two kiwis.

They are nocturnal so they had two exhibits with minimal red lighting for viewing the birds during their awake period. We saw a feeding and got some background into their behavior from a keeper. Apparently they are mean. This is stock footage. You aren't allowed to flash blind them in their nearly dark exhibit.