We met all the guides at the hut, all of whom were from the UK. All were graduates who could not get work in the UK, so were working for a pittance in NZ, but having a ball.
We donned our water proofs and helmets (with accompanying hair nets), had a ten minute “get to know your quad bike” session and then jumped on. These five gear machines were fast and responsive and we were soon flying down muddy country paths. After a wee while we hit the main tracks.
There was, mud, water, sand, thick bush and cow poo to enjoy, with some very steep and narrow sections. As the trip went on we got faster and faster until John managed to tip his quad over on a steep incline. Luckily, the quad bike did not roll on top of him. He was fine, if a little bruised.
Fiona took the lead and we crossed a coupe of sections of river and then moved onto some differnet tracks. Yet again, John managed to get stuck in the middle of a massive stretch of very muddy water. As much as he tried, he could not get out. By the end of his attempts, he was covered in water and thick mud. Our two guides helped to get him out.
After two hours of fun, we arrived at a new stretch of river bank. We managed to get along the bank for about 500 yards but then had to turn back due to the thick, thick mud.
We ended our tour at the river, where we left the lads cleaning down the bikes. Great fun!!
We came back to our B&B and logged onto the web so we could make some Motel reservations. We also planned some fishing in Kaikoura were we are returning to, as this place looked very good and we are going to wait out the forecast bad weather on the east coast which is looking a bit drier.
After a piece of fruit for dinner, we watched Roger Federer being beaten by Andrew Murray, after which we drove back to the activity centre for our Jet Boat Adventure.
We were had been told to arrive for 2.30pm, which turned out to be too early, as a coach load of Kiwi adventurers had been delayed. Still, the sun came out and we sat outside getting to know, the dog, the cat, the goat and all 14 horses.
John asked the owner, if they could bag the front seats. Much to our delight, she said that we could go down to the launch site with the driver and could then get the front seats.
We jumped into the prize seats and the tractor took us over farm land down to the Buller River. There were three Aussies with us and the husband did not draw breath for twenty minutes. Turns out he is a cattle farmer near Perth! Interesting?? We launched the boat and flew up the river to another loading point where the 18 other riders boarded the boat. These boats have two enormous inboard jet engines which takes the boat up to 60 kilometers an hour.
We started our trip upstream, flying around corners, skimming the river banks and rocks. We stopped a few times to hear about the river and how they cope with flooding.
We then turned round and headed back down stream at max speed, twisting and doing ten 360 degree turns on the way back. It was great fun and we got absolutely soaked through. Luckily John had jammed the video camera down his front, so it was the only thing to keep dry.
The whole think trip took a couple of hours and was a blast.
We drove back to our B&B, warmed up, watched the last half an hour of NZ Strictly Come Dancing, relaxed, changed and popped next door to a local restaurant for some local NZ grub. Fiona’s steak was wonderful, John’s Whitebait Patti was non descript. This is the first time we have dined out in the South Island and it seems a little more expensive than the North.
After dinner, we chilled out over a film. Tomorrow we are up early for a long drive. The weather is not looking good, so driving will not be such a bad thing to be doing.
No comments:
Post a Comment