A NZ wilderness adventure from start to finish. Don't miss this one, it's worth every cent. Beautiful native bush, a rocking and rolling jet boat ride, and barbequed venison for lunch at a quirky lodge on the isolated South coast. Wonderful!

Last week, I set out to go for a walk along Lake Hauroko. In the carpark, I met Johan, co-owner along with his wife Joyce, of Wairaurahiri Jet. He told me that there was an opening available on his jet boat excursion that day, and just like that, my plans for the day had changed. For, what I can assume was, the best. For the next 6 hours, I learned about local flora, fauna, and history, while exploring New Zealand’s deepest lake, and traveling down a rapid filled river till we reached the sea. Along the way, there were a couple stops for us to stretch our legs and get more insider knowledge about the area. Then, we breaked for lunch. Johan dropped us off at the beach to explore, while he went off to prepare lunch. Normally when you go on one of these half day excursions, if lunch is even provided, it's something in the way of ham and cheese sandwiches and apple slices. Not with Wairaurahiri Jet. This was a full spread. A cheese platter to start with, followed by meats, salads, and other sides. We even got a complimentary bevvie. I was blown away. Then it was back on the boat, with two added travelers (they had pack rafted down the day before, and had arranged transport with Johan to head back with us). This time, there were no stops. Just lots of fast-paced twists and turns back up the river to the dock where we’d first started. New Zealand has numerous jet boat excursions on offer, many in adventure-packed Queenstown just a few hours away, and although I haven’t gone on any of those trips, I can’t imagine them being better than the one I went on with Wairaurahiri Jet. Wairaurahiri Jet offers other services, like transport to and from the Dusky Track. I definitely plan on getting in touch with Johan for boat transport in the future. Truly an awesome day!

Great service from Joyce and Johan across Lake Hauroko at the end of the Dusky Track. The booking process was easy and they were quick to respond to my phone message (they are often out of signal on the lake/river) and by email. It's a great service for trampers in the area and I liked that Joyce always takes the time to note in the hut book when she will be back next, so that any trampers who have not booked will know when to expect the next boat (they only run the trampers service if they have booking so definitely call ahead).
I was also lucky enough to experience the jetboat ride down the Wairaurahiri all the way from Lake Hauroko to the South Coast! This is an amazing untouched part of fiordland which is fantastic to explore by jetboat as you can be the only people for miles around - much more of a wilderness experience that any other jet boating I have done around Wanaka and Queenstown.
Highly recommended for both track transport and as an activity in this stunning corner of NZ!