Kawarau Jet was the world's first commercial jet boating operation. Established in 1960, the business began as an accidental fundraiser for a local Christian youth camp. When camp trustees Alan and Harold Melhop made the first jet powered navigation of the Kawarau Falls dam, holidaymakers couldn't wait to try it for themselves - and were willing to pay.Fifty years later, tourists are as willing as ever, and the company's signature yellow boats can be seen departing the central Queenstown pier every hour to streak across the mighty Lake Wakatipu to the start of the Kawarau River.
Today, a frigid wind has whipped up choppy peaks, and we bounce across the lake to the rapidly flowing river. Coursing through the Kawarau, our jet boat skims across the shallow, rocky river bed. It zips beneath overhanging willow branches and darts past driftwood and tree stumps.
Above, the steely sky threatens more snow flurries, and the icy sheets of air through which we flit make my nose run and eyes water.
"Got an ice cream headache yet?" hollers our driver, with a laugh. Bundled beneath layers of clothes, gloves and Kawarau Jet's long, thick, hooded jacket, I'm toasty enough to laugh with him.
We turn off at the confluence of the Shotover River and zoom across the glass-clear water which, at times, is just 4 inches deep.
"Sometimes you'll hear a grating sound," explains our driver. "That's the bottom of the boat scraping on the stones."
Passenger eyes widen in alarm. However, jet boats, by their very nature, need little water to operate in. The Hamilton Jet - created by New Zealander Sir William Hamilton in the 1950s - was designed to travel through the fast, shallow waterways of the South Island, where he lived. The Hamilton Waterjet innovation is now used worldwide, propelling jet boats across water as shallow as 3 inches.
These facts are heartening; especially when you look up to see your driver's arm in the air, swinging in big, slow circles, as if twirling a lasso. I brace myself: feet flat on the floor, hands firmly on the handrail in front of me. Suddenly, the boat whips into a 360 degree turn. The dry hills and stony river banks blur as we spin. The frosty air side-swipes me and the force of the turn slams me against my fellow passengers. I cling to the handrail, laughing, as all around me, excited 'woo-hoos!' and 'yee-haas!' rip into the air.
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After the rabid excitement of the 'K-Jet', Queenstown House Boutique Hotel is a balm of cool, quiet calm. All stacked schist and earthy hues, Queenstown House sits unassumingly on a quiet hill corner overlooking Lake Wakatipu. Owned and operated for 25 years by local 'Queen of Hospitality' Louise Kiely, this charming B&B is as well known amongst local residents as discerning travellers.
Checking in I'm tempted to flop on the plush couch of my new villa suite and soak in the dusky views across Wakatipu. But tonight, as every night, Louise is hosting canapes and drinks for her friends, family and guests.Unobtrusively vivacious, Louise glides smoothly between guests and friends, topping up glasses of local wine as co-hosts Matt and Paul proffer delectable bite-sized treats upon silver platters. Later, she guides us through the patchwork of photos in her sitting room - an intriguing glimpse into her life outside of Queenstown House: Louise and Peter Jackson; walking the red carpet at the world premiere of Lord of the Rings; Louise at the Oscars; clinking glasses with movie stars; and atop the piano and bookshelves, sepia-hued images of Louise's ancestors.
Next morning, tearing myself from my plush bed is easy with the thought of breakfast. It's 8am and already, Matt and Paul are bright-eyed and bustling around the kitchen. "Morning!" calls Matt cheerily, whilst I help myself to muesli, yoghurt, fresh fruit and juice. Sun streams through the enormous windows and the air is scented gently with freshly picked flowers. Paul serves me tea and offers the cooked breakfast menu. With the glittering lake and towering hills laid out before me, I could easily sit here all day, but there's relaxing to be done elsewhere...
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As I climb aboard the resplendent Remarkable Experience bus, somebody asks driver and owner Neville Bryant how fast it can go, "40 miles per hour, downhill, with a tailwind if everyone leans forward," he replies, laughing.
A revived 1937 Bedford soft-top bus, the Remarkable Experience was introduced to Queenstown by Neville and wife Margaret after they noticed "a lack of soft leisure".
Typically, the Remarkable Experience offers a return tour (in grand old style) between Queenstown and Arrowtown, taking in local art, wine and scenery. But, "I'll take people pretty much wherever they want to go," Neville says cheerily.Neville's family has been based in Queenstown for nigh on 150 years. His great grandfather was the first Queenstown harbourmaster in 1864. An uncle, Harry, operated one of the first local tourism businesses, bussing visitors to the Routeburn Track in the 1950s. Harry's bus is the very same one we clamber into today (albeit with a superb makeover).
Neville fires up the "grand old lady" and we rumble out onto the Gibbston Highway. With the top down, wind whips through our hair and sun sparkles from the bus's steel fittings. We trundle past hills covered in vines, standing in rigid, soldier-straight lines.
This is pinot noir country. With over 85% of the area's vines planted in the red varietal, Central Otago has gained a reputation as one of the top five pinot noir producing regions outside of Burgundy.
According to Ian Mill of Gibbston Valley Wines, it's all about the climate and soil.
"Central Otago's hot, dry days and long, cool nights during growing season suit the slow-ripening pinot noir," he says."It's the nearest thing to a Continental climate in New Zealand."
The first commercial winery in Central Otago, Gibbston Valley Wines is now one of over 30 such operations in the compact region. We lumber leisurely between three of them, sipping, sniffing, swirling and sampling the goods for which this region is fast becoming world famous.
The excitement of the K-Jet, stimulation of Louise's entertaining, and today's wine and sun catch up with me on the gently bumping bus ride back to Queenstown. But, with the inimitable scenery floating by, the charming crunch of the old bus's gears and the excited chatter all around, I manage to stay awake until we reach Queenstown House and I flop contentedly onto that soft, plush couch to watch dusk fall over Lake Wakatipu.
Amelia is content editor of the New Zealand travel website www.fourcorners.co.nz.
She visited Queenstown courtesy of TravCom (www.travelcommunicators.co.nz), Destination Queenstown and www.fourcorners.co.nz.
