We were in Christchurch on January 24, 2025.

Because we almost always choose to be on the water when we can, our excursion today was jet boating on the Waimakariri River. 

The river flows 94 miles from the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean.

We  traveled about 45 minutes from the pier to the river.  We passed through Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island.

The area has Māori origins from way back.  More recently, British pilgrims from Canterbury arrived in 1850.  The pilgrims were in four ships sponsored by the Church of England.  Christchurch became a city by royal charter in July 1856 and is the oldest established city in New Zealand.

Where North America has states and provinces, New Zealand has regions. Christchurch is in the Canterbury region – again harkening back to its British roots.

There were substantial earthquakes in Christchurch in 2010 and 2011.  The severest (magnitude from 7.1) struck on September 4, 2010, and a large, destructive aftershock (magnitude 6.3) occurred on February 22, 2011.  There were many other lesser aftershocks.

Our jet boat guide divided us into two groups.  Here we are, ready for fun!

At the last minute, they moved us to the first group which meant we both got a side seat!  Randy is in the back in a blue jacket, I am right in front of him.

We did a couple turns to know what to expect!

Heading down the river!

The view down the shallow river.

This machinery is to pick up rocks that have broken up as they catapulted down the river.  The rocks will be used by the company to make concrete.  It is a win-win because the river would eventually back up the rock removal and the company gets free resources.

We were on a Hamilton jet boat with no prop and no rudder.  Because it is missing prop and rudder, the boat is able to scoot along in only 3-4 inches of water.  It has two engines pumping water through an intake system that allows for 500 horsepower.

The day we went, there was about 35-36 cubic meters of water per second going down to the Pacific Ocean.  When accommodating rainfall or snow melt, the regular flow is 1000 cubic meters per second.

We boated on a braided river, a wide riverbed with small streams criss crossing. 

We’ve seen rivers of this type before but the term was new to us.

And our ride was complete – completely fun!

On the way back, we saw black swans on the River Avon.

The rest of our day on board was pretty chill.  It was nice to have some down time on the balcony.

We did go to a comedian Paul Adams’ show in the evening.  We hadn’t gone to his first show on board but heard good things. He was clean funny.

Next Up:  A wild, wildlife day!