Two Northlanders paddling the worlds longest kayak race
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RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Queenstown Shotover Jet turns 60: From river ferry to iwi-led tourism icon
A Shotover Jet glides through the Arthurs Point Gorge Photo: Supplied / Shotover Jet One of New Zealand's best-known adventure rides is celebrating 60 years in business after evolving from a simple five-person riverboat into an iconic thrill-seekers' attraction. Ngāi Tahu Tourism said the milestone was about much more than commercial success; it was a moment of pride for mana whenua who have taken the wheel. Shotover Jet business manager Donald Boyer said Shotover Jet rose from humble origins. Herm Palmer (right), who was an early owner and operator of Shotover Jet, 1966. Photo: Supplied / Shotover Jet "It pretty much did start with a couple of blokes and a really small wooden boat that seated about four to five passengers. "It was a transport service that came from Queenstown across the lake and up the Shotover to Arthurs Point purely for transport. The boat did about 30 km per hour, so quite sedate. "Through the 70s and 80s, it morphed into the thrill-based experience that it is." More than 4.6 million people have since taken a ride on the Shotover Jet, which has garnered national attention, won tourism awards and hosted prime ministers and royals. Ngāi Tahu Tourism general manager Jolanda Cave said a handshake deal with Ngāi Tahu in 1999 laid the foundations for the iwi's entire tourism arm, which now includes eight other ventures around Te Waipounamu. Ngāi Tahu Tourism General Manager Jolanda Cave, Shotover Jet Business Manager Donald Boyer and Kāi Tahu ki Tuawhenua Kāhui representative Paulette Tamati-Elliffe. Photo: Katie Todd / RNZ "The Shotover Jet is ultimately the jewel in the crown for Ngāi Tahu Tourism. It was the first tourism venture that we purchased, and it is ultimately what started the growth of what Ngāi Tahu Tourism is today," she said. Cave was among those who gathered on the riverbank on Friday morning to mark six decades of the Shotover Jet. The company planned to give free rides on Saturday and was releasing a documentary about its history. The money iwi used to buy into Shotover Jet came from a Treaty settlement involving $170m in Crown redress in the 1990s. Cave said Ngāi Tahu Tourism secured full ownership by 2004 and became one of the country's biggest tourism operators. Ross Melhop, one of the two brothers who founded Shotover Jet Services in 1965. Photo: Supplied / Shotover Jet "It's really enabled us to use the international manuhiri, the domestic manuhiri and use our voice so we're able to tell our stories. We're able to look after the whenua that we operate in and we're able to lead how we feel tourism should be in the future," she said. The Shotover River or Kimiākau Awa has been part of Ngāi Tahu's whakapapa for generations. Paulette Tamati-Elliffe, a member of Kāi Tahu ki Tuawhenua Kāhui, which represented the seven Papatipu Rūnanga of the area, said the waters were used to transport supplies and gather food, plants and pounamu. "This place was very important to us. It was a huge part of our tribal, our traditional tribal economy," she said. To maintain that connection and to be able to provide those benefits, tangible and intangible, for not only this generation but future generations to come, is just so important." Shotover Jet plans to give away free rides on Saturday, and it will be releasing a documentary about its story. Photo: Katie Todd / RNZ Kimiākau meant to search for the shoreline or sea, Tamati-Elliffe said. "The sandy, golden beaches that we enjoy on the coast of Dunedin come from these rocks and from this river, so that connection that our people have maintained for generations, from the mountains to the sea. "It just makes sense, that name, Kimiakau." Tamati-Elliffe said iwi hoped to see more whanau engaged in the business in future. "We want to strengthen and enhance what's already a great experience for manuhiri, and we believe we're on that trajectory." Boyer said sustainability was a big focus for the Shotover Jet as the company embarked on the next decade. "Over the last few years, we've started transitioning to engines that burn about 30 percent less fuel than the previous ones," he said. That's all part of our journey towards being at a point where we burn no fossil fuels, whether that's electric or hydrogen. "It's just an incredible achievement for a business in New Zealand to get to 60 years, and I'm just super proud to be leading the business and into this next decade." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
19 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Gisborne on list of ‘captivating small towns' on WorldAtlas.com
A Canada-based website ranks Gisborne among New Zealand's most captivating small towns - recognition the city's mayor and other locals believe is fully justified. has Gisborne on a list titled '6 Of The Most Captivating Small Towns in New Zealand'. The others are Kaikōura, Wānaka, Blenheim, Oamaru and Whanganui.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- RNZ News
Summer McIntosh surges to second gold of world championships
Canadian swim star Summer Mcintosh. Photo: FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT / AFP Canada's Summer McIntosh claimed her second title in two days at the world swimming championships in Singapore with victory in the women's 200 metres individual medley on Monday, while Chinese 12-year-old sensation Yu Zidi just missed out on a medal. McIntosh , who won 400 freestyle gold on Sunday, was pushed hard by Alex Walsh in the middle portion of the race but surged ahead in the final lap to touch the wall in two minutes and 6.69 seconds, with the American taking silver in 2:08.58. Three-times Olympic champion McIntosh is looking to match Michael Phelps's feat of winning five individual titles at a single world championships, which the American great achieved at the 2007 edition. Fellow Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey bagged the bronze ahead of China's Yu, who caused a stir at the national championships in Shenzhen in May when she posted the fastest ever 200 IM time by a 12-year-old, regardless of gender. Monday's evening programme kicked off with a thrilling battle between Qin Haiyang of China and Italian Nicolo Martinenghi in the men's 100 breaststroke. Paris Olympics champion Martinenghi led through the first 50 but Qin, who swept the breaststroke events at the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka, fought back in the final 25 meters to clinch gold in 58.23 seconds. Gretchen Walsh won the women's 100 butterfly. In the men's 50 butterfly final, France's Maxime Grousset edged Swiss Noe Ponti by 0.03 with Thomas Ceccon of Italy taking bronze. New Zealanders Amber George and Finn Harland failed to get out of the heats in their respective 100m backstroke events On day three of the competition, medals will also be decided in the men's 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke, as well as the women's 1,500, where American great Katie Ledecky is expected to win a record-extending 22nd world title. On Tuesday Erika Fairweather competes in the 200 freestyle and Lewis Clareburt in the 200 butterfly. -Reuters / RNZ
