That Shotover feeling

By Yunus Rashid

A holiday need not be relaxed and lazy.

It could be adventurous and thrilling. It could mean doing things out of the ordinary and remembering them for a long time later.

In Fiji, the ultimate holiday experience can be found on a ride in Shotover Jet down Nadi River. Shotover Jet’s craft, Big Red, which can seat 12, rumbles and prowls across the water at ground speeds of up to 70 kilomtres an hour. Aboard the craft your life is in the hands of a pilot, who has undergone 130 hours of piloting before being allowed to carry passengers.

Once in the open, an incredible half-hour journey begins.

You are guaranteed to feel your heart race and your adrenalin surge as your pilot twists and turns the craft with astounding precision, barely missing overhanging mangrove branches and flotsam.

Shotover Jet’s driving style, and the spectacular Hamilton Turn (where the boat spins 360 degrees of its own length)

is the driver’s trademark, according to the company’s sales and marketing manager, Hilary Finnic.

Finnic said Shotover Jet (New Zealand)

commenced operations in 1970, and has carried nearly one million passengers

with an impeccable safety record.

“Shotover Jet is acknowledged as one of New Zealand’s leading tourist attrac tions, and the world leader in commer cial jet-boating, both as an operator and innovator,” Finnic said. □