Mount Aspiring National Park, by jet boat
Mount Aspiring National Park covers about 3,500 square kilometres of the Southern Alps between Wānaka and Fiordland, and most people see it from the road end. Which is a shame, because the road stops where the good part starts. We take you up the river, 60 km there and back.
There are three ways into Mt Aspiring National Park: the Matukituki Valley from Wānaka, the Makarora valleys at the top of the lake, and the Haast Pass road through to the West Coast. There is no entry fee. The Matukituki is the one with the mountain in it. It is a braided, glacier-fed river draining the eastern side of Tititea Mt Aspiring, 3,033 metres, and it is shallow, fast and changes its channels after every flood, which is why it takes a jet boat. Wanaka River Journeys is the only commercial jet boat on the Matukituki. Mostly the only others up there are trampers heading for the huts, and the odd kea checking whether your bag is unattended.
The West Matukituki opens up as you go, with Rob Roy Glacier and Avalanche Glacier hanging off the peaks above the valley and, on a clear day, Mt Aspiring itself at the head of it. Turquoise water, gravel flats and beech forest down to the river. Then the engine goes off and your guide takes you into the bush for about an hour at an easy pace, into McGills Creek, and tells you what you are looking at. Then back down the river with the spins, gentler if you ask, and the heated handrails you did not know you needed.
The park is part of Te Wāhipounamu, the South West New Zealand World Heritage Area, listed by UNESCO for its glaciers, forests and the wildlife that survives in them. We run to strict limits on numbers, speed and where we land, which is a big part of why the valley still looks the way it does. Every trip puts $5 towards the Southern Lakes Sanctuary and plants a native tree, and our catering is all local.
Four hours from the Wānaka i-SITE, about an hour of it walking, ages four and up, with life jackets and wet-weather gear supplied. $359 per adult, $229 per child aged 4 to 14, walk and gear included. Departures 9:45am and 12:45pm from 1 October to 30 April, 12:45pm through winter. Wānaka is about an hour from Queenstown over the Crown Range, so it works as a day trip; see Queenstown to Wānaka. Full trip details on the Wanaka jet boat and wilderness walk page.
Boarding is from the riverbank with a hand from the guide, there is a step and a handrail. About an hour of walking at a gentle pace, and you can stay by the boat instead. Bring a warm layer, a hat and closed shoes; we supply life jackets and wet-weather gear. Minimum age four. If we call a trip off for river levels you are refunded in full.
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Quick answers
Is this the only jet boat in Mount Aspiring National Park?
We are the only commercial jet boat on the Matukituki, and the only jet boat that takes you to the foothills of Mt Aspiring. Dart River runs into the park from the Glenorchy side, a different valley.
How far into the park do you go?
Deep into the West Matukituki, to the foothills of the mountain and its glaciers. The boat is how you get in there.
Can you see Mt Aspiring from Wānaka?
Not from town, it is tucked behind the ranges between town and the valley. You see it from the river on a clear day, which is most of the point.
What if it rains?
We run in most weather and supply wet-weather gear. The valley in mist, with every waterfall running, is a good day. If the river is too high we cancel and refund you in full.
What does Tititea mean?
It is the Māori name for Mt Aspiring, usually translated as the glistening peak, and it is the name we use on the river.
More on where we go: Rob Roy Glacier and the Matukituki Valley.