As a family of ten including a set of grandparents, a four and six year old and two older teenagers we were travelling on the beautiful road from Nelson to Punakaiki. We decided to pullover at the next place for lunch and that just happened to be the swing gorge. That lunch ended up being 3 hours long! And I think it was the best unplanned visit we did throughout our entire trip although my husband thinks the helicopter at mount cook just pipped it... but I had far more fun on the jet boat.

If you are travelling from Nelson down the west coast, a bit over half way to Westport is the Buller Canyon Jet, but more than this there is the amazing swing bridge, and the chance to try your hand at gold panning. Mark was amazing as he took us down, then up the pristine mighty Buller river. Not just thrills and spray , a little low speed cruising to take in the breathtaking beauty of this seemingly untouched forest. It felt like a trip with a friend rather than a commercial tourist activity. 
 I haven’t been to Queenstown yet, but I suspect I’ve already had the best jet boat experience in NZ.

360 turns were great, crazy up the river by the Ariki Rapids, stunning scenery. Mark was a great and safe driver who was very friendly and kept us entertained. We all loved it. Worth every dollar.

Mark was a first class host who both informed you with an absorbing history of this fantastic river, and entertained with a superb ride. The access walk over the swing bridge ,added to an unforgettable afternoon. David and Gill

We stopped because I wanted to walk over NZ's longest swing bridge after reading about it in the AA Traveller Visitor's Guide. Lovely Sandy in the swing bridge office told us how great this ride is. She was absolutely right. We loved every moment of it. Mark is a great, fun, safety conscious operator. So pleased we got to walk over the swing bridge, around the beautiful track and do the jet boat ride. Would definitely recommend it.