We Love our Locals
Here at KJet, we like to look after the people around us and the environment we live in. You’ll hear us talk about being locally and family owned a lot and it’s something we are extremely proud of here at KJet.
Meals on Wheels
Each year, our crew volunteer to pick up hot healthy meals from Queenstown Lakes District Hospital and deliver them to the elderly, ill and vulnerable people living in our community. Our staff love this opportunity, it gives them a chance to engage with long term locals who have been in the region for many years.
Cure Kids
We’ve been supporting Cure Kids since 2005, Jet boating children (and their families) who live with serious diseases and health conditions. We are passionate about extending our help beyond the two key fundraising events Cure Kids holds each year – Tickets to Hope and the $10 challenge. Every dollar raised helps them to fund vital medical research that aims to improve and extend the lives of Kiwi kids living with serious illness.
Lakeland Park Christian Camp
KJet has been inextricably linked with Lakeland Park Christian Camp since 1958, back when camp trustees Alan and Harold Melhop made the first jet-powered navigation of the Kawarau Falls dam. Starting at five shillings a ride, the trip provided efficient fundraising for the Christian camp. The brothers eventually convinced the six-person Christian Trust to invest in the operation by buying its own Hamilton Jet – the price was £1200. So began one of Queenstown’s most successful and enduring tourist operations, establishing the world’s first commercial Jet boat tour Kawarau Jet.
Nowadays, we continue to help raise funds by holding a locals days on KJet and Time Tripper by offering heavily discounted tickets to Southern-Lakes residents. Proceeds are split evenly between Lakes Christian Camp and the Bruce Grant Youth Trust.
Bruce Grant Youth Trust
The Bruce Grant Youth Trust, is named after Olympic skier, mountaineer and extreme sportsman Bruce Grant, who was killed after reaching the summit of K2 in the Himalayas on 13th August 1995.
The trust was set up to preserve his legacy and to recognise the efforts of young people who displayed a similar passion for life and desire to achieve.
We help raise funds for the Bruce Grant Youth Trust by holding a locals day on KJet and Time Tripper. Proceeds from the day are split evenly between Lakes Christian Camp and the Bruce Grant Youth Trust.
Tucker Beach Wildlife Reserve
Our 60-minute trips take you as far as Tucker Beach on the Lower Shotover River. Upstream on the left-hand side, straddling a large bend in the Shotover River is the Tucker Beach Wildlife Reserve covering 150 hectares of Department of Conservation (DOC) land. We are thankful to be able to provide support to ‘Friends of the Tucker Beach’ and help make the Wildlife Management Reserve a better site, by offering Jet boating access to the reserve as and when required. In Autumn 2022, our office staff spent a morning with the crew planting trees, assisting towards their goal of getting 9,000 plants into the ground during Autumn.
Kawarau River Reserve
An area protected from development; our staff have planted 100’s of poplar trees along the Kawarau River Reserve. Not only are these trees environmentally friendly, but they are also ideal for controlling erosion on riverbanks.
Search and Rescue
KJet are on the emergency response list for New Zealand Police when looking for, locating and retrieving a missing person on Lake Wakatipu, the Shotover and Kawarau Rivers. We are proud to have been involved with Search and Rescue for many years.
We’ve also been known to rescue the odd sheep down the Kawarau River.
Community Support
We love to help out our local community groups in need and charities by donating Jet boating and Time Tripper experiences for fundraising opportunities. We have worked with St Johns, Queenstown Playcentre, Queenstown Primary School, St Joseph’s Primary School, Heart Kids Southland, Queenstown Disc Golf, Wakatipu Toy Library, Garston Dog Trial Club, Avalanche Dog Fundraiser, Mossburn Golf Club, Ronald McDonald House, Queenstown Resort College and Charity TV (supporting Mothers Helpers and St Johns) – to name a few!
Tiaki Promise
New Zealand is precious, and everyone who lives and travels here has a responsibility to look after it, which is why we support the Tiaki Promise. This is a commitment to care for New Zealand, for now, and for future generations and we encourage you to do so too:
While travelling in New Zealand I will:
Care for land, sea and nature, treading lightly and leaving no trace.
Travel safely, showing care and consideration for all.
Respect culture travelling with an open heart and mind.
