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Our Boat

Explore spectacular scenery from the comfort of our jet boat as we tour the Whanganui River.

In 2016 Forgotten World Jet Boat Ltd was thrilled to commission their first jet boat.

We think she’s a real beauty. ‘Under the hood’ of this 6.2L craft lies a powerful yet quiet 440hp GM Kodiak V8 Chev engine built by Christchurch company JetSeeker – expert New Zealand boat builders. She has a 212 Hamilton Jet Unit, built by the company founded by Bill Hamilton, who developed the first modern jet boats.

We’ve called her Ongaruhe in the tradition of Hatrick's historic fleet (named after tributaries of the Whanganui River) and had her blessed by local Iwi, for our journeys along its waters.

 

 

Onboard the Ongaruhe, you’ll get a taste for some of the thrills of jet boating, without any of the spills. While our experienced jet boat drivers can pull off a boat spin with ease, we’re more excited about showing you ‘our’ Whanganui River. The boat is also designed to keep you (mostly) dry at higher speeds and during clever manoeuvres.

Ongaruhe has ‘over the bow through windscreen’ boarding, a central aisle which means no clambering over seats, and generous tiered seating enabling all passengers to enjoy the views. She carries up to 15 passengers in comfort, and an intercom lets you easily hear the stories and history of the river from your driver. 

“

  • My wife and I went on the River and Rail Run and it was one of the best trips we have done. The rail run was something completely different from anything we're done before. All of the staff were great attending to our every need. Maree in particular was very knowledgeable and great fun too. I would definitely recommend this trip to everyone.

    Louis Lincoln, Spain

  • We booked as a surprise for our respective partners, the river and rail trip. From being greeted like lost friends at the front office by the girls to Alan on the jet-boat and Ray, Rob and Mitchell on the rail-carts and Vaughan on the bus, they have assembled an enthusiastic crew that made the day a pleasure wit their little quips, a great knowledge of the area and the scenery was second to none. A very professional setup that I would recommend to put on everyone's bucket list.

    B T Stiling

  • “Fantastic day highly recommend to all”- We did the river and rail run and had a fabulous time learning the history and taking in the wonderful countryside along the way. The guides were excellent and all the staff were very friendly and informative. Had a great lunch set up after the jet boat ride to prepare us for the rail run.

    Willeson, Auckland

  • We've wanted to go on the railcarts for some time and a visit from my brother and sister in law was the perfect excuse. We were greeted my big smiles when we arrived at FWA HQ. Those smiles were on every staff members face as we came across them at different junctures of the trip. The railcart was easy to drive and to trip to Tokirima was fun, scenic and informative. Our guide, Ray, drew on his personal knowledge of the people and area to make our journey very personable - I felt connected. The jetboat ride had the usual jet boat thrills but the Wanganui River is a very different character to the Shotover or Waikato. She's an old lady with lots of history and stories - and rapids of course.

    Tim, Owhango

  • Relaxing, kiwi adventure. Great scenery, old relics and history. Informative friendly guide. Recommend it for family and friend groups. Close encounters with locals and animals and nature.

    Susan Bones