How I became a jet boating eco-warrior

Southland tourism operator Johan Groters, 55, has gone from petrol head to petrel lover. He even enlists the help of his guests in his war against pests during their adrenalin-fuelled adventure on New Zealand’s deepest lake.

“It would be a bit of a bugger if our kids didn’t get to hear any morepork in Fiordland. While the mountains and rivers haven’t changed for millions of years, the birdlife has been decimated because of the introduction of stoats and rats in the 1800s.

“In 2006, we began setting traps for the stoats around the Wairaurahiri River and Lake Hauroko, where we take our guests for a day’s jet boating in Fiordland National Park. It’s pretty remote – it would take three or four days to walk out. But because we’re there most days in summer, we are making a dent in the stoat population.  When a stoat is caught, a red flag goes up on the trap. We ask the tourists to look out as we go along in the boat. If they spot a flag up, we stop and collect the dead stoat and reset the trap. People get into it. It’s part of the story and part of being there. It makes me feel good too as we know we are making a difference because we can hear birdsong again.

“Thirty years ago, we wouldn’t have got into a conservation project. But it has actually been very good for business. Even if you didn’t care about birds it would be worthwhile. Other businesses should think about the good work they could do and not be shy of skiting about it.

“During the 1980s and ‘90s I was involved with deer capture from helicopters and deer farming. It was a very exciting industry to be in. It’s the same with the people who work down the river. We have to be pretty self-reliant and if stuff goes wrong we just have to sort it.

“When we were hunting on the Wairaurahiri River I had the feeling that if we didn’t start a jet-boating business there someone else would. We applied for a concession, bought an old boat and took a leap of faith. It was pretty difficult getting started. We were starving and financially stressed but that’s nothing abnormal for a small business. We persisted because my wife Joyce and I like it and we are stubborn.

“The Wairaurahiri is a wild and challenging river and it’s pretty tough on gear. The rugged, rock-strewn, grade-three rapids drop 600 feet to sea level. For airline pilots, that’s only taking off and landing but I clock about 3.2 hours of totally focused driving in the boat each trip, so I’ve got be real sharp.

“I’ve taken several tourists who were in their 90s and numerous ladies in their 80s. They are wonderful old tarts. We also take school kids and IHC people – they’re the best to take as they’re so much fun. But sadly, bureaucracy is making it too hard for them to come which is crazy as they’re just as likely to be run over in a supermarket car park as to crash with us – and we’ve never hurt anyone!

“We get our guests to sit down together for lunch and then they start talking to each other. It’s sometimes the most some overseas guests ever get to talk to Kiwis and you often see them exchanging email addresses. At the end of their trip, people are so happy they don’t just get in their cars; they hang about in the car park because I think they don’t want the day to end.”

Interview by Rosalind Le Bas Walker.