Description: Siberia Experience is hands down one of the best experiences I have done in NZ. Starting from Makarora, a 45 minutes drive north from Wanaka, you are placed in a six-seater Cessna aircraft. I went with my partner and his folks. There were us and the pilot. Our own private scenic flight. You all wear headphones so you can talk to each other and the pilot can point out areas of interest. The scenic flight lasts 25 minutes. (If you get air sick the smaller plane might not be for you - however if you can last 25 minutes the views are stunning.) 25 minutes seem to last a long time when you are soaring in the air. You fly over fields, river and a hidden glacier. The pilot does a few figures 8's when coming into land in Siberia Valley. You actually land in a grass field next to a shallow wide stream (Siberia Stream actually). There your piliot bids you goodbye (he'll also take pictures of you by the plane - or pose as you take happy snaps) and you get to watch the small 6-seater fly off again.
There you are left, pretty much alone in the wilderness. And with a shallow but cold (snow fed) stream to cross over. You can borrow water shoes from the Makarora base but bare in mind you then have to carry these the rest of the way.
Luckily we went in Nov. We lucked out with our day - it was sunny and warm with a stretch of blue sky above. The river doesn't feel THAT cold when you first start to cross. Once you get in however the cold start to seep through your feet. It gets bitie, and then your feet go numb. By that stage you could be up to knee deep and half way through. Listen to your pilot when he says to go diagonally. If you try to run straight across you will end up freezing in should deep water.
Once you've crossed you now have roughly a 2.5-3hr bush walk. The beauty of this is you are on your own. It's not a track many tourists travel on; you might pass a few keen hikers (usually locals). We passed a few DOC workers doing upkeep on the trial, on their way to the hut. Along the way we found a lovely spot to eat our lunch. It is advisable to stop for lunch while you are in the forest, preferably higher up as there are hungry sand flies awaiting you at the bottom near the river.
Once out and near the river we still had about 30 minutes to lounge around in the sun and avoid getting ravaged by sand flies. We met another couple who were taking the 3:30 jet boat back to Makaroa with us. We loaded in to the shallow flat bottomed boat and decided the driver had the best job ever. All he did all day was to drive his jet boat up and down the river ferrying people from once place to the other. He seemed in no hurry to get us back and enjoyed making the boat zip from bank to bank, stopping to share stories of the area and answer questions. My partner and I were most pleased to see the huge smile on his father's almost 60yr old face.
This trip is well worth the money and very highly recommended.
$310 for an adult. Allow 4hrs for the adventure and realize you might have to rebook if weather is bad.
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