The airboat, also known as a fanboat, bayou boat or swamp boat is a common sight in the bayous of US states like Florida and Louisiana – but not so much for a chilly South Island alpine river.
That hasn't stopped Alpine Airboats from opening in Canterbury on the Waimakariri River today, becoming the first swamp boat operation in New Zealand’s history.
Paul Mullen said the idea came from a combination of his jetboat company being hit by Covid-19 and a memory from his trip to Alaska.
“One of the places we went was the last frontier in America, Alaska and that's where I saw what looked like Florida Evergreen airboats on shingle rivers like here in the Waimakariri and I thought, ‘maybe these will work’,” Mullen told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp.
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