Innovative jetboat business up for sale

MOVING ON: Nick Berryman is selling his New Zealand Riverjet jetboat business, which has been a winner of multiple tourism awards. PHOTO/FILE

Rotorua-based jetboat tour operator New Zealand Riverjet will go up for sale by tender next month, a decade after owner Nick Berryman created the business on the banks of the Waikato River after extensive negotiations with Transit New Zealand, Rotorua District Council, local iwi and other parties.

New Zealand Riverjet specialises in journeys that take in the Orakei Korako geothermal area, and its trip The Squeeze recently featured on US reality show The Bachelor with bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis and his date in a steamy geothermal pool.

"Our YouTube video on The Squeeze went from 60 to 2500 hits a day within two hours of the US segment airing," said Mr Berryman. The show is expected to air in Australasia this year.

Mr Berryman said with more than 40 commercial jetboat operations in New Zealand - including two others, Huka Jets and Rapids Jet, operating within 20 minutes of Riverjet - he wanted to create a point of difference.

"Most jetboat companies are about how fast you can go in a 30-minute thrill ride," he said.

"We weren't going to be able to compete in that market, so we turned our experience into one of the longest trips - two-and-a-half to three hours, taking in the geothermal valley."

Paul Sanford, commercial consultant for NAI/Harcourts New Zealand, which is handling the tender sale, said he had been involved in selling hospitality businesses for six years, and this was the first jetboat tour operator he had seen come on the market.

"I would say that it's unique - there's nothing else like it in terms of the trips they offer," he said.

Mr Berryman became involved in the tour business when he acquired a boat from the River Lodge business. He found a new river access site on State Highway 5, near Tutukau Rd. However, the land was part of a disused road and belonged to Transit NZ. First he had to convince the Rotorua District Council to take over the land and turn it into a reserve, then work through the consenting process with the council and local iwi.

The business is made up of the booking office building on the land under a long lease from the council, together with a jetty. A purpose-built 228sq m workshop facility, on a separate freehold title, houses the company's three jetboats.

NZ Riverjet has been a winner of the Rotorua Business Hospitality and Attractions Award.

A Destination Tourism spokesman said there was no data available on the extent of tourist activity drawn by jetboat operations. However, Regional Tourism Indicators show both international and domestic visitor spend for April 2014 was considerably higher in the Rotorua and Lake Taupo regions than for the same month in 2013, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment reports that international visitor arrivals are forecast to keep growing over the next six years.

The purpose-built jet boats also suited the growing New Zealand film industry as well as offshore film-makers, said Mr Berryman. In addition to The Bachelor USA episode, additional business has been generated from movies including Without a Paddle, Yogi Bear and Lord of The Rings.

Mr Berryman intends to spend more time focusing on Lakes Lodge, on the shores of Lake Okataina, which he and his wife Richelle took over five years ago.

"Nothing stays the same forever, and it's time to look at moving on," he said.