A Canadian couple are counting their blessings after a jet boat crash injured 10 people near Queenstown on Saturday - the second day of their 10-day trip to New Zealand.
Brenda and Doug Weening, from Toronto, were riding in a Skippers Canyon Jet boat when it crashed into a rock face on the side of the river.
Nine people were injured in the crash.
"All of a sudden, the driver couldn’t steer, and he knew it. He was kicking something with his foot. And he had lost the reverse," Mr Weening told the Otago Daily Times .
The jet boat hit the rock-face head-on. Ms Weening broke her leg and had to hang on to the outside of the boat.
"Everyone was like scrambled eggs in a bowl. We all got moved around," she told the Otago Daily times.
The jet boat's driver and nine passengers were airlifted to hospital with minor injuries. They were all discharged the same day.
The couple praised the staff at Skippers Canyon Jet, emergency services and the hospital for their care.
"I just really want to thank everybody for the care that they've given, because it has been traumatic," Ms Weening said.
The Weenings also sent their condolences to the family of the person killed in a jet boat crash during the Otago Rivers Race on the Clutha River near Wanaka, yesterday.
"We feel sad for the family. We're thankful to be alive," she said.
"It makes us realise it could have been a lot worse for us."
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