绝路桥

I ended up enjoying this trip but it didn't get off to a great start.Arrived 10 am to check in as requested. Office locked up and no-one around.Staff arrived at around 10.20. No apology or explanation for being kept waiting in a swarm of wasps. No friendly greeting either. When I asked if there was drinking water on the boat I was told no, but there was plenty of water in the river. Teehee. On the wharf (after passing another of the company's boats leaking fuel into the river) lifejackets were tossed onto the wharf with no explanation of how to wear them and no safely drill. Just as well I'm a strong swimmer and experienced boatie!As we got under way the driver asked what I did for a living. When I told him I was an ESL teacher I was told "Bugger that for a job". Coming from someone I know it would be water off a duck's back, but from a tour guide I've just met?Things improved after that. The weather was perfect, the walk to the bridge beautiful, and the ride along the river enjoyable. Overall, though, I found this company unprofessional. The driver/guide was passionatley knowledgable about the area and its history but his cockiness and quite cavalier attitude to safety were disconcering.I can't say I'd recommend Bridge to Nowhere Jet Boat Tours, but do visit the area as it's wonderful.

Glad that you had a good time with us. Hope to see you again!

I have visited the Bridge to Nowhere twice. The first time was when my partner and I canoed the Whanganui River. The second time was in February, 2015; we were on the Mountain to Sea bike trail and had come through the bush, on mountain bikes, from Ruatiti (a bit of a white knuckle experience, I am 67). The bridge itself was an achievement in the circumstances and time it was built. Much of the work on the arch was done by an apprentice. But it is the backstory that is so interesting; the story of World War I returned soldiers settled on unproductive land. Coming in by bike takes one past all the former properties. A moving experience. But one doesn't have to canoe, hike, or mountain bike one's way there. Take a jet boat trip--lots of fun--and then walk the very well kept track (approx 30 minutes) from the landing to the bridge. This gives visitors a really great chance to see something different. Of course if you want something really different, bike in.

This was well worth the 40 min walk to see. The eels were amazing! The track in is well marked and easy to access.

After a very enjoyable 4 day tramp along the Matemateonga Track, staying in DOC huts, my friend and I had a night of luxury in this lodge. We had very comfortable individual rooms with double beds, great food and welcoming hospitality. It was great to sit on the deck, which had amazing views of the Whanganui River, sipping gin and tonics and sharing a platter of nibbles before our buffet. Next morning, after breakfast, we had a fun jetboat ride to Pipiriki where a lift awaited us. What a great experience!

We have wanted to experience this trail for some time after see it on Country Calendar. Joe and Jess are top hosts and from the moment we contacted them the service was excellent! There are lots of options and they were very patient and accommodating while we made up our mind how we would plan the logistics of the trip. The trail was amazing, with lots of highlights along the way. Our weather was absolutely perfect, making the swim in the river at the end of the day perfect. We met some great locals along the way, proud of the stunning area they live in and they definitely made the trip worthwhile for us, sharing their knowledge and history of the area.The jet boat ride was spectacular and we highly recommend contacting Joe and Jess and their team and experiencing this part of the world.

We really enjoyed the Bridge to Nowhere MTB ride. The hardest part was the first 5Km which was long climb. The rest of the 35KM ride is mainly downhill. Terrific views with sweeping downhill trails on 4WD tracks and Single tracks. I would not recommend using a cheap (under $1000) bike. We were picked up at Raetihi and taken to the start point. At the end, we were picked up by Jetboat then taken back to Raetihi via minibus from the river. see: http://www.bridgetonowhere.co.nz/

Our group of nine had an amazing trip to the Bridge to Nowhere. The weather was perfect as was the scenery. Kelly was great with all of group, obliged with taking photos and making sure that the experience was great. It was really insightful with lots of snippets of history along the way so that we all got some great information about the hard fought toil of those who tried so hard to forge a living in the middle of nowhere. We stayed in Ohakune the night before and took a leisurely drive into Pipiriki, hopped on the jet boat at around 11am and got back around 4pm. Then we took the River Road and enjoyed the views and sights along the way finishing our group outing with a drink and a quick bite at the Upokongaro. It was just an awesome day out and our family all had a great time. Highly recommended to all.

Bridge to NowhereCnr Pekapeka Road and Owairua Road1 of 5 stars"Sad end to a our planned Christmas treat."We were both really looking forward to our trip up the river, an overnight stay in the lodge and then the Bridge to Nowhere trip the following day. Right from the start we have had problems with this company, problems getting an initial response, eventually contacted GrabOne for help, problems getting them to confirm the date and the time. Each time we rang they had the booking details wrong; they also did not ring us back as they promised. Finally today they changed the meeting time for the boat to the lodge which we cannot manage; It takes 5 hours for us to reach Pipiriki. It wasn't until yesterday that we learned that there is no Pipiriki Cafe, no phone, no cell phone reception so if the boat which takes customers to the lodge is delayed we would be stuck. Its quite a remote spot apparently. We were told that we could leave our car with someone near the leaving point for $10 a day. The boat trip price through GrabOne was $99 each, the lodge for dinner bed and breakfast was $145 each. Previous reviewers have commented that this is a bit steep for very basic amenities. Our GrabOne voucher expires on January 19 so we will not be able to use it and we have lost, what is to us quite a lot of money. I understand that the operating family is under some strain at the moment and appreciate that they are not always flexible with boat times but surely customers deserve some degree of service, especially when they are paying so much. We both found the phone calls difficult, vital information was not made available and the confusion over the booking made us feel nervous. We got the feeling that they were not prepared to change any part of their schedule - despite being told that we were the only people booked into the lodge that night. In the final phone call the girl told us that it costs them $300 to send a boat to collect customers; and this was why they would not be prepared to changed their revised schedule.... It was all very upsetting and disappointing. I understand that there are 2 companies operating on the river perhaps the other one is worth investigating

My partner and I visited the Bridge to Nowhere lodge together and have been recommending it to everyone! Such good value for money, staff were amazing and so friendly they enjoyed there wine as much as we did and made us feel at home. Food was great and most of all our jet boat driver Kelly if I remember was so helpful and was great to see him so passionate about his work and the river. Thank you so much for one of the best holidays we have ever had in our own backyard!

Jet boat ride, short walk in to the wilderness and a bit of a history lesson, couldn't ask for more for a relaxed, fun day out seeing some great scenery and experiencing the Whanganui River.Our guide, Ben, was great company and obviously really enjoys his job, which creates a lovely atmosphere for the day.If you want to experience a jet boat ride and learn a bit about the area I highly recommend this trip.Very reasonably priced for a good day out.Don't forget to bring a packed lunch and drinks!

Went with Bridge to Nowhere tours.. Couldn't fault any of it.. Lovely people and an awesome time in the bush for a few days

We arranged transport from Raehiti Holiday Park to the start of the track on Rautiti Road, at the end of the ride, we got a jet-boat transport to Pipiriki and a van transport back to the Raehiti. The trail started with a gentle climb for about 4km, then up and down to 12km mark, then downhill all the way to the river. So it is pretty easy and suitable for beginner. At 10km mark, you can choose to ride to Whakahoro by turning right .On the way, you can see the names of the previous (WW1) settlers on both side of the track. Besides some cleared land, there was no structure remains. During the ride I kept on thinking about my experience at Macetown at Arrowtown, which is about 7 times more interesting than this track. My opinion, if you have been to the south island for bike tour, this Bridge to Nowhere would not be much impressive to you. However, if you are from the city and would love to be with the nature, this is still a good choice. We were there after a few rainy days. The track was a little bit muddy, but not much a problem. If you want to have more fun, ride the Quads track instead of the Bike track to cross all “rivers”. At the end, the bridge was just a bridge, the jet boat ride was just a jet boat ride. The most enjoying part for me was the bike ride. If I were to do it again, I would get transport to the start, ride to the end and come back to Raehiti. This would make the day a bit longer.

In January we as a family ventured up the Wanganui River Roadto Pipiriki. Climbed aboard the jet boat and went up to THe Bridge to Nowhere. The jetboat ride was gorgeous, the scenery fantastic. A very good jet boat operator who shared points of interest on our way. The walk into the bridge was easy and enjoyable. Lunched there. Very historical and you can just imagine the hardships the settlers felt. Back to be picked up by the jet boat and back to Pipiriki. A few 360 turns and lots of fun. It is a shame to have waited this long to see the most amazing scenery and have so much fun.

This was my trip starting at ruatiti Tramping the mangapurua track to the mangapurua landing jetboat pick up transfer to Lodge Spent 1 night at lodge tramped from lodge 2 days on the matemateaonga track returning to the lodge for 1 night then jetboat back to the mangapurua landing then walking back to ruatiti Total distance of 120ks 2 nights staying at lodge and 2 jetboat trips my trip took 7 days all up a wonderfull adventure Many thanks to Joe and Jess and the team at the Lodge many thanks for your assistance greataccomadation and wonderfull mealAll The best to You and Your Team Hope to come back again as soon as I can