Swimmers and boaties in the Queenstown Lakes are being urged to take care as the continued hot weather brings large numbers of people into the district’s lakes and rivers.

Boaties using our lakes are reminded that they must travel below five knots if they are closer than 200 metres to shore or within 50m of another vessel or swimmer.

All river users are asked to exercise extra caution as the five knot limit doesn’t apply on rivers, meaning that both swimmers and jet boats can come in close proximity to each other.

Queenstown Harbourmaster Marty Black is reminding everyone using our rivers to take care, and be considerate and aware of other users.

“Everyone needs to be aware of the range of users on the river. With low rainfall this summer conditions are fantastic for jet boating in many of our rivers. However, the same hot weather brings more people into the rivers to cool off, which puts boats and people closer together than they might be used to.”

“Swimmers should make sure they are using a part of the river where they are clearly visible, such as a long stretch of river. Likewise, jet boat drivers need to travel at a speed that enables them to be able to navigate the river safely and avoid coming too close to people in the water.”

“Everyone is out there having a good time, simple as that, and we want to ensure it stays that way. We’re simply reminding people to use a bit of common sense and keep safety front of mind when they’re out enjoying the water,” says Mr Black.

More information about safe boating in the Queenstown lakes District is available here - http://www.qldc.govt.nz/recreation/lakes-and-boating/

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