Adventure in New Zealand
New Zealand was one of the places I most wanted to visit on my around-the-world trip last year. It is so much more than just Lord of the Rings. I had been looking forward to visiting this country for some time. Every person I’ve talked to said they absolutely loved it. I was going to spend eighteen days there, visiting both the North and South Islands. I flew from LAX to Auckland and, right off the bat, ran into problems. My flight ended up being delayed 10 hours until the next day. The flight itself on Air New Zealand was enjoyable, and once I landed, I was ready to hit the ground running. The flight is nearly thirteen hours long.
My accommodations in Auckland were at a hostel, but I had my own room. I’m getting a little old to be sharing a room with other people, though I do like staying in hostels because you get to meet people from all over the world. I walked around a little bit, had some dinner, and then it was time for bed. That time change is something else!
The next morning, feeling refreshed, it was time to discover Auckland. First up was the Sky Tower. I love going up towers and seeing the city from the sky. The tower is 1,076 feet tall. At the top, I grabbed a drink, sat down, and took in the sights. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining. After finishing my drink, it was time to head to the waterfront area and do some bungy jumping off the Auckland Bridge. I have done bungy twice before—once in Macau, China (which is the world’s tallest) and once in Bali. Bungy started here in New Zealand.
I got to the bridge, and the group walked along the bridge to the platform. One after another, I saw people jump. Some were really nervous, while others were confident. It was my turn to go. The person in charge asked me if I wanted to do a running jump off the platform. Normally, when you bungy jump, you walk up to the ledge with your harness on and the rope connected to your ankles. This was the first time I had heard of doing something different. I looked at the person and said, “Sure, why not? I’ll do the running jump.”
I got all ready and it was go-time. I did my running jump from 131 feet up, and it was exhilarating! Whenever I do an extreme sport like this, I get adrenaline and nerves—usually voices in my head saying, “What are you doing?” I usually close my eyes, take a deep breath, then go. The running jump was really cool, and I’m glad I chose to do that. The harbor area in Auckland is really nice to wander around. Tomorrow, I was picking up a car and driving to where they shot Lord of the Rings, which I was really looking forward to.
The next morning, I headed back to the airport and got my rental car. In New Zealand, they drive on the left side of the road and you sit on the right side of the car. For the first hour or so, driving felt super weird. This was my first time driving on the opposite side of the road. Once I got to Hobbiton, I was super excited to take the tour. The tour was amazing, seeing where they filmed the movies. One of the cool things is that they built a Hobbit house that you can walk inside. I had a beer at the Green Dragon Inn and a tasty lunch. All in all, if you are a fan of the movies, you definitely want to check this tour out.
Back in Auckland, I checked out the Auckland Art Gallery, which was pretty impressive. My last night in Auckland, I splurged a little bit and stayed at the Park Hyatt on the harbor. Very nice hotel and beautiful rooms. The next day, I was heading to Queenstown—aka the adventure destination of New Zealand. I was going to do another bungy and go white-water rafting, which I couldn’t wait to do.
The flight from Auckland to Queenstown is a little less than two hours. Same thing as before: I was staying in a hostel. Queenstown overlooks a huge lake called Lake Wakatipu, with mountains in the distance. Walking around Queenstown is very charming. I had booked a bungy jump, white-water rafting, and something called the Shotover Jet.
The Shotover Jet was the first thing I did. You get in this high-speed jet boat going up and down the river, coming ever so close to the canyon walls. We made 360-degree spins; it was very fun and a “must-do.” The next adventurous thing was white-water rafting. I had been rafting two other times before this and absolutely loved it. The rafting I did was also on the Shotover River, just a different part than the jet. The rapids were category 3-5. The whole experience did not disappoint. No one fell out of the raft, but a few came close. The water was a little cold but not too bad.
The last adventurous thing I did was bungy jumping. This one was a lot higher than the one I did in Auckland. That one was 131 feet; the one outside of Queenstown was 440 feet. You drive about an hour and 20 minutes from Queenstown to get there. There is a little shuttle that takes you out to the platform in the middle, overlooking the canyons. The Nevis River is below you. By this time, I had done bungy jumping three times, and every time I still get a little nervous. I look straight out, trying not to look down. As before, I close my eyes, take a deep breath, open them, then jump. With this jump, you get 8.5 seconds of freefall. What an adrenaline rush! I was offered to go again, but this time falling backwards. A few people did it, but I passed.
Also in Queenstown, I went up the Skyline. You get into a gondola that goes up the mountain. At the top, there is a panoramic restaurant and bar. I got a beer and admired the view. One of the top tours to do from Queenstown is the Milford Sound cruise. It’s about a four-hour bus ride from Queenstown to get to the sound. The cruise lasts about two hours. The scenery is amazing; you get to see waterfalls, wildlife, and amazing views of the fjords. When it was over, instead of taking the four-hour bus ride back, I got on a small plane and flew back to Queenstown. It was really cool seeing all the mountains from the air. The next stop was driving to Lake Tekapo to take a helicopter and walk on a glacier.
The drive from Queenstown to Lake Tekapo is a little over three hours. By now, I had gotten used to driving on the opposite side of the road. The two big things to do here are take a helicopter to Mt. Cook to see the Tasman Glacier and see the dark sky. The helicopter ride was amazing. Landing on the glacier and being able to walk around was out of this world. It felt like you were in another world. It is a little expensive but well worth it. I stayed near Lake Tekapo. At night, I did a stargazing tour. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and there were a few telescopes set up. This was one of the best stargazing tours I’ve ever done.
From here, I drove to Christchurch and was going to take a day trip to Wellington. In Christchurch, I did the gondola ride, which was worth it for the scenery. The Air Force Museum was pretty cool. I like plane museums and try to go to one whenever I travel. Christchurch is a charming city.
I left early in the morning for my day tour of Wellington. The two big things I wanted to see were Weta Workshop, which was used in the making of Lord of the Rings, and the Te Papa Museum to see the “Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War” exhibit. The Weta Workshop was pretty cool; I got to see movie props and learn how they do special effects. The Gallipoli exhibit was really interesting and had a lot of information.
The last stop on my New Zealand trip was Kaikoura, where I did a whale-watching tour. I had never done one but had always wanted to. The weather was perfect. I saw four whales: a Giant Sperm whale, a Humpback whale, and Blue whales. Also, in Kaikoura, they have a seal colony. It was pretty cool walking around seeing the seals. There were a lot of them; some were just lying on the beach or rocks, while some swam in the water.
After eighteen days, it was time to leave. I could have easily spent another two weeks here. There is so much to see and do in New Zealand. It is easily one of the top three countries I’ve visited so far. The people are so nice and friendly, and there is no shortage of fun things to do. If you love the outdoors, adventure, and beautiful scenery, New Zealand is a place you should check out.
