'It's a dangerous business...going out of your door. You step into the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.' Bilbo Baggins, Lord of the Rings - With a little luck, you will find yourself swept off to the north island of New Zealand, somewhere near Hamilton with a ticket to visit … [Read more...]
America’s Cup Sailing in Auckland
If you’re looking to try something a bit different during your time in Auckland, why not head out into the harbour for some America's Cup sailing and participate as part of the crew on a genuine America’s Cup yacht? WHAT IS THE AMERICA'S CUP? The America’s Cup is a boat race between two teams. A ‘challenger’ team will take on the yacht that … [Read more...]
Diving with Sharks at Kelly Tarlton’s in Auckland
When you see some of the marketing for Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium, you know you're in for a treat! Just take a look at their shark shuttle bus and USB stick! I spent a morning diving with sharks at Kelly Tarlton’s as part of the Shark Dive Xtreme experience. This includes an introduction to SCUBA diving (or a refresher if you’re … [Read more...]
The Auckland SkyJump
I think my sister might have been trying to punish me for flying to the Galapagos on her previous birthday and failing to send her a gift. This year for my birthday, she booked us both in for both the Auckland Harbour Bridge bungy AND the Auckland SkyJump. The Auckland SkyJump is a controlled base jump from the tallest building in New Zealand – … [Read more...]
Auckland Harbour Bridge Bungy
Last weekend I did my first bungy jump - the Auckland Harbour Bridge Bungy. I let someone tie a rope around my feet and willed myself to take a headfirst leap into thin air from a small metal cage attached to the side of the Auckland Harbour Bridge… WHY?! If you’ve done a bungy jump before and are wondering why I’m making such a big deal out of … [Read more...]
Gone AWOL Canyoning in Piha
‘You can borrow any of these pairs of trainers for your canyoning experience’, said our guide Javier. ‘They were left behind by past tour groups that didn’t make it.’ This was my introduction to Kiwi tour guide humour (we’ll skim over the fact that our guide on this occasion was Chilean). If you do anything scary in New Zealand and look nervous, … [Read more...]
Scared Britless: High-adrenaline New Zealand
Finally...I've read my way through the monster of a guidebook that is The Rough Guide to New Zealand, and I feel I have a pretty good grasp of what this immense country has to offer. Lucky for me - a girl who likes to test her scaredy-cat limits - New Zealand is 'the place' to go for high-adrenaline adventure sports, and boy does it know how to … [Read more...]
