My Kiwi Adventures

I was absolutely delighted when I got the chance to join the Air New Zealand and New Zealand Tourism “Mega-Fam” trip in March 2006 but little did I realise then just how amazing it was going to be! I can recall the thrill of excitement as our plane touched down in the grey early hours of an overcast Auckland morning. Never mind that we were bleary-eyed and jet-lagged, it was straight on to Queenstown - the self-billed Adventure Capital of the world! No sooner had we checked into our hotel, the beautiful Swiss chalet style St Moritz, than we were transported to the top of the Skyline Gondola cable car overlooking Queenstown before hurtling down the mountain side on the famous Luge toboggans. That was one sure way of waking us up! The views over Lake Wakatipu were just the first of many breathtaking panoramas we were to encounter. In the days that followed we did not stop. The Shotover jet was the best fun; speeding deep into the canyons with the drivers of the Big Red boats skimming the rocky walls and boulders, missing by centimetres and holding up one hand to indicate that they were about to spin the boat through a dramatic 360 °turn as we screamed for more. The most memorable day began with a morning of white water rafting which was great fun, then off to the Kawarau Bridge, site of the original A.J. Hackett bungee. “5-4-3-2-1 Bungee!!!!” and I was plummeting towards the river below and before I knew it bouncing skywards again trying to snatch a breath and take in the fact that I had actually done it and I was still alive....! The sensation was one of euphoria heightened even more by the arrival of a fleet of shiny black helicopters to take us to the top of Coronet Peak overlooking Queenstown for a champagne picnic. I was onboard the first helicopter to touch down on the Peak and as the others flew in noisily it was like a scene from Apocalypse Now meets James Bond. Our next stop was a beautiful vineyard for a wine tasting and later we were helicoptered in to the famous Millbrook Golf and Lifestyle resort. We enjoyed a jet-boat safari on the Dart River through stunning scenery, moved on to Te Anau where we took a boat across the lake to the Glow-worm caves with hundreds of tiny glow-worms lighting an intricate pattern in the pitch blackness, then spent a night on the Milford Mariner in tranquil Milford Sound. I ran out of superlatives to describe the jaw-dropping majesty of the scenery. We journeyed along the Southern Scenic Route to Invercargill stopping off for another helicopter flight onto the Tuatapere Hump Ridge track with its rugged and wild views. Finally, we took a small plane to Stewart Island – New Zealand’s 3rd island. It is remote and beautiful with a big emphasis on wildlife and conservation. Our guide whisked us off in a water taxi to a tiny island called Ulva where we were enthralled by her knowledge and experience of the birds, flora and fauna. In complete contrast our last stop was Auckland, the city of sails, with its thriving waterfront and cultural diversity. I returned to Auckland 6 months later. We were staying in the Sky Tower so within a few hours of arriving I was launching myself off the Skyjump platform 630 feet up and feeling like Superman as I sped down past the office block windows. Spring was in the air, outside the city there were lambs and daffodils everywhere. I loved Rotorua with its bubbling thermal springs and geysers – especially lounging in the hot pools under the stars at the Polynesian Spa! Mount Cook was awesome and we could not have been luckier with the weather – we had brilliant sunshine and got the all clear to land on the Franz Joseph Glacier in a tiny ski-plane. It was surreal. Of course we could not miss out the original bungee site and this time I bungeed backwards. Our last day was spent skiing the Remarkables followed by a tour of Queenstown’s nightlife including literally the coolest bar Minus 5 made out of ice! New Zealand is a truly awesome country with a “Can Do” attitude – my experiences there gave me the confidence to believe that if you really want to do something then you can!