New Zealand Sports & Outdoors Tips by martin_nl Top 5 Page for this destination

Skydiving

There are many places in New Zealand where you can do a skydive. Where will you do the skydive? Above the glaciers? Above Lake Wanaka, or maybe Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown. I chose to skydive above Lake Taupo. Why? The biggest lake of New Zealand and the mountains of Tongariro National Park in the background, the location where a lot of the Lord of the Rings films was shot. AAnother reason to skydive here is because it's the cheapest in NZ.

The experience is one of a lifetime. The moment it is your turn to jump is an undescribable feeling.. When you look down all you can think of is f@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ck. And then you're on your way down. 40 seconds of freefal from 12000 feet. So many things go through your head and at the same time your mind is blank. Just the ground in your sight and of course the wonderful view. I'm like a bird!!!!

Equipment: Just casual clothing, the rest will be provided by the skydive centre

Directions: Taupo is in the centre of the North Island

Theme: Extreme Sports

Website: http://www.freefly.co.nz/

Tramping???

Yep tramping they call it over here, rather than hiking. Nevertheless it i the same activity. This is by far the best way to get the ultimate New Zealand experience, especially if you have the time to do one or more of the multiple day tracks in the greatest national parks of the country. Almost complete isolation at some tracks, noone can be there except for you and a small group of other people.

I have done the Milford Track in Fiordland NP, Did a day on the Routeburn Track where we walked up to Key Summit from the Divide. Hiked up Mount Luxmoore on the Kepler Track. Tramped up the Ben Lomond mountain in Queenstown. I also did the Tongariro Crossing in Tongariro National Park. Apart from these longer tramps you can doa lot of short hikes all over the country. Take a look at the Department of Conservation's (DOC) website to get an idea. If you want to to the populat tracks such as Milford, Routeburn and Kepler you would do good by booking them in advance, especially the Milford is immensely popular and should be booked a few months in advance.

Theme: Hiking

White water rafting

The last activity I did in New Zealand was rafting on the Rangitata river. This was a true adrenaline pumping 3 hour trip. We had a few grade 5 rapids, and these were super!!! I will try and do some more rafting in the rest of the world. Almost at the end of the trip we had the opportunity to jump of a 10 metres high rock into the river. That was cool too!!

Equipment: The only thing you'll need is a bathing suit or a pair of swimshorts. The rest will be provided by Rangitata Rafts.

Directions: In Peel forest near Geraldine, on the South Island, 2 hours south of Christchurch.

Theme: Rafting

Website: http://www.rafts.co.nz/

Sandboarding on giant sand dunes

Some of the biggest sand dunes in the country can be found at the end of Te Paki stream, which is at the end of Ninety Mile Beach, close to Cape Reinga on the North Island. Here we conquered the peaks by walking all the way up and then we boogie boarded down a couple of times. Sand absolutely everywhere, but bloody amazing!!!! You go down at a speed of almost 50 kph! Not entirely without risk, so pay attention to the instructions!

Equipment: Just a sand board, a good spirit and a wicked mind!

Directions: At the very top of Northland, near Cape Reinga

Theme: Extreme Sports

Website: http://www.awesomeadventures.co.nz/

Glacier Hiking

A whole new dimension to hiking is added if you hike on the ice of the Franz Josef or Fox glacier. I hiked on the Franz Josef glacier and all though it was cold and rainy it was fantastic. Talonz on your boots and of you go.

Equipment: The compnay provied all your equipment. You'll get boots, socks, special ice talonz, a parka, waterproof trousers, gloves and a hat. Make sure you wear warm clothes under all this equipment, preferably not cotton, but synthetic fabrics or wool.

Directions: You can do glacier hikes on Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, both on the West Coast of the South Island.

Theme: Hiking

Website: http://www.franzjosefglacier.com/ & http://www.foxguides.co.nz/

Sailing the Bay of Islands

In the Bay of Islands I booked a trip on the Stray Cat catamaran for the day. It was a great day with sailing, snorkeling and lazing around on the boat. Saw quite some fish while snorkeling and many birds including the Australasian gannet.

Equipment: You could bring your own snorkel, mask and fins. Wetsuit is provided as is all the food. Bring a book and maybe a beer or so...

Address: 34 Puketiro Pl Paihia

Phone: 094026130

Theme: Boating/Sailing

Sea kayaking

Abel Tasman National Park is the perfect place for sea kayaking. You can choose to kayak for 1 day or even more or if you decide to walk a bit on the Coastal Track you can book a combination. Kayaking is a great way to explore the NP, and since the park is all about the beaches and the sea, this is the best way to explore, You can get to places the hikers cannot come.

Theme: Kayaking/Canoeing

Website: http://www.seakayaknz.co.nz/

Bungy Jump Madness

An extreme sport New Zealand is famous for is of course bungy jumping! The most famous place for a jump, the place where it all started is in Queenstown. On the picture you see the Kawarau Bridge, the first place in NZ where AJ Hackett started offering jumps.

Jumping of the bridge is not cheap however, be ready to spend well over a hundred NZ dollars. AJ Hackett has four locations where you can jump in Queenstown and 1 in Auckland. The highest jump is the Nevis and that's 134 metres high which will give you a freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeefaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal of 7 seconds!!! Check out the the AJ HAckett site for prices and combi's.

Theme: Extreme Sports

Website: http://www.ajhackett.com/