Within my first five hours in New Zealand, I realized I’d not accounted for the International Date Line, forgotten my driver’s license, figured out how to drive on the left, backed out of bungy jumping, attempted to break a world’s record in the Shweeb, and hurled myself down a hill in a giant, plastic ball. [...]
Forgoing the more touristy Franz Josef, my husband and I traveled a bit deeper into glacier country to Fox Glacier Township. Our plan in Fox was to helihike the glacier, but that was derailed due to the cloudy conditions. And considering our vacation to New Zealand would totally be ruined by the helicopter crashing into [...]
I ain’t as young as I used to be.
When I got off the Interislander ferry in Picton, my first time in New Zealand’s South Island, I knew where I was headed. Oh, I wandered around Picton for a bit, but none of its cute cafes or coffee shops deterred me from getting to Havelock for lunch. What’s in Havelock, you ask? Well, Havelock [...]
When I chickened out of the bungy in Rotorua, the great folks at Agroventures offered me the opportunity to try one of their other activities. I knew I didn’t want to have my feet too far off the ground. I saw the Agrojet and the Freefall Xtreme and decided those were just a bit too [...]
Saddened by Queenstown in our rearview mirror, we were not really excited about going to Mt. Cook. We passed the Karawau Bungy, and drove through the wine and fruit region of Cromwell. There was a tug at our heartstrings. Not only had we fallen in love with Queenstown, but we made some wonderful friends.
My shins were uncomfortable from the equipment pressing so tightly, but that’s what you want when bungy jumping. Tightness. The harness around my waist was secure and ran the length of my legs, connecting it to my ankle restraints. I walked like a penguin closer to the edge; it was difficult to move at all. [...]
Both for the few adventuring travelers who still exist and for the larger number of travelers-turned-tourists, voyaging becomes a pseudo-event. . . . Planned tours, attractions, fairs, expositions ‘especially for tourists,’ and all their prefabricated adventures can be persuasively advertised in advance. They can be made convenient, comfortable, risk-free, trouble-free, as spontaneous travel never was [...]
I’ve planned since April for the November trip to New Zealand. I’ve secured reward seats, researched, developed at least eight different itineraries, scoured TripAdvisor’s hotel reviews, booked a car, purchased ferry tickets, and reserved tours. There’s no stone left unturned. The trip to New Zealand is perfectly organized in a 1 ½ inch binder filled [...]
Soon I’m headed to New Zealand for the first time. Three weeks isn’t enough time to even think about doing everything on one island, much less both. But that’s the time I have and must make do. I’m a serious planner and researcher, and have tried to boil down what I feel is the best [...]