Think you’ve done everything crazy? For those who have already tried bungee jumping and skydiving, this is a whole new way of jumping off tall things.
SkyJump is a unique adventure activity where you jump off Auckland’s Sky Tower fitted with a harness that is attached to a fan descender, as used for film stunts. The 192m (630ft) jump takes 20 seconds as you drop at a rate of 85km/h (for around 11 seconds) before slowing to a safe landing in Sky City Plaza.
Having completed the SkyJump, you get free admission to the Sky Tower observation deck so you can admire the view again, but this time without taking the plunge.
Auckland is known as the City of Sails and it boasts the world’s highest proportion of boat owners. There are several companies that offer a day out sailing on the harbour, but in our opinion, the best option is Explore Sailing’s excursions on yachts that have competed in the America’s Cup competition.
Sailing on Auckland Harbour lets you see the city from a different perspective and it also gives you the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of sailing a yacht. If you have the money, you may want to try several different sailing trips as the experience can be very different from one boat to another. For instance, sailing on a historic vessel (such as what is offered by the sailing trips run by the New Zealand Maritime Museum) is very different to sailing on a luxury yacht, which is different again from the bare-bones built-for-speed hands-on sailing experience on an America’s Cup class racing yacht.
Explore Sailing offers two experiences: a two-hour sailing excursion on the harbour where you have the option to either participate in the sailing experience or simply sit back and enjoy the ride or a three-hour match racing experience where you get the opportunity to race against another America’s Cup class yacht.
Auckland Strand Station, or simply The Strand Station, is the northern terminus for the Northern Explorer train service linking Auckland with Wellington (with stops en route at Hamilton, Otorohanga, National Park, Ohakune and Palmerston North).
It is a relatively basic station, which is surprising considering that this used to be Auckland’s sole city centre railway station prior to Britomart Transport Centre opening in 2003. Suburban trains no longer stop at The Strand Station and the station now sees only six trains per week.
The location on The Strand is not the nicest welcome to Auckland as the semi-industrial area is noted mainly for its proliferation of rental car companies, mechanics and furniture stores; however, it is only an 11-minute walk to Parnell and a 20-minute walk into the city centre.
The Auckland Bridge Climb is a 1½ hour activity that takes you up the arched walkway to the highest point on the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The climb gives you the opportunity go to places that are off-limits to the public while taking in lovely views of the harbour and learning a lot about the bridge.
In its heyday, Dunedin railway station was New Zealand’s busiest, handling 100 trains per day. Nowadays, the only trains serving the station are heritage railway services including the Taieri Gorge Railway and the Seasider tourist train. It is an impressive station built in the Flemish Renaissance style with stained glass windows, a prominent clock tower and a booking hall that features a mosaic floor made from almost 750,000 tiles.
Dunedin is the terminus for the Taieri Gorge Railway, which travels to Middlemarch where there is a connecting coach service to Queenstown. The Seasider runs to Palmerston a couple of times a week.
Dunedin’s train station is on Anzac Street, about a five-minute walk from the Octagon.
Dunedin is the terminus for InterCity Coachlines services to Christchurch, Invercargill and Queenstown and InterCity coaches also stop here en route between Christchurch and Te Anau.
InterCity coaches stop outside Ritchies InterCity Travel at 7 Halsey Street near the corner of Sturdee Street. It’s not the nicest location for a coach station, but it is only a 20-minute walk to the Octagon.
Dunedin International Airport is the third-busiest in the South Island. Air New Zealand operates direct flights to Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington; Jetstar Airways fly to Auckland and Wellington and Virgin Australia have direct flights to Brisbane.
Dunedin International Airport is 28km south of the city centre. Local buses don’t serve the airport, but Super Shuttle run a door-to-door shuttle that picks up and drops off at hotels and hostels in central Dunedin.
InterCity Coachlines and Newmans coach services stop in Twizel en route between Christchurch and Queenstown and the Cook Connection operate bus services connecting Twizel with Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo.
InterCity Coachlines coaches stop in Lake Tekapo en route between Christchurch and Queenstown and the Cook Connection bus stops here with services to Twizel and Aoraki/Mount Cook.
The InterCity and Cook Connection buses stop in the car park outside Lake Tekapo Tavern.
Atomic Shuttles also serve Lake Tekapo, but their buses use a different stop outside the Four Square supermarket.
