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.
The Skyline Queenstown gondola is one of Queenstown’s longest established attractions. The gondola ride rises 450m to Bob’s Peak where you can find a restaurant, AJ Hackett’s Ledge bungee and swing and the Skyline luge track. There are two 800m-long luge tracks, a fast track and a slower, scenic track.
The Skyline Rotorua complex, on Fairy Springs Road north of the town centre, features gondola and luge rides as well as the Zoom Zipline ride and Skyswing ride.
Gondola
The gondola is aimed mostly at older tourists, but it does give you a nice view and the gondola ticket is included in the Skyline Combo packages and is pretty much the easiest way to get to the action at the top of the hill.
The gondola is a 900m-long cableway system that gives you a scenic ride in an eight-seater cabin and offers a lovely view of Rotorua, Lake Rotorua and the geothermal activity in the surrounding countryside.
Luge
The luge track is generally the most popular – and best value – of the activities available at the Skyline complex. It is a cheap and fun activity that many backpackers love. There is almost 5km of luge track that you get to ride on a go-cart/toboggan hybrid.
Essentially you have a choice of three tracks: the scenic track (2km), the intermediate track (1.7km) and the advanced track (1km). Most people start off on the scenic track, which is the best value as it is also the longest track; although the intermediate and advanced tracks are more exciting and include tighter bends and tunnels.
Zoom Zipline
The Zoom Zipline consists of pair of 400m-long ziplines where you are strapped into a harness and fly through a Redwood forest at 80km/h. There is the option of finishing off with a 13m free-fall.
Skyswing
The Skyswing is essentially a tamer alternative to the swings that you can do in Queenstown. It is still an adrenaline rush where you swing 50m above the ground reaching speeds of 150km/h, but unlike New Zealand’s other swings, rather than being strapped to a cord, you get to sit on comfortable seats inside a pod that holds three people. In this respect, the Skyswing is more of a theme park ride and less of an adventure activity.
There is a 1.2m-wide external walkway at the top of the Sky Tower and the SkyWalk experience lets you walk the entire 360 degrees around the tower with no handrails, just a safety harness. It is a great experience with fantastic views from this unique position 192m above the ground.
Having completed the SkyJump, you get free admission to the Sky Tower observation deck so you can admire the view again, but this time from behind glass.
The Southland Museum & Art Gallery is an excellent museum that has exhibits on New Zealand’s remote islands near the Antarctic plus displays on the tuatara-breeding programme.
Space Place at Carter Observatory is an observatory, science museum and planetarium that is located in the Wellington Botanic Garden near the Kelburn terminus of the Wellington cable car.
The observatory was opened in 1941 primarily as a base for astronomical research, although nowadays it is considerably more accessible to the public and includes a planetarium and science museum.
The planetarium features a varied programme of shows including some designed specifically for children, although the live presentation of the southern sky over New Zealand can be interesting if you’re from the northern hemisphere and not familiar with the southern night sky.
Like any science museum, Space Place has interactive galleries including displays about black holes and the Apollo missions of the 1960s. It is also fascinating to visit the Matariki theatre where you can learn about Māori astronomy and how Māori navigated the Pacific Ocean using the stars.
If you visit the Carter Observatory on a clear night you are able to look through the giant Thomas Cooke telescope.
By the time you get to Dunedin you will probably be very familiar with Speight’s and the Speight’s brewery tour is one of the most popular attractions in the city. The 1½-hour tour takes you through the working brewery and adjoining heritage centre and finishes off with beer tasting.
This Spellbound Tour involves rafting on a regular raft (not in an inner tube) through the breathtaking Mangawhitikau cave system. It is less touristy than the more popular tours of the main Waitomo Glowworm Cave and you can take photos in this cave. Spellbound even operate a longer version of the tour specifically for photographers taking time exposure photos with a tripod.
It is one of the cheaper ways to see the glowworms, but it’s not as much fun as more expensive adventure-focused trips.
Splash Planet is a 6.5ha theme park, which is Hastings’ top attraction. However, it is not a big attraction for backpackers and is mostly geared towards families.
Splash Planet is mostly a water park with plenty of waterslides and water-based rides, although there are some ‘dry’ attractions including a miniature railway, go karts and mini golf.
St Arnaud lies on State Highway 63, which is the main route connecting Blenheim and the West Coast.
InterCity Coachlines stop in St Arnaud en route between Picton and Christchurch and Nelson Lakes Shuttles run minibuses connecting St Arnaud with Nelson and destinations within Nelson Lakes National Park.
Buses and coaches stop outside the St Arnaud Alpine Store.
St Benedict’s Caverns are described as ‘the prettiest piece of known cave in New Zealand’ and features a 100m-long, 40m-high cave teaming with stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone.
Waitomo Adventures’ trip is a must for people who come to Waitomo to see spectacular caves. It involves two abseils down a 60m-deep shaft, a zip line ride and a bit of caving.
InterCity Coachlines stop in Stratford en route between Wellington and New Plymouth with direct coach services to Hawera, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Paraparaumu, Wanganui and Wellington.
Stratford is also served by the Connector bus, which runs between Hawera and New Plymouth.
Buses and coaches stop on Miranda Street between the Stratford i-SITE Visitor Information Centre and the War Memorial Centre.
The hector’s dolphin is one of the world’s smallest and rarest dolphins, which live in Akaroa Harbour.
Black Cat operate trips on the harbour where you have the opportunity to swim with the hector’s dolphin. There are only 12 swimmers allowed on each trip, which means that this is a more intimate experience compared with swimming with dolphins in other parts of New Zealand. The smaller groups also mean that there is a good chance of interacting with the dolphins.
The three-hour excursion gives you two hours on the water and it costs $160 (cheaper if you simply want to go on the cruise to watch).
One of Kaikoura’s big attractions is the opportunity to swim with dolphins. Dolphin Encounter run three-hour trips out to swim with the dusky dolphins. You also have the change to see hectors dolphins, fur seals, orca and pilot whales.
It costs $175 to swim with the dolphins or you can come along and watch for $95.
There are restrictions on the number of people allowed to swim with the dolphins and it is often necessary to book well in advance if you are visiting in the peak season (November–April).
Several companies operate boat trips from Tauranga where you can swim with dolphins. Sometimes you can also see other sea life including fur seals, blue penguins, whales and turtles on these trips.
Dolphin Seafaris have trips that depart from both Tauranga and Mount Maunganui and Dolphin Blue operate trips that depart from Tauranga.
Dolphins are wild animals so there is never a 100% success rate of seeing or swimming with dolphins on these trips; however, the chances are high with Dolphin Seafaris claiming a 95% success rate of viewing dolphins and an 85% success rate of swimming with dolphins (you are not allowed to swim with dolphins if there are baby dolphins present in a pod). They also offer a ‘dolphin guarantee’ where you get a second trip for free if you don’t see dolphins first time around, but the guarantee only applies December–March.
These tours take around five hours and trips operate from November to early May.
Thousands of dolphins visit the waters off Whakatane during the warmer months (November–April) and several Whakatane-based companies operate dolphin and whale watching trips that allow you to swim with the dolphins.
Diveworks Charters/Whale Island Tours runs 3–4 hour trips where you can swim with dolphins for $160 ($130 if you just want to watch).
In summer (November–April) Seal Swim Kaikoura run trips that allow you to swim with fur seals.
You have the option of either a shore-based or boat-based activity, which means that you can either snorkel out to the seals from the beach or take a boat out to see the seals. The boat-based tours are the most popular as these have the highest success rate of being able to swim with seals.
The trips involve around an hour in the water swimming with seals, although you should allow 2½ hours for the trip.
Swings are the adrenaline junkie’s latest alternative to bungee jumping. After being strapped into a harness that is attached to twin rope system, you launch yourself off the edge and free fall before the ropes change your direction and swing you in a giant arc.
There are three swings in Queenstown: The Ledge and Nevis Swings, both operated by bungee jumping pioneer AJ Hackett and the Shotover Canyon Swing.
The Ledge Swing
AJ Hackett’s Ledge Swing operates from the same site as the Ledge Bungy. It is the cheaper – and most centrally located – of Queenstown’s three swings and it also offers the best views over Queenstown.
The Ledge Swing is 47m high (around the same height as a 12-storey building) and you’re strapped into a harness and then you pull the release cord yourself to swing out over Queenstown.
Most people take the Skyline gondola to The Ledge Swing (you can’t drive up, but there are a couple of hiking trails). This means that you need to budget the cost of the gondola when budgeting for your day, although it does make sense combining it with the Skyline luge for a great day out.
Nevis Swing
The Nevis Swing is Queenstown’s biggest, giving you the option of jumping from AJ Hackett’s Nevis Highwire bungee platform and swinging in a massive 300m arc.
The Nevis Swing is accessible by AJ Hackett’s 4WD Swing Bus that departs from AJ Hackett’s bungee centre at the corner of Camp and Shotover Streets in Queenstown.
Shotover Canyon Swing
The popular 109m Shotover Canyon Swing is Queenstown’s original swing. The Canyon Swing is 109m above the ground with a 60m freefall before the swing kicks in and sends you in a 200m arc. At the lowest point you are only 7m from the Shotover River.
The bus to the Canyon Swing site departs from the Shotover Canyon Swing office at 34 Shotover Street, Queenstown.
The Swoop ride at the Agrodome involves up to three people being hoisted in sleeping bag-like harnesses 40m (141ft) above the ground and then swooping at 130km/h (81mph).
Compared with the Skyswing at the Skyline complex, the Swoop ride is a more authentic adrenaline activity and less of a theme park ride. If you’re going to choose between the two, go for this one.
Unlike some other swing rides, you pull your own ‘rip cord’.
The excellent Tairawhiti Museum complex features exhibits on local history with a fine collection of Māori artefacts. The maritime exhibits include displays of shipwrecks including the bridge house of the Star of Canada, which ran aground on Kaiti Beach in 1912. The museum also has an exhibit of historic surfboards.
InterCity Coachlines stop in Tairua on their Thames–Whitianga route and Go Kiwi Shuttles have a services to Auckland and to destinations on the Coromandel Peninsula including Opoutere, Whangamata and Whitianga.
Eastbound bus and coach services stop outside the Tairua Information Centre and westbound coaches stop across the road at the Pepe Restaurant.
The Taranaki Pioneer Village is an open-air museum that depicts life over 100 years ago and features 40 historic buildings including Mangatoki Church, Okato Cottage, Pembroke School, Stratford Courthouse and Tariki Railway Station.
The Taupo Cliffhanger Swing is an alternative to bungee jumping. It involves being strapped into a harness on the Taupo Bungy platform; then once the release cord is pulled, you freefall before swinging in an 180º arc over the Waikato River at speeds up to 70km/h.
You have the option of either a solo or tandem swing and there are combo deals if you want to do both the bungee jump and Cliffhanger Swing.
Like most activities in Taupo, this is a cheaper alternative to similar swings that operate in Queenstown.
Tauranga Airport (TRG) is located between Tauranga and Mount Maunganui, around 3km from Tauranga city centre.
The airport is served by Air New Zealand, which has flights from Tauranga to Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. Barrier Air and Sunair also operate from Tauranga Airport, with both airlines flying to Claris on Great Barrier Island and Sunair also operating flights to Gisborne, Motiti Island, Whitianga and Auckland’s small North Shore Airport.
The airport is not served by local buses, although local bus routes 1, 2 and 33 stop on Hewletts Road around a 10-minute walk from the airport terminal. Get off the bus when you see the big Bunnings Warehouse store and walk down Jean Batten Drive.
From Tauranga, there are direct bus and coach services to most major towns and cities on the North Island. This includes coaches to Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, Hamilton, Napier, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Taupo, Wellington.
It is also possible to catch some buses and coaches in Mount Maunganui with InterCity having stops in central Mount Maunganui, Pacific Coast Lodge and the Bayfair shopping centre and ManaBus stopping at Pacific Coast Lodge. However, the main stop outside the i-SITE in central Tauranga is most convenient if you’re not staying in Mount Maunganui.
Coaches operate from Te Anau to Invercargill, Milford Sound and Queenstown and there are also shuttle bus connections to the hiking tracks.
InterCity Coaches go to Christchurch via Dunedin and awesomeNZ and GreatSights coaches go to Queenstown and Milford Sound.
Topline Tours run a shuttle bus service to Manapouri and the Kepler Track and TrackNet operate a shuttle service for hikers tackling the Hollyford, Kepler, Milford and Routeburn Tracks. TrackNet also run buses to Invercargill, Milford Sound and Queenstown.
Most bus and coach services stop outside Kiwi Country (2 Miro Street, Te Anau), although the hiking trail shuttle buses are more flexible and will often pick up and drop off at your hotel or hostel.
InterCity Coachlines stop in Te Kuiti on their Auckland–New Plymouth and Auckland–Palmerston North routes with direct coach services to Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Ohakune, Otorohanga, Palmerston North, Te Awamutu and Wanganui.
Te Manawa is an excellent regional museum combines exhibits in the fields of art, history and science. It is a well laid out museum with many interactive exhibits and is a great way to discover more about Palmerston North and the Manawatū region.
InterCity Coachlines coaches stop in Thames on the Auckland–Tauranga and Whitianga–Thames routes with direct coach services to Auckland, Coromandel, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga and Whitianga.
InterCity coaches stop outside the Thames i-SITE Visitor Information Centre on Mary Street.
Go Kiwi Shuttles also connect Thames with Auckland and destinations on the Coromandel Peninsula. Go Kiwi are more flexible with their stops and will pick up and drop off at your hostel.
The Thames Historical Museum is a small museum that has displays about the town’s colourful history including exhibits about the gold rush, the timber industry and the life of early settlers.
Established in the 1930s, the Blue Baths is New Zealand’s first unisex swimming pool and is still one of the most elegant. It houses a museum with displays detailing the pool’s history.
InterCity Coachlines and ManaBus services stop in Whangarei en route between Auckland and the Bay of Islands.
Buses and coaches stop at The Hub Transport Centre in the Town Basin at 91 Dent Street. The Hub also has a tourist information centre and is convenient to Whangarei’s main attractions including Clapham’s National Clock Museum and Whangarei Art Museum.
AJ Hackett’s Ledge Bungy is the closest bungee site to Queenstown’s town centre. It is accessible by the Skyline gondola ride and its more central location means that you get a scenic view over Queenstown while taking the plunge.
The Ledge is a 47m-high jump, which is equivalent to jumping from a 12-storey building.
New Zealand’s third-largest art museum has an impressive collection with works by John Gully, Sir Tosswill Woollaston and Gottfried Lindauer. A vibrant programme of temporary exhibitions complements its permanent collection.
The Toitū Otago Settlers Museum focuses on the people of Otago, with an emphasis on its early settlers. There are displays on Māori life, the important role of Chinese immigrants during the gold rush and more recent European migrants that have made Otago their home. The museum also features a transport gallery with an old Cobb & Co stagecoach and a collection of old cars, bicycles and steam trains.
