Jen's Travelogue - Scenic New Zealand Part #4 - SKYDIVING, BUNGY JUMP, LUGE RIDE and ZIP LINE - Which one is the most exciting??

I promised my greatest story from my New Zealand trip. This is it. It is more than 7 days since my trip to NZ and still, I am sharing a whole lot of my experience to a lot of people. It is not quite an adventure sitting on my desk doing my report (I am a salaried worker by the way). So my main motivation is to save a lot so I can go on an adventure. Wow, this reminds me to Bilbo Baggins from Lord of the Rings.

That is me peeps... running to get an adven-chaaaaaa

It is just not fun to not participate in activities at NZ. They have tons of activities that are enjoyable and not all are extreme. So, in this post, I will highlight my enjoyable activities in NZ by ranking. Both North and South have different things to offer. Personally, I love the Southland, but in the case of activities, I'll give it to North as I have the most pleasant time doing activities there particularly because of the moderate weather.

Something that is different in participating in the activities at NZ is the magnificent views. That is why it is special to do it in NZ. Without further ado, here are my activities by ranking.

4 .Zipride at Kawarau Bridge

One of the most iconic places in New Zealand is 'The Kawarau George Suspension Bridge'. Kawarau Bridge is the world's first commercial bungy jumping site and mainly used by most popular Bungy jump operator, AJ Hackett Bungy. AJ Hackett offers 2 activities at their base. Zipride and Bungy jump. We had the most time there doing both activities by booking online. Basically, we spent the whole day there.

In front of AJ Hackett building

Suspension bridge

Zipride can be done by all sort of ages (but the minimum is 8-yo). It is friendly to all. At the time we were there, a lot of old folks and kids having fun.

the Zipride will have you bolting down our 130m line at over 60k’s an hour Source: AJ Hackett

It has 3 lines side by sides so it is perfect for 3 people (which is us). You can choose to go forward, backward, upside down or even Superman style it's up to you.

Why I like this Zipride is because it is fast and enjoyable for 3 persons. We had a good laugh, good chat during and good chat after (while the zip line machine takes us back- we were in backward position). We opt for the sitting position as we just want to have fun. Overall, if you had an opportunity to come to Queenstown, stop by to Kawarau Bridge. It is open to all, they also have a big screen for viewing inside of their compound. It is a good place to hang out.

3. Tandem Skydiving at Taupo

The priciest of all! Skydiving at no. 3. You guys must have thought I am crazy to put this at no.3. Nope I'm not, I don't hesitate to rank this at 3rd place. Don't get me wrong. It was worth it, the adrenaline rush, the conquering of fear, the nervousness, the hype and all but there were better activities that were enjoyable. Tandem Skydiving according to the staff (of the operator) is 'Kindergarten of bungy' and it is true! You shouldn't be scared, you have no time to be scared. I know the feeling of jumping out from the airplane might seem scary, but, trust me when you up there looking at the view - your memory is all wiped!
10:46 PM

I was with this Japanese girl who was so scared at first, she even cried beforehand, but the Tandem Master was too cool in helping her. A bit of psychological brainwash did help. She was laughing and jumping on the ground after we landed.

They had this lonnnngg Hummer to pick up skydivers

I booked Taupo Tandem Skydiving (TTS) at Taupo, an hour from Rotorua. TTS claimed that they are the New Zealand’s original tandem drop zone. I choose the 12,000 feet option with 30 seconds of free fall. Let's go!

I am ready after briefing and wearing suit

My exit photo: sincerely - Jen

Off we go!

wuhuuuuu I can still feel my blood is rushing

That's my friend is the great big Lake Taupo, the biggest lake in NZ, bigger than Singapore! No kidding

This are all my friends including my newly-met Japanese friends. They all happy now!

Skydiving in NZ can be canceled if the weather does not permit. I suppose to skydive a day earlier but it was cancel due to rain. Luckily I have flexible time the next day even though I was 1 hour away and they can pick you up. My mood was down when I had to cancel earlier but all good now! LOL

2. Bungy Jump at Kawarau Bridge

Do you know what is one common question people asked me when I tell people that I am going to New Zealand?

So are you going to do bungy jump?

I will reply - of course!

I think it is something people looking forward too when they go to NZ.

I've told you about this iconic suspension bridge, it's an awesome bridge. This is the first activities on our itinerary making my blood rushing towards my whole journey in NZ. So this is special to me, as this is one of my bucket list (too many by the way!). The weather was not that superb that morning but it was fine to jump so I did it. It was cold, it was nervous as hell, it was fantastic!. Nothing coming out of my mind while jumping and it should be. I just want to let go and jump. Ohhhh~~! don't tell my dad! I basically disobeyed him LOL. Too bad dad you had me as your daughter hehe.

at 43m high, I submit my jump to you

This is a class A facilities. Don't worry about safety, they all working hard making sure it is safe, they have a control room inside to monitor everything.

No regret, squat a little bit to get the momentum to jump, otherwise, you'll be dipping in and in the end that rope attached to your leg will take you by surprise making sure you stay vertical.

You'll be swinging like never before...yippie!

Mr. Boatman, come and rescue me quick, I want to jump again... Kidding. lol, not immediately.

It was damn fun!. I'll do it again without hesitation. The height was just nice at 43m whereby it is not too high and not too short.

1. Luge Ride at Rotorua

Finally, at no.1. with the most joyful ride ever. LUGE RIDE. At No.1, kicking skydiving and bungy jump away I must have lost my mind - nope! no doubt. LUUUUUGEEEEE RIDE is aweeeesomeeee! I loved it. I can't stress it more than that. I had more fun than I would expect. I don't want to leave the area you know.

The part go-cart, part toboggan is gravity fuelled with full rider control over speed and direction using a unique braking and steering system. Source: Skyline Rotorua

With the slogan 'One is never enough', I concur, Your Honor! There's absolute truth to this statement.

Skyline at Rotorua is the place for luge ride, mountain bikers and zip line. Rotorua basically is a heaven for mountain bikers as they have a lot or package for them called MTB. To reach its facilities, you need to take the Gondola that will transport you to a scenic ride up to the Skyline Rotorua complex.

Special Gondola for them bikers

Enjoying the view first

Why is this ride at no.1? I'll tell you I never had this fun in my life. The ride, the overtaking, the turns, the view, the laugh, the competitiveness of us playing with some kid's team (LOL) and the scenic view (I told you that? I'm telling you again).

I put on youtube our ride.

We had 4 rides and it was great. We met few groups from our country and they too had fun.

Not enough not enough!

We had joy we had fun lalalalala... jyeahhh!

You know, I would love to influence every city folks to come and visit NZ once in their lifetime. Get to know sheep, play with grass, get in road trip in NZ, feel the lake, appreciate nature and lastly, appreciate how the Kiwis appreciate their nature. Just as their tagline: "Protecting nature. Preserving life" - we will feel blessed as we learned that all citizen there loves nature and preserving them.

I missed my adventure already, can't wait for the next one. When is it? I'm not sure LOL. Thanks for reading my stories!.

I have other posts you might enjoy:

Jen's Movie Review - American Assassin

Jen’s Travelogue: Scenic New Zealand Part #3

Movie Review: The Foreigner

Movie Review: Kingsman- The Golden Circle

Jen’s Travelogue: New Zealand Part 2

Stevia: The Never Ending Debate

Jen’s Travelogue: New Zealand Part 1

Keep calm and travel ^_~