Best Bucket List Experiences in New Zealand

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Emma Jayne

I can honestly say that New Zealand is absolutely the bucket list capital of the world! It has everything there. It doesn’t matter whether or not you are an adrenaline junkie or if you just want to step out of your comfort zone, New Zealand is definitely the the place to do it

After finishing my first year as a real teacher (yay!) I decided to celebrate with a holiday to New Zealand. I chose to do this with Contiki, mostly because I was going on my own and I didn’t really want to have to put too much effort in to planning my days. Looking back, I am so glad that I did this because I got to make loads of new life long friends, and my new friends encouraged me to try new things.

So with out further ado, I present to you best bucket list things to do, and check off, in New Zealand.

Zorbing

Where: Rotorua Canopy Tours, Rotorua

Cost: $50 NZ

website: http://canopytours.co.nz/

I will confess to being a little nervous to do this. Nothing like the prospect of flying over a rain forest canopy 30+ metres in the air by a piece of string to get the nerves up. OK, so it’s not a piece of string that’s holding you up, it’s a little more complex than that. Still, I was a little nervous, but by the end of it I was going hands-free, backwards and upside down.

Not only was this an adventure, but the scenery was beautiful and it was for a good cause. You can read my post on this Here.

White Water Rafting

Where: River Rats, Rotorua

Cost: $105 NZ

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

White water rafting…in a thermal river…over a 7 metre waterfall, what more could you want?

I had such a great time doing this with the ladies, and the guys who run it are great. Don’t worry if you’ve never been before, they will more than prepare you and teach you all of the tricks. Besides surviving going over the 7 metre waterfall, the highest waterfall that can commerically be rafted, the highlight was when we got out of the boat and clung to the sides while we went over some small rapids, it’s was so much fun. A bonus highlight for me was also NOT falling out of the boat, even though there may, or may not, have been a few close calls.

Skydiving

Where: Taupo Tandem Skydiving, Lake Taupo

Cost: $279 – $359 NZ plus extra for photo and video packages

Website: http://taupotandemskydiving.com/

Surely you didn’t think this wasn’t going to make the list. This was So. Much. Fun! I was definitely a little nervous about jumping out of a plan but I’m so glad that I did it, especially since it has been on my bucket list for so long.

I chose to do the 15,000ft jump since there wasn’t that great a saving to be made in comparison to the 12,00ft jump. I also chose this package because I was told that if it is your first time, you need those couple of extra seconds of free fall so your brain can process what’s happening. While I was a little sceptical and thought they were just telling me this to convince me to go with the more expensive package, they weren’t lying. In the video of my jump, for most of the duration of my free fall I just look stunned, it was only later that I started to look more alive! While there are a few skydiving options available throughout New Zealand, the scenery over Lake Taupo (pronounced toe-paw) was breath taking.

This was definitely a highlight of my whole trip so I can’t recommend it highly enough. You can read all about this experience here.

Horseback Riding

Sitting on a horse on the shores of Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand

Where: Walter Peak Farm, Queenstown

Cost: $133

Website: https://www.everythingqueenstown.com

This was my first time riding a horse, and I probably couldn’t have picked a better company to go with. Our guide was really friendly and totally cool with dealing with my nerves. The horse ride was only 40 minutes long, but it follows a beautify cruise along Lake Wakatipu on the TSS Earnslaw, known as “The Lady of the Lake.” It was an easy ride and perfect for beginners.

Leaning out over the bridge while zip lining

Zip Lining

Where: Canopy Tours, Rotorua

Cost: $149

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

This was my first time riding a zip line and it was awesome! I won’t lie, initially the thought (and experience) of stepping off a ledge to fly through the air with only a harness to hold me scared me silly, but it turned out to be great fun…especially when I rode the zip line UPSIDE DOWN! Our guides were absolutely amazing and full of so much information about the rain forest and how they have worked hard over the years to protect it from possums which are an introduced species. I also thought this was a great activity to prepare me for sky diving since it awakened the adrenaline junkie in me.

You can read about my experience here.

Bungee Jumping

Where: Various locations around Queenstown

Cost: $195 – $275 depending on which bungee you do

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

Unfortunately I didn’t get to do this even though I had signed up on account on being down and completely out of it with the Contiki Cold. Sadly, I could only watch others do this and hear about how fun it was. In Queenstown there are a number of bungee options available. I had personally wanted to do the Kawarau Bridge bungee because you had the option of doing a water touch.

Until next time, this item remains uncompleted on my bucket list.