Charles Lyne
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Wilderness Motorhomes
We can only echo what everyone else is saying about Wilderness: very friendly & helpful staff, and incredibly well designed motorhomes.
We had a minor problem with a water leak after our second or third day, but as we were still close to Christchurch, we were able to go back to our base there and Wilderness swapped the van for a new one as that was the quickest solution. All very efficient and quick, even though they were also dealing with a returning van at the same time. The second motorhome was perfect, easy to drive, even on the steepest, unsurfaced mountain roads, and with snow chains had we needed them, and just as happy on fast motorways. It drove so much like a car that we were even overtaking some cars on the mountain roads occasionally.
All in all a very pleasant experience and highly recommended. We had four weeks and were sad to have to give it back. Further details in blog at blogabond.com under username "Saros".
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Shotover Jet
For my Shotover Jet experience, I had no option on date, and it was rather cold (snowing), which slightly took the edge off the experience, but that wasn't to say that the staff didn't do their
utmost to make sure we were well protected. The trip itself was every bit as exciting as the promo vidoes, and lasted for much longer than I expected. In addition to the scary bits blasting past rock walls at speed, there were more gentle parts complete with a bit of history of the area.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Sky Tower
I got some idea of why people do silly things like base jumping when I stood on the edge of the platform with the whole of Auckland below me.
Definitely not for the faint-of-heart. But the staff were all great and made sure that I was absolutely safe. And I even got a second jump just to make it a really great day. More details in our blog at:
http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?CommentID=66703
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Coromandel Town ▷
Driving Creek Railway & Potteries
Amazing experience, and all the more incredible that it had been built almost single-handed by Barry Brickell, who had no prior civil engineering experience.
Well worth a detour to do this.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Cron street ▷
Franz Josef Glacier Guides
We did the half-day trek and it was beautiful.
I can't praise our guide, Ned, highly enough. Despite being lumbered with us mouldy-oldies, he was always checking that all his flock were safe and keeping up and gave us a great range of glacial experiences. Highly recommended.
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North Island ▷ Ruapehu ▷ Taumarunui ▷
Forgotten World Highway
If you want to get somewhere in a hurry, don't go this way.
If you want to see some real New Zealand, this is it. About the only place to stop is Whangamomona, but although small, it's got the Whangamomona Hotel (http://www.whangamomonahotel.co.nz/) which is very welcoming. The road is not surfaced for much of its length so if driving a rented vehicle, check that you're allowed on such a surface, and watch out for rock falls.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
SkyJump / Sky Jump
It's a long way down!!!
So if you're scared of heights, this is a really good way to confirm why you're scared, but do it anyway. You'll regret having gone to Auckland and not having done it.
It was so good that when they asked me if I'd like to jump again (for free, it was a slow day), I was back in the lift within seconds.
Great staff as ever with these experiences. Never felt at risk, everything checked twice. Highly recommended. No eye popping deceleration as with a bungy jump. Do buy the DVD (the camera follows you all the way down), nobody will believe you did it otherwise!
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Reporoa ▷
Orakei Korako Geyserland Resort
What a nice place.
A huge variety of fascinating geothermal things to see, and the approach via a short boat ride. The whole experience was lovely, and not over-commercialized.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Shotover Canyon Swing
For my 59th birthday, I reckoned the canyon swing would be a good treat.
I wasn't disappointed. Less eye-popping than a bungee jump, but every bit as much adrenaline. From my point of view, having a balance problem due to having only one working ear, it was good to stay upright, but the 180 foot drop followed by the swing out across the canyon was spectacular. It was so good I volunteered for a second go (unlike my much younger fellow jumpers). The staff were all great fun, but made sure we were very safe. If we're ever back in NZ, I'd do this again.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Cable Bay ▷
Cable Bay Adventure Park
I hadn't really considered quad-biking as one of our many adventures in NZ, but I was really pleased that my wife turned left off the main road and found Happy Valley.
Despite our relatively advanced years (59/60) we both enjoyed it immensely. The views were wonderful, and the range of terrain added to the adventure. Our guide, Fletch, couldn't have been more helpful, and made sure that we were all safe but still having fun. The highlight was getting to the SkyWire and swooping out across the valley for a mile right across to a distant location we could barely see from the start. Then on the return journey, we got to see a 2,000 year old matai tree, the oldest in the world. All in all, highly recommended.
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Coromandel Town ▷
The Waterworks
Great fun.
The only disappointment was that we didn't have our granddaughter with us to share the experience. Recommended for kids of all ages.