Tour Operator: Contiki
Tour: Kiwiana Panorama (Auckland to Queenstown)
Group Size: BIG (around 45 at any given time, the trip was modular so people could join for sections of it)
Arriving in to Auckland my three-month adventure kicked into overdrive! I arrived at my hotel and casually sitting opposite on the pavement completely out of place was a reverse Bungee jump! A small taste of what was to come.
The first few days were spent up north in Pahia. This was a busy couple of days, I kicked things off with a 7 am sky dive over the beautiful Bay of Islands! I can’t say I remember too much of the view but the experience was amazing! Due to bad weather the day before we were rescheduled for the sunrise drop, unfortunately cloud moved in again which reduced the views however it was a great feeling to fall through the clouds and then to see the ground rapidly approaching below! It’s safe to say it was a bit of a nervous wait but the instructors were fantastic and so relaxed which certainly helped with my nerves. During the drop my face showed no emotion I was transfixed on the rapidly approaching ground and in awe of the fabulous views and experience.
After breakfast there was time to squeeze in a cheeky parasail around the Bay of Islands being dragged behind a speedboat 100 metres above the water’s surface for 20 minutes taking in some amazing views!! The day was topped off with the “Cliffs and Caves” jet boat tour of the bay and the customary “we are in a new place” massive night out! Contiki is particularly renowned for it’s lively atmosphere and big nights out!
After a brief stopover in Auckland we continued south to Rotarua stopping off at Hobiton en route (the outdoor sets for Lord of the Rings and The Hobit). I am not a LOTR fan at all however I really enjoyed the experience and it was great to see where they filmed the movies and how they built the sets. If you are passing by on your way south I would say it is worth a stop off.
Before reaching Rotarua we stopped off for some zorbing and tried our hand at street luge hurtling down the beautiful hillside tracks overlooking the town and lake! Literally everywhere you go there are outdoor activities aplenty! The next day I opted for a volcano crater walk, the highlight being the run down the steep crater sides. The surface was fine gravel so falling wasn’t too painful however there were a couple of casualties! A relaxing evening in the hot springs by the lakeside was in order afterwards to nurse our bruises.
Making our way south to Wellington stopping off at beautiful Lake Taupo where there was just enough time for jet boating at Huka Falls! There was also the customary big night out aboard our private boat where after a few drinks we were stripping off and jumping in off the top deck! By now it was dark and after too many local beers in I went from the top deck! Oh my god it was friggin high, felt like I was falling forever!
Wellington was very popular amongst the group, it has a beautiful harbour, a must see Anzac exhibit, a steep hike to a lookout point above the city and not to mention many great restaurants and bars!! Unfortunately, we could only stay 1.5 days as it was now time to head to the South Island!
We took the ferry over to Picton passing through beautiful scenery and picked up our second new bus (the first set on fire…) before heading down the recently opened coastal road to Christchurch. Due to the severe earthquake the road was destroyed and closed for over a year, it has partially been rebuilt on rock that was prior to the earthquake 20-30 metres below sea level! When the quake happened thousands of crayfish suddenly found themselves on rocks above the water’s surface… easy pickings for the locals! The views on the drive were fantastic, to the left we had the ocean with seal covered rocks and to the right huge mountain ranges! As with everything else in NZ this was certainly worth it!
The long drive brought us to Christchurch, which was still being rebuilt after the earthquake. The city felt a bit like a ghost town and we were told that over 15% of the population alone moved to Queenstown after the disaster, not to mention others heading elsewhere. It was quite eerie seeing a partially destroyed church still sitting there with half of it as rubble. Here I had some banking issues and found myself trying to resolve the situation in an industrial metal box container in the city centre, this was the city centre banking branch for WestPac.
My penultimate stop in New Zealand was the Franz Josef glacier. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible and so our helicopter and glacier hike was cancelled. Nevertheless a few of us trekked in the pouring rain to the base of the glacier having the place pretty much to ourselves and some great photo opportunities! After returning soaked through from our 5 hour round trip we realised there was a shuttle bus which could have halved the journey for us…
Once we were dry and rested it was an early start to head to my final destination in New Zealand, the infamous Queenstown! It’s reputation didn’t let it down and it exceeded my expectations. To start with the town is set on a lake surrounded by dramatic mountains, a truly stunning setting.
Our first evening was spent at the top of the gondola overlooking the town and landscape below. Here we had an amazing buffet meal before heading back to the town for the customary new place big night out! Nightlife was lively here!
There were a few sore heads the next morning. However, our jet boat ride down the beautiful Shotover river soon woke everyone up! The boats can operate in 7 cm of water reaching speeds of 80 kmph as the driver whizzes within inches of the rocks doing tricks as he goes.
There wasn’t long to recover before my roommate and myself were throwing ourselves off a cliff dropping (only) 10 metres into a canyon below before being flung across it to the far side (Shotover Canyon Fox – a good “beginners” introduction to the bungee and massive swings QT has to offer). Once on the far side we were harnessed again, this time upside down, and then flung back across the huge canyon. Dropping 10 metres doesn’t sound too bad, however the cliff we jumped off was 180 metres high so it was quite scary until the rope kicked in halting my fall after the (what felt forever) small drop!
This was a great rush and prepared me for my next adrenaline activity, the world famous Nevis Swing (the world’s biggest). From a platform suspended in the middle of a huge canyon I was harnessed up and hoisted out from the platform dangling 150 metres above the ground below! I was left dangling until I heard the “dink” – the sound of the cords being released, which was becoming all too familiar now! I free-fell 80 metres into the canyon below until the swing rope kicked in catching me, saving me from the ground below and sending me on a 330 metre path across the canyon! The experience was amazing and certainly a highlight of the trip. I enjoyed it so much I hung around until another roommate turned up so I could do it again in tandem with him.
Together we returned to town full of adrenaline and still had a few hours left to kill before my flight… there were two options Bungee (which I had managed to evade for 2 weeks) or paragliding… after some nerves and deliberation we opted for the latter flying high above the dramatic scenery and Queenstown below. I had the more experienced pilot who was able to find wind pockets along the mountain sides which eventually saw us flying 400 metres above our take off spot! The views as you can guess were amazing. As we slowly headed to the landing strip on the edge of town my pilot started “throwing the parachute around” as he called it. The tricks he did were very impressive and I soon lost my stomach as we raced to the rapidly approaching ground below! The WKDs the night before now didn’t seem like a good idea! Paragliding with a good mate was a very fitting end to my New Zealand adventure (along with the beers we then squeezed in down in one of the lakeside bars).
I had originally planned on only staying with the tour until Christchurch but I was having so much fun I extended to Queenstown. The trip was a modular one, whereby you can join for portions of a much larger group trip, as such the majority of those I left behind were carrying on to Dunedin.
After my three month backpacking trip I returned to the UK quite a few pounds lighter in the bank and a few pounds heavier around the midriff! A sign of a good time I tell myself…
One aspect of the Contiki group trip is the ‘Day Song’, a song that is played every morning to the group to get them up for the day. The beauty of this is that down the line should you hear the song again it immediately evokes fond memories of your time away with Contiki. I have done two Contiki trips now and each time I hear either Day Song it immediately brings back amazing memories and I find myself reaching for my mobile to text friends I met on either trip. For the NZ trip the song of choice was Don’t Give It Up by 6sixty which I think is very fitting #noregrets.
Highlights
Best Drink: Smirnoff Ices and WKDs in a club in Queenstown (mainly because it was a great night with new friends). However, these nearly resurfaced the next day during paragliding…
Best Experience: facing our fears… for me, sky diving over the Bay of Islands and the Nevis Swing in Queenstown. Next time I will do a bungee jump, or so I tell myself… everyone in our group faced at least one fear and succeeded!
Best Food: Fergburger in QT… you just have to, don’t you?! Be prepared to queue at peak times!
