Everyone knows that Queenstown and Rotorua are two of New Zealand’s most daring destinations with dozens of adrenalin-pumping activities. But there’s more to these two towns than bungy jumping and skydiving. miceNZ.net assistant editor Natalie Akoorie visited the two destinations to try eight adrenalin rush activities with a twist.

QUEENSTOWN

The Rungway – via Ferrata
Opened in 2003 The Rungway is the Southern Hemisphere’s only Via Ferrata (Iron Way) system. Used during the world wars in Europe to rapidly move troops through high mountain terrain, Via Ferrata is a way of scaling cliff faces using permanently fixed rungs, pegs, rails, ladders and cables. With more than 1000 rungs and 500m of cable spread across 12 cliffs on Queenstown Hill, The Rungway allows participants to experience a type of rock climbing usually only reserved for professional climbers, not to mention the breathtaking views of Lake Whakatipu and Queenstown.

At the bottom of the hill the group includes myself, Destination Queenstown convention bureau manager Lee Picken and marketing co-ordinator Julie Jolley, The Rungway general manager Mary Todd and our two guides Dave and Toto. We are each fitted into a harness which tightens around our waist and legs, as well as a helmet. Then it’s time to make our way up Queenstown Hill to the beginning of the Via Ferrata system, a 20-minute trek skywards.

At The Rungway, and after a decent rest from our hike, we are given a training session. Set into a cliff are dozens of the steel rungs which our guide Dave expertly shows us how to use. Our harnesses have a specially designed lanyard system connected to two karabiners which clip onto The Rungway cables. There is also a resting karabiner which we can use to clip into the rungs. Basically you start by clipping your two karabiners onto the cable which runs alongside the permanently fixed rungs. This cable is anchored into the rock face every two to three metres, dividing it up into two-three metre sections. One person at a time, we clip onto the cables and begin climbing. Once at the next section of cable, you clip your resting karabiner onto a rung while you transfer the two karabiners – one at a time – to the next cable.

Then you unclip the resting karabiner and move on. Each time you do this, you must make absolutely sure that each of the two karabiners are a) correctly closed, and b) facing in opposite directions to each other. Using this system makes you completely reliant on yourself. Slowly we go around the training loop, which at its highest point puts us about two to three metres above the starting ledge of The Rungway. At one point we are asked to clip in our resting karabiner and hang backwards without holding onto anything – a decidedly unnerving act even though we are only a couple of metres off the ground.

After everybody successfully completes the training loop it’s time to head up. Dave goes first, followed by me, then Lee, Julie, Mary and Toto. It is truly an awesome experience as slowly but surely we climb higher and higher. I concentrate very hard on not looking down, making sure my lanyards are “climbing with me” so as not to be caught on anything, and making sure my karabiners are correctly transferred from cable to cable. At one stage we must use natural foot grips in the rock face which is scarier than I thought.

On completion of the first stage we sit back on a grass bank and munch on some cookies, conveniently supplied by Mary. The next cliff face is a little harder and we even come to a small ledge where we can rest and admire the beautiful view. It’s about this point that I realise just how high we have come, and what could happen to me if I fell. But feeling buoyed by my own confidence and enjoyment of the activity, I easily continue onwards, and upwards. Finally we come to one of the most difficult points of the climb which involves a slight overhang. I need to pull myself up while another part involves searching around for a foot rung which is actually hidden under the overhang. A little frightening but I get there, and I even get to lead the group at one stage.

The best part is when we work our way around the face of a cliff only to find we are right on the edge of nothing with an amazing view of the lake and the mountains in the background. It’s here that Dave makes us all one-by-one clip on our resting karabiner and lean back with no hands. It really is an exhilarating feeling. There are three levels of difficulty at The Rungway; beginner, intermediate and advanced. Next time I will try intermediate!

For more information visit www.rungway.co.nz

Mountain Biking
Mountain biking in Queenstown with Fat Tyre Adventures Ltd offers the best guided single track, cross country and free ride mountain biking over some of the most scenic mountain biking trails New Zealand and Queenstown has. Because Lee, Julie and I were all fairly new to mountain biking – me in particular having no experience at all – Greg McIntyre of Fat Tyre Adventures took us about 15 minutes out of town to Moke Lake. This picturesque lake has a slightly challenging mountain biking trail running the outside of it.

But first we had to learn the basics. Greg had pre-organised our bikes based on our height and thankfully mine had front and rear suspension while each bike had about 27 gears! With helmets and gloves we jumped on the bikes for our first lesson – how to brake. Over the course of about 20 minutes Greg taught us how to position our bodies on the bike for braking and cruising, and how and when to change gears. He also taught us steering and which foot should lead a left or right hand turn. All very easy when you’re on flat grass.

We then headed off to the beginning of the trail, which was about a five-minute ride back down the road we’d driven up. Unfortunately I had to stop a few times because of my poor fitness but we finally made it to the start. Within a few minutes I was bogged in a swamp and had to start the trip with a very muddy shoe but at least we were on our way. Before we began the track Greg stressed that if we needed to stop or fall, it should only be done so to our left – onto a dirt wall. Falling right would mean certain injury and possibly a freezing swim in the lake for both rider and bike.

The first part of the track was quite a steep climb which ended with me walking half of it. But at the top, and after I took off a few layers, we were faced with a similar incline, only this time going down. The light-weight bikes pick-up speed very fast and within seconds I was flying down a rather narrow, very bumpy track covered with rocks and stones pushing my front tyre all over the place. I found the brakes and applied them as instructed and although this reduced my speed considerably I was still slightly out of control and felt my back wheel skidding a few times. With my heart in my mouth at the fear of going flying over the handlebars or off the side of the little cliff, I hung on as tightly as I could.

Thankfully I made it to the bottom in one piece and had to quickly stop to avoid riding into Lee who was clambering bike and all over an inconveniently placed stile. Now, although the track was a lot flatter, we had plenty of steepish dips with streams running through them to contend with. I got off to a bad start for the first in a series of dips and for no reason at all almost went screeching off the track only to reign in my handle bars in enough time to head straight for the dip. Not ready for it I planted the front tyre straight onto a rock in the stream and without using my body to absorb the shock I almost gave myself whiplash.

However, I didn’t fall off and I did manage to get through the stream and up the other side, albeit straight into the dirt wall of the bank. One can only wonder what Greg – behind me – must have been thinking. But with a little more confidence, a bit of encouragement and an instruction from Greg to stand up through the dips, I managed to get through every other one. In fact, I was able to get up a bit of speed and keep up my momentum – a key to mountain biking. By the end of the trail – which took us more than an hour (three times the usual amount of time) – I was very pleased with myself and confident enough to give mountain biking another go.

For more information visit www.fat-tyre.co.nz

Jet Boating
Kawarau Jet offers Queenstown’s largest jetboat capacity on the Kawarau and Shotover Rivers with the ability to move more than 150 people at once. Melinee Kong of Kawarau Jet meets us as we board one of the company’s smaller boats. Including the driver – nicknamed Irish – there is seven of us on board but because the trip has been especially organised for me, we can virtually do what we like. Taking advantage of this freedom Irish floors it and we zoom up the river toward Queenstown.

The boat has plenty of power and Irish competently sends it into 360 degree spins at the drop of a hat. We race along the river at breakneck speed, coming across another tourist jet boat and sending spray its way, performing a 360 in front of the group. We fly through dense overhang and I find myself literally screaming with delight. There’s plenty of laughter in the boat at one stage as we race a dog on a nearby beach and with each tricky turn I get more and more covered with spray.

It is truly an adrenalin-pumping experience thanks to Irish who makes the ride so much fun. Finally we come to the mouth of Lake Whakatipu and Irish slows a little to accommodate the now choppy lake’s waves which send the boat flying into the air. We bang our way to the company’s jetty which is where the rides usually start and finish – right in the middle of town.

For more information visit www.kjet.co.nz

Quad Biking
At the top of Queenstown Hill we are picked up by Nomad Safaris who offer four-wheel driving and quad biking tours. We are going quad biking and Lee, Julie and I join a group preparing for the trip. We are suited up with pants, jackets, helmets, and gloves and select a bike before being given a number of safety instructions about the bike and how to ride it, by our guides, David and Roy.

The bike is a 400cc automatic quad and next we choose one, and sit atop it while David explains how to turn it on and off. Next we are winding our way single file into a nearby paddock where we learn how to lean, steer and turn the bike. Then we learn engine breaking and hill-starts and finally we are taken round a rather difficult little track with plenty of deep stream crossings which get a few back tyres airborne.

After this 20-minute training session we are ready to follow David to the top of Queenstown Hill. Racing along the dusty track is pretty exciting with sheep ducking across the path randomly and plenty of power in the bike. Trying not to look at the scenery – otherwise I might become part of it – I follow the group up to the summit where we have the chance to get off the bikes and take photos of the amazing views. Here we also have a cup of tea, coffee or Milo and some cake and biscuits before heading back down the bumpy, winding track.

The whole adventure took several hours and left me with an overwhelming desire to buy a farm just so I could own my own quad bike!

For details visit www.nomadsafaris.co.nz

More Information
Queenstown has other adrenalin-pumping activities such as luging, paragliding, parasailing, sailing, helicopter flights and of course the famous AJ Hackett bungy jump over the Kawarau River. For more information on these activities and those above visit www.queenstown-nz.co.nz

ROTORUA

Freefall Xtreme
The Agrodome Adventure Park is a 160 hectare workingsheep- and-cattle-farm with 1200 sheep and 120 beef cattle, among other animals. There’s also function facilities, a restaurant and souvenir shopping. But the reason for my visit to the Rotorua park was not to watch the famous sheep show. I was there to sample some of the adrenalinpumping activities of which the park has five notable ones. I opted to do two because of time constraints, the first one being Freefall Xtreme.

The Freefall Xtreme is the Southern Hemisphere’s only freefall skydive simulator which lifts a person three metres in the air on a 180kph column of wind. Basically it’s like skydiving without having to throw yourself out of a plane; perfect for those of you like me who have always wanted to experience the feeling of skydiving without the heart failure of jumping to your possible death.

At the Freefall Xtreme site I am asked to state my weight, sign a waiver and am given safety instructions from the crew. These include a practice run at arching my back just so, holding my arms, chin and legs up and in the correct position and understanding the hand signals. These are signals the two crew will give me once I am flying to indicate whether I need to adjust my legs or chin or whatever. The aim after a person gets the knack of flying is to try and control the “flight” and if possible spin your body by altering the position of your hands.

Next I am suited up in a custom-made flight suit and goggles while the wind generator is warmed up. Once it’s ready the three of us head out to the flight area which reminds me of a children’s bouncy castle but with a circular netting in the middle which the wind blasts through. I am signaled to lie face first onto the netting after which the generator is turned up and slowly the wind begins to lift my body. About three metres above me is another larger netting to prevent me from getting too high. The wind is so strong it begins rolling the skin on my face and I keep my mouth firmly shut to prevent dribbling.

Once I am up in the air it is a case of maintaining my balance and keeping my “flying” momentum. A few times I go off to the side and one of the crew catches my hands, and gently pushes me back above the wind column. The guide signals for me to adjust my legs however I have completely forgotten what the signal means. I try to shout this to him but my voice is swept away by the wind. Oh well, I’ll just have to try the best I can. As it turns out, I have somehow got the gist of it almost immediately and can hover about on my own fairly easily.

The first fall I take I land on the soft side padding however I manage to strain a muscle in my leg. I have two more falls and on the final one I am satisfied I have had enough. Participants usually get two times two-minutes of flight time, a practice run and then a “play” flight. Back inside I find myself panting and it’s obvious being fitter would have helped. The crew show me the photos of my body flying experience which are excellent, and that’s it, it’s all over in about 15 minutes. And I loved it! It is a real buzz and almost anyone can do it.

For details visit www.agrodome.co.nz

White Water Rafting
Located at a private river base 15 minutes outside of Rotorua is Raftabout, a white water rafting company offering trips on the Kaituna, Rangitaiki and Wairoa rivers. On this trip Tourism Rotorua Convention Bureau manager Sandra Rippey and I were heading down the grade five Kaituna River, which boasts the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world, at seven metres.

There are actually three waterfalls among the 14 rapids on this river, two smaller waterfalls to practice on before attacking the seven metre drop named Tutea Falls. At the base Sandra and I changed into our white water gear including fleeces, wetsuits, helmets, lifejackets and booties all provided by Raftabout. Then we were positioned in our raft, which included two English girls and two Raftabout guides, to learn how to paddle and when to hold on.

Next we carried our raft down to the river following another group of mainly Rossian tourists.Once on the river we practiced our new paddling and holding on techniques a bit more before heading off down stream with the current. Sitting in the very front I had to make sure my paddling was in time with Sandra’s so that the whole raft paddled in time. Otherwise we’d end up going round in circles.

Once we made it over the first waterfall, which is actually two split falls, my nerves were less frayed and I was beginning to get the hang of all the paddling and holding on. However, as we approached the Tutea Falls the adrenalin began pumping again. If the raft flipped going over the falls we had to drop our paddle, curl into a ball and wait for the water to “pop us” out. The thought of falling out or worse, the raft tipping upside down, was quite frightening however having the guides aboard was a little reassuring.

They further instructed us that should the raft flip we had to grab onto it as soon as possible, and if we came up under the raft then to use the air-pockets it created to breathe until it was time to swim out. Above the waterfall the river was serene and we lined ourselves up ready for the descent. Of the two rafts we were going over first. We had to ready our feet for the holding position but first we had to paddle to the top of the falls. Being up the front of the raft I was teetering over the edge when the call finally came to “HOLD” allowing me to grab the raft ropes and slide snuggling into the front pocket while the others quickly followed suit in their own positions.

At this moment the raft plunged nose-first straight over the falls and we were completely covered in spray and water. The raft seemed to hit the water and then bounce back up so that we were floating quite fast away from the waterfall. There was no time to rejoice our success, as we had to quickly paddle to gain control of the raft again. Watching the second raft come down the falls allowed us to see what we had just achieved except unfortunately for them it tipped.

The guides appeared almost immediately and climbed aboard the upside down raft, but it seemed like forever before the other members of the raft bobbed up to the surface, somewhat shaken. I can only presume they were holding on underneath the raft as we had been instructed. Soon enough the raft was righted and the Russians were safely back in it. The rest of the 45-minute trip was just as exhilarating as we tried a bit of raft surfing on some smaller rapids.

We also swapped places in the raft. Our guides eventually concluded the trip, informing me that further down was a notorious waterfall that was not used commercially because rafters had been killed there in the past. Back at base we changed and viewed an amazing amount of photos cleverly taken all the way through the trip by a waiting photographer. The whole experience was fantastic and for a beginner such as myself, it whet my appetite for more. Raftabout also offers sledging trips with Sledgeabout. Here participants float down the river in a similar fashion to boogie boarding, using inflatable gear.

Zorb
Now this is one of the most fun things I’ve had a go at. A Zorb is like a clear, soft plastic ball inside another ball. At 3.2 metres, the Zorb can fit up to three people inside and users can choose between a wet, dry or zig zag Zorb. Because I suffer from motion sickness, it was advised that I should do a wet Zorb. And, Sandra volunteered to do the Zorb with me.

With our togs already on, we are given shorts and tee-shirts and driven up to the top of the small hill, where the Zorb is launched from. This allows a steep 170 metre downhill run. Warm water is poured inside the Zorb. Then we must dive one by one into the Zorb as the opening is fairly narrow. With a bit of a push from outside I land in the water inside the Zorb and we are ready to be launched. We stand up and I am a little worried, not knowing what to expect.

Suddenly we are rolling downwards very fast. The water turns the rolling Zorb into a slippery surface and almost at once we fall and begin to slip, slide and slosh all over the Zorb. It is the funniest experience – I literally could not stop laughing although I must admit, I did feel a bit like a drowned rat in a guineapig wheel. Probably the most fun part about the wet Zorb was having someone else in it with me to experience it with. At the bottom of the hill we slide out of the Zorb (not feeling in the least bit dizzy) and did it all over again. The other two Zorbing options include the zig zag where only one person is inside a wet Zorb and must roll it down a zig zag course.

For details visit www.agrodome.co.nz

NZ Riverjet
The NZ Riverjet jet boating experience is just one of the activities under the Action New Zealand, Corporate Adventures umbrella. The Riverjet activity is based half way between Rotorua and Taupo on Halcrow Rd, but instead of driving there, I was flown there on a Volcanic Air Safaris floatplane.

Once at Riverjet we met our jet boat driver and put on the protective coats complete with hoods, our lifejackets, and climbed into the boat. The sleek black boat took us on a serene (but fast) journey up the Mighty Waikato, where some of New Zealand’s most beautiful and unspoilt native bush can be seen. We headed through the Tutukau Gorge and arrived at Orakei Korako, a hidden valley of geothermal springs, caves, boiling mud and steaming cliffs.

We explored the natural geothermal park before having some lunch and then it was time for the return trip. The boat roared down the river doing 360 degree spins along the way, cutting so close to overhanging branches and swamp grass I thought I was going to feel them brush my face. Each new spin offered an exhilarating feeling and prompted excited laughter and a few squeals from the group.

The ride definitely gets the heart rate up and would be particularly thrilling for anyone who hasn’t been in one of these speed machines before. The jet boats can be hired by groups while Action New Zealand offers a number of daring teambuilding exercises based out of Rotorua.

More Information
Rotorua has numerous other adrenalin rush activities to choose from including skydiving, luging, tandem kayaking on the Kaituna River, fourwheel driving up Mt Tarawera to walk into the volcano crater, mountain biking in Whakarewarewa Forest and a host of activities at Off Road NZ. For more information on these and the activities above visit www.rotoruanz.com