Taking your kids to New Zealand is sure to give them bragging rights in the school cafeteria. First, it’s a slim chance any of their buddies will have gone – of the more than 200,000 Americans who visited New Zealand last year, only about 5.5% of them were under fifteen – and second, the Kiwis practically invented extreme sports, so if there are daredevils in your troop, they will have opportunities to test their mettle that they’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Without a doubt, even the more sedate members of your brood will revel in the coolness of having walked in Frodo’s footsteps.
SkyJump from the SkyTower, Auckland, New Zealand, August 2008
It’s easiest to start your adventure in Auckland, on the North Island, since the majority of flights from the United States will land there. Here, the first stop should be the Sky Tower, which offers spectacular views of the entire city and, at 192 meters, is New Zealand’s tallest man-made structure. It’s a great way to get your bearings and get a taste of the Kiwi sense of adventure. Not only can you see the city and beyond, you can watch people base jump from the top of the tower and, if you are feeling froggy, you (and your kids over ten) can jump, too. If leaping from a tremendous height isn’t your thing, you can opt to take the SkyWalk, which entails circumnavigating the tower on a four-foot wide parapet with nothing but air on either side of you and a safety harness strapped on.
Ben at the Auckland Zoo, August 2008
If your kids are not quite so bold, the Auckland Zoo is a little tamer. It’s an easy cab or bus ride from the city. You can spend a good part of your day here, and you can see some southern hemisphere animals like the Kiwi Bird and the wallaby, often overlooked in American zoos. Oddly, there is an entire area dedicated to Australia’s fauna, but not to New Zealand’s.
Jeff Zorbing in Rotorua
Zorbing is a uniquely Kiwi sport that is fun for the whole family. Nothing says New Zealand like partly filling a gigantic rubber ball with water, climbing inside, and rolling it down hill. This sport was invented in Rotorua, but franchises are popping up elsewhere in the world. There are multi-person, multi-ride discounts, and anyone over six years old and under 130 kg can ride the Zydro (the wet version). Zorbit is the dry version, but since you remain in a fixed position relative to the ball, only the hardiest of souls will want to try.
Hell's Gate, Roturua, New Zealand, August 2008
If Zorbing didn’t nauseate you, but you still crave queasiness, head over to Hell’s Gate, also in Rotorua. This geothermal reserve and spa looks like Hell and smells as bad. Here you can wander among the thermal springs and bubbling mud pools, and if the smell doesn’t drive you away, you can take a bath in the stuff, either in a private bath with your family or in the larger public bath. The mud-baths themselves are warm, relaxing, and purportedly good for your skin, but your bathing suits are going to smell like sulphur long after you return home.
A little over 2 hours from Rotorua is Waitomo, which boasts some more Kiwi-style adventure opportunities. A guided tour of New Zealand’s most famous cave, culminating in a boat ride on an underground lake where glow worms provide the only illumination, is something the whole family can enjoy. And for those twelve years and older who still haven’t got enough of New Zealand’s extreme sports, abseiling and cave tubing adventures are available.
Crossing from Wellington to Picton, Jeff and Ben enjoy the scenery and some wine.
If after all that, your family still craves more Kiwi adventure, there’s still the South Island. You can cross from Wellington to Picton on a three-hour ferry ride that should count as an adventure in itself. Onboard there is a movie theatre, a video game room, and a play area for younger kids, as well as a food court and a convenience store, where you can pick up magazines or some dramamine if the weather is rough. If the weather is favorable, you can go out on deck and see one of the most dramatic coastlines in the world, where lush green mountains rise up out of the sea on either side of you as you cruise through Marlborough Sounds, Tory Channel, Queen Charlotte Sound, and then into Picton harbor.
Sarah, Alex, and Ben inside a tunnel at the Franz Josef Glacier
There’s a lot to see on the South Island, but the next stop in the top ten itinerary is the Franz Josef Glacier, a little less than halfway down the west coast. Depending on the ages of your kids, the stamina of the adults, and how much you want to spend, you can choose to do a half-day experience, an all day adventure, ice climbing, or heli-hiking. The half-day experience is four to five hours and will likely be perfect for the average family. It entails a trip by bus to the glacier valley, a hike through the valley to the base of the glacier, and then a guided climb through the precut trails and tunnels through blue ice. The glacier is a temperate glacier, and even in the winter months, the guides are likely to be wearing shorts and short-sleeves, although they will provide you with cold weather gear.
The falling tower at Puzzling World, Wanaka, New Zealand
About three and half hours south of Franz Josef, in the town of Wanaka is Puzzling World, a family attraction consisting of a 1.5 km labyrinth, hologram exhibits, and a host of optical illusions. Compared to the natural beauty of the glacier and ferry crossing and the physical challenges of some of the other attractions on the itinerary, this may seem somewhat tame, but the maze maybe some of the most fun your family may have on the trip. The challenge is to find your way to four colored towers and then to the exit, which can give each family member a chance to lead the group. Inside, everyone will get a kick out of the illusions, including the chair that seems to slide uphill and the room where you seem gigantic at one end and tiny at the other.
Alex Bungy Jumping in Queenstown, New Zealand, August 2008
Queenstown is only a little more than an hour south of Wanaka, and it will serve as base camp for the final three items on the top ten itinerary. First on the list is bungy jumping, which was invented in its current form by AJ Hackett in the mid 1980s. Although Queenstown has a number of bungy venues, the Kawarau Bridge is where AJ and his partner, Henry van Asch got their start. The 43 meter jump is open to anyone over ten years old, who weighs between 77 and 500 lbs, and who has enough steel in his spine to laugh in the face of death. Jumpers get weighed first, and an appropriate bungy cord will be attached to their ankles. So precise are the adjustments to the cords that jumpers have the option of dunking their hair, their whole head, or not getting wet at all. When it is your turn to jump, your family can wait on the viewing platform opposite the bridge, while you walk to your doom alone. The wait is the worst part because once you step onto the platform the whole thing is over in seconds. Fortunately, in the offseason, the crowds are minimal, so you’ll only have a few minutes rather than hours to fret.
The Ford of Bruinen, Lord of the Rings Tour, Queenstown, NZ 2008
Seemingly less daunting than jumping from a bridge is a Queenstown Lord of the Rings Tour. A number of tour operators run a variety of tours, from half day to all day, by land, sea, and air. We opted for a half-day landrover tour, which was more than enough excitement for the family. Our tour guide was knowledgeable about the movie locations and the entire region, and she made the trip a blast, driving us repeatedly through the river at the site of the Ford of Bruinen. She then drove us to the top of a mountain and explained how Peter Jackson was able to film the vast wildernesses of Middle Earth by selecting his shots carefully to exclude view of roads and towns. The spectacular views alone made the tour worthwhile.
Doubtful Sound, New Zealand, August 2008
The final stop on the top ten itinerary is a cruise through Doubtful Sound. This is an all day affair, starting at about 7:00 AM, when you board a coach bus for Manapouri. On reaching Manapouri, you board a small boat which will take you across a portion of Lake Manapouri to Wilmot Pass, where you will board yet another coach, which will take you through the rainforest of Fjiordland National Park to Deep Cove. As you go deeper into the park, you realize that this is one of the remotest and most pristine locations on earth. You then board a large catamaran for a three hour cruise through Doubtful Sound, where mountains rise up out of the sea and seals and penguins bask on rocks and no other boats can be seen or heard. About an hour out, the captain will shut the engine and ask everyone on board to be silent for several minutes. You may never hear another silence like that again, with the only sounds being the lap of the water against the hulls, the wind whistling through the trees, and the birds crying out. Unless you try Antarctica, this is likely to be the furthest you will ever be from human habitation, and in my opinion, giving your kids that experience, letting them catch a glimpse of our place in the universe, well that alone is worth the trip.