100% Pure Adrenalin in New Zealand's landscapes
New Zealander Scarlett Hagen is on top of the world as a mountain biker, but she is happy to scale the heights for almost any outdoor pursuit.
'When I'm not biking, I still love to be outdoors,' says the 2004 world junior women's downhill champion - especially in her hometown of Queenstown, the world capital of adventure.
'Tramping the tracks in the South Island is one of my favourite past-times to get away from it all. We have the most scenic tracks in the world - they are amazing.'
Kiwis have a knack of turning the challenges of their landscape into excitement - kayaking, rafting, hiking, or riding their way across sometimes unforgiving, but always breathtaking, terrain. New Zealand is the original home of blackwater rafting, bungy jumping, jetboating and zorbing.
One third of the country is protected in national parks and reserves. There are hundreds of walking tracks on conservation land - like the Heaphy Track, over expansive tussock downs to the lush forests and roaring sea of the West Coast; or the Milford Track, renowned as the world’s finest walk, from Lake Te Anau, to Milford Sound, via glacially carved valleys, alpine flowers and waterfalls. In the North Island, the Tongariro Crossing leads passes over volcanic terrain including lava flows, an active crater, steam vents and emerald coloured lakes.
The Southern Alps, which rise 1800 metres above the ocean and run like a backbone down the South Island, are the perfect place for skiing and snowboarding in winter, and mountain biking in the summer. There is no shortage of hiking treks up and over the Alps.
The rugged, raw beauty of the West Coast, with its mountain ranges, primeval forest and powerful rivers, provides excellent heli-rafting and white water kayaking experiences.
Queenstown has a long list of thrills - bungy jumping, skydiving, heliskiing, canyoning, mountainbiking, kayaking, jetboating, and parapenting. For those who want to be closer to heaven, gliders at Omarama, near Wanaka, ride the warm nor-west thermals above the high country landscape.
Further north, the brave-hearted can take in the panorama of Auckland’s harbours and islands before bungy leaping off the Harbour Bridge or the 328m-high Sky Tower.
New Zealand even has subterranean adventure, in the form of blackwater rafting - riding underwater rivers that flow through the ancient Waitomo Caves, the path guided by a galaxy of glow worms.
These topics may also be of interest to you
|
