Zorb Globe Riding: Rotorua, New Zealand

Zorb Globe Riding: Rotorua, New Zealand 1

Having a Ball If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be stuck inside a giant washing machine, here’s your chance to find out: Zorbing, the newest adrenaline adventure that involves absolutely no skill whatsoever, puts you in the center of a gigantic bubble made of clear plastic and then sends that bubble—with you inside … Read more

Ski the Tasman Glacier: New Zealand’s Southern Alps

A snow covered mountain

Sliding Down a Ribbon of Ice Somewhere in Japan, there’s a photograph of me on skis, towering over four tiny Japanese women shivering in high heels and dresses on New Zealand’s longest glacier. They had plunked down by plane for a photo-op where I’d spent the day on skis, exploring the Tasman Glacier, bracing against … Read more

White Water Sledging: New Zealand

A man riding a snow board on a body of water

Riding the River Face Down Racing through Roaring Meg’s rapids or the infamous Chinese Dogleg sections of New Zealand’s Kawarau River, you’ll want to use those flippers on your feet to steer. Face down, you’re river sledging through turbulent whitewater. The tour operators claim previous experience isn’t required, so you put on the padded wetsuit, … Read more

Jet Boat Rides in the Shotover Gorge: Queenstown, New Zealand

Jet Boat Rides in the Shotover Gorge: Queenstown, New Zealand 2

Doing 360s in Queenstown A ride through the Shotover River Canyons meshes strain-your-neck views of the towering walls and up-close encounters with the massive boulders that have tumbled into the river at the narrowest spots. As the driver hits the accelerator, you’re pushed back into your seat and the water sprays alongside (and into) the … Read more

Top 10 Ziplines in the World

Top 10 Ziplines in the World - Zipline

Climbing trees and swinging from their branches is exciting, but zipping between them is even better. For centuries, miners used cable-and-pulley systems to transport supplies through inhospitable terrain. For decades, biologists and researchers in Central and South America used similar mechanisms to get themselves across low narrow river valleys and into the rainforest’s high canopies. … Read more

Auckland SkyWalk

Auckland SkyWalk

Use the Force, SkyWalker Auckland, New Zealand Maybe there’s something in the water down in New Zealand, but Kiwis seem to have a perverse attraction to scary, adrenaline-rush-inducing sports and events. Among these is the SkyWalk, the latest “terrortraction” from the land that brought jumping off a bridge with a skinny elastic band to the … Read more

Helicopter Flightseeing in the Southern Alps

Helicopter Flightseeing in Milford Sound, New Zealand

Fly over Water & onto Ice Milford Sound, New Zealand Have you ever heard of Helicopter Flightseeing before? Standing on an ancient glacier, thousands of meters above the earth’s surface, is an exceptionally rare experience—typically reserved for expert mountaineers or intrepid heli-skiers. But adventurers up for the flight of their life can have the same … Read more