Surrounded by mountains and nestled on the shores of the stunning clear blue waters of lake Wakatipu, Queenstown has long been a magnet for visitors seeking a flavour of New Zealand’s wild beauty. But it has also earned a reputation as the adventure capital of the world. It is the town that gave us bungee jumping after the Kiwi, A J Hackett, famously bungeed off the Eiffel Tower in 1987, returning here to set up the world’s first commercial jump.
Twenty years on, there are no shortage of ways to get your adrenaline fix in the town — whether white-water rafting, jet-boating, canyon swinging or jumping off Kawarau bridge, the site of the original jump.
But if you’re looking for real bragging rights, nothing quite gets the blood pumping like leaping out of an aeroplane at 15,000ft and freefalling for a minute at speeds of 125mph. When it comes to that list of things to do before you die, skydiving is normally somewhere near the top.
It’s not for everyone but Queenstown offers one of the best places to give it a go, thanks to the stunning scenery and an unrivalled safety record. You don’t need to be a hardened adrenaline junkie — just someone brave enough to step outside their comfort zone for an experience that skydiving veterans promise will stay with you for a lifetime.
Just a few miles out of Queenstown, at the base of the Remarkables mountain range, is one of the oldest operators, NZone. Since 1990, they’ve taken over 160,000 people on a tandem flight.
Sign up, suit up and you’ll be whisked into the skies in a two-turbine Cresco 750. At 15,000ft the only thing you’ll be able to hear over the roar of the engine is your thumping heart beat. There is only one way down — but it’s one you’ll never regret.
