Active Queenstown

Queenstown in a few words: Young athletes, old athletes, active families, extreme sports enthusiasts, adventure sports enthusiasts, travel groups looking for adrenaline, and all of this in a breathtakingly beautiful landscape.

When you open the travel guide, you will find a whole list of addresses in Queenstown where you can do all of these activities if you are crazy or passionate enough:

Bungy Jumping

It's strange that in all possible English-speaking places, they write 'Bungee' jumping, when this sport was actually invented by a handful of New Zealanders in Queenstown - and they write it as 'Bungy'. (Makes more sense.)

Yes, the birthplace of bungy sports is right here, in Queenstown. To be more precise, the first commercially operated facility where you can do this sport, for 26 years and still going strong, is located at the Kuwarau Bridge.

The jump off the Kuwarau Bridge goes 43 meters into the depth and is the most popular spot for tourists to overcome their fear of heights, whether they land in the water or not. This person wanted to land in the water:

Down below (and we haven't experienced this ourselves, just observed it...) the now happy and adrenaline-pumped jumper is picked up by a speedboat with a kind of fishing pole.

From the bridge, it didn't look that high to us:

But the price scared us off a bit. 200 dollars for two seconds of being scared out of your pants? No, thanks.

Although bungy jumping started here and became a worldwide sensation, the New Zealanders also stole the concept from somewhere else:

The people of Vanuatu from the Pacific had already started this long before it became trendy! This little tribe has believed for centuries that it is a good idea to subject boys to this daredevil test before they are accepted into the circle of men...

Fortunately, tourists around the world don't jump from shaky, wooden structures with vines as their only lifeline... (Things do occasionally go wrong in that jungle, too.)

And this is what one of the New Zealanders who transformed this daredevil trial for jungle children into modern bungy jumping looks like - his name is AJ Hackett:

By the way: The Kuwarau Bridge may be the first commercial bungy jumping spot, but it is by no means the highest. A few kilometers up the road, there is the highest bungy jump in New Zealand at 143 meters. One hundred and forty-three meters! The facility is called Nevis Bungy, and those who dare to jump here can enjoy almost NINE seconds of free fall. We would have liked to see this (from a safe distance), but unfortunately, this spot can only be reached by jeep. Too bad.

As you can see, bungy jumping is the most important thing here. But there are many more attractions in and around Queenstown:

It is often windy, which is why many paragliders, hang gliders, or whatever-glider enthusiasts come here. You've already seen a picture of it in the last article.

The area is also very well developed for cyclists. Popular hiking trails are shared by hikers and cyclists, and sometimes the paths between them are even strictly separated:

(Walking on the left, cycling on the right)

Where footpaths and cycle paths cross, flags and signs warn you. But they really race down those hills here!

Then there's something that even we scaredy-cats will eventually try: jet boating through a gorge on the glacier river 'Shotover River'.

We checked out the 'Shotover Jet' from above and... yeah, those boat drivers are pretty crazy!

They race through such a narrow gorge. It's really crazy how close they get to the rocks...

In winter, Queenstown also becomes the gateway to one of the biggest winter sports areas in New Zealand, with its extremely beautiful view of Lake Wakatipu.

(Image source: http://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/queenstown-attractions/)

Scenic flights, boat trips, water skiing, horse riding tours, hiking tours, and excursions to the nearby fjords of Milford and Doubtful Sounds are also offered.

Speaking of horse riding tours:

Hannes has never been on a horse before, and that's about to change here!

++++++   Hannes goes horse riding ++++++

Horse riding is actually offered all over New Zealand because of the stunning landscape. We thought this would be a good place to introduce Hannes to riding.

Already in the morning on our way to the small riding stable in the mountains, we had to take some pictures because it looked so beautiful:

(Left side of the picture: Not flowers, but sheep)

The sun is strong when it shows up. But overnight, even in summer, there can be frost!

All of this is on the way from Queenstown to Moke Lake, which is about a 20-minute drive away.

Waiting for the remaining riders...

And then we were ready to go.

Anette got 'Rino':

And Hannes rode 'Munster'. 

Munster had to pee first thing in the morning. Understandable.

We rode through the valley between mountains...

and through streams.

Until it was time for Munster to do his second, bigger business.

One more picture of Anette and Rino:

The rest of our riding group:

As almost everyone was a beginner, we only walked. The whole thing took about an hour and a half.

We really liked that the horses used to be racehorses and now get to spend a beautiful, relaxed retirement here.

The animals are also well-fed. Munster had to get rid of something green again:

Our starting point and endpoint: Moke Lake.

And finally...

Have you missed it yet?

Admit it. You want to hear more about it.

Alright then: The Lord of the Rings. 

This is another location that has been used for the filming of The Lord of the Rings (not far from the bungy bridge):

We have more photos for you.

But not today...!

Best regards :)

HanNZette