New Zealand – My Kiwi Experience
June 10th, 2009 by Marie.Fajersson
Flight Centre’s Marie Fajersson travels to New Zealand and sends us the first of her two blog posts with vacation and holiday tips; Kiwi Style.
So I’ve just returned from a whirlwind week in New Zealand (or the Land of the Long White Cloud to some). It was truly an amazing trip, life changing, and spectacular in every way. I would like to share some highlights with those of you who have been to New Zealand, are thinking of going, or are just plain curious.
Air New Zealand
What an incredible airline with friendly staff, good food (coming from the most picky person in the universe… that’s saying a lot), and tons of entertainment to choose from. It was all on-demand entertainment as well, so no waiting around for a movie to start over again or jumping in half way through. Something that is 100% worth mentioning is that they give you an extra couple inches of leg room, even in economy. It makes a world of a difference on a 14 hour flight to be able to cross your legs without violently shaking the seat in front of you every time.
AJ Hackett Bungy Jumping
For those of you who are brave at heart and looking for a thrill bungee jumping is the sport for you. We stopped at the AJ Hackett Bungy site at Kawarau Bridge (the original bungy and just outside of Queenstown) where five of us girls decided to take the dive. We were ushered out onto the bridge after the weighing (my least favorite part) and had the bungy cord wrapped around our legs one at a time. The feeling of standing at the edge of the bridge and looking at the glacier fed river 143 feet below was like nothing else. You only have a moment to think about how crazy it all is then the countdown begins… 5-4-3-2-1 and jump! For a few moments your stomach is in your throat and the river is rushing towards you at an extremely fast rate, then boing. Alive and well, you bounce around laughing like an idiot at what’s just happened. The boat with two friendly faces watching over arrives to save you from hanging upside down and it’s over! Be sure to get the DVD and the pictures so you can spend the next few months showing everyone how you bungy jumped in New Zealand. For those who aren’t prepared to take the plunge, AJ Hackett has a very interesting bungy ‘museum’ of sorts with a movie and knowledgeable bungy experts for all your questions.
Queenstown, New Zealand is highlighted on the Flight Centre travel map.
Marie Fajersson is an International Travel Consultant at the Broughton Street Flight Centre in Victoria, BC and can be reached at 1 866 210 6135.
Categories: Destinations
