Whether all of you are adrenaline junkies or you just enjoy doing unusual things when on a family vacation, New Zealand is a land full of opportunities. When booking vacation rentals or looking for family vacation ideas, it is a great idea to think of the many adventures open to those who visit this large, island nation.
The Best of All Worlds: New Zealand Holiday Rentals
If your family vacation needs to check all the boxes, ensuring that someone gets time by the pool or a soothing body of water, someone else gets a lot of retail therapy, and still others get all kinds of adventures, there are vacation rentals in New Zealand that can help meet the demands. As one expert explained, “New Zealand has so much to offer and is the perfect destination for outdoor pursuits. The best part is that the range of activities available is so wide, you’re sure to find something to suit any level of fitness or bravery.”
Even better is that all of these activities and family vacation ideas will occur in a land that is utterly beautiful, diverse and readily accessible. You won’t have to book all kinds of extra-special transportation when you opt for New Zealand holiday rentals and adventurous activities. As a simple example, your family vacation can include:
- Bungy jumping
- Jet boating
- Skydiving
- River rafting
- Zip lining
- Off-road driving
- Rappelling
- Climbing
- Caving, and more
Many of the best vacation rentals will also include some low-key adventures that can include snorkeling or other water sports, off-road excursions, and hiking or trekking excursions. There are family vacation ideas that include more sedate adventures such as horseback riding and even rolling around in a ZORB inflatable ball.
If all of these adventures sound appealing, you can find many of them close to premium New Zealand holiday rentals.
The Adventures Ahead
If you are ready to book your family vacation to New Zealand, and want to know more about those adventures mentioned above, let’s take a moment to review a handful of the most popular.
Bungy jumping
There are many popular spots for taking a plunge off a bridge or bungy tower, and if this is among your top family vacation ideas for adventure, you will want to look at Nevis, the Kawarau Bungy Site, Taupo Bungy, the Auckland Harbour Bridge options, and more.
Rafting
It might surprise you to learn that your family vacation could include rafting from the “highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world?” Talk about an extreme adventure! Found in Rotorua, it is 7meters tall and features incredible rapids. There are also New Zealand holiday rentals near other top rafting sites like the West Coast, Queenstown, Tongariro River in Lake Taupo, and many more.
Ziplining
While it may not sound like an extreme adventure to enjoy during your holiday, some of the options near the country’s many vacation rentals are far from “average” ziplining sites. There is the amazing tree top lines of Rotorua, the Queenstown lines that give unimpeded views of the Remarkables Mountains, and the gorgeous harbour scenery in the ziplining options of Waiheke Island. The West Coast also has zip lining and river rafting adventures where glow worms are easily seen after dark.
Skydiving
The landscape of New Zealand is varied, as is made plain in the famous Peter Jackson series of films dedicated to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Just heading up in a plane is sure to be memorable. The most common locations for diving include Queenstown, Lake Taupo. Wanaka, Auckland and Bay of Plenty – all of which have many vacation rentals nearby.
Caving
Among the most extreme family vacation ideas is spelunking or caving. However, New Zealand is known as a top caving destination throughout the world. It is home to black water rafting (i.e. floating) inside enormous underground networks, and some of the best for those on a holiday to experience are in the Nelson area, which is also where one of the world’s most immense sinkholes is found.
4×4 Adventures
Off-road driving is a fairly common activity and something you will want to enjoy when in one of the region’s vacation rentals. It will be unlike anything most families have ever experienced, and the country has an extensive network of backroad, off-road and country tracks. These include stunningly beautiful spots like Ninety Mile Beach, the hills of Marlborough, and the alpine region known as Canterbury, among many others.
Jetboating
Those enjoying New Zealand holiday rentals anywhere near jetboating sites will want to savor the adrenaline rush this brings. It was invented in the area in the 1950s when a local adventurer found he had to navigate “the fast-flowing shallow rivers of his farmland.” He became quite adept at it and started taking tourists on rapid tours of the nearby rivers. Today, travelers near Queenstown and Lake Taupo savor the heart-racing thrill of riding in a speed boat as it does a full 360-degree spin or navigates within a hair’s width of the banks and cliffs of the rivers.
If your family holiday in New Zealand has to create a bit more adrenaline than the activities already mentioned, don’t forget that there are areas for diving with sharks is possible (in a safe aquarium setting!). There is also ice hiking that includes a brief helicopter ride to the starting point. Sledging is also an option, though not for the faint of heart. It is a form of hydrospeeding or river boarding that has the adventurer riding a float through river rapids and eventually learning how to “surf” the powerful currents.
As you plan a holiday to New Zealand, be sure to set aside a bit of time for the most adventurous of the country’s activities. We’ve outlined a few above, and you’ll want to consider them f a bit of adrenaline is what you seek. New Zealand can also be ideal for those eager to sit on the sands or in the privacy of a villa and savor the amazing beauty, culture, food, and friendly people of New Zealand, too.