Just about every activity here on the South Island, it seems, can be viewed from the air. There are numerous companies in each town offering seaplanes, helicopters, gliders and small planes that take you up and view the whales, glaciers, mountains or rivers. While this would be great to do, I am much more on the side of getting in close rather than viewing from above.

On the Franz Josef glacier, I wanted to be digging my crampons in the ice. On the Kawarau river in Queenstown, I wanted to be IN the water and rapids. Riverboarding offered wetsuits, lifejackets, helmets, a small boogie board and license to float or tumble your way through the class 2-4 rapids. The cold water rushing over the board felt so good! If any of you have been boogie boarding in the ocean surf, you know that leaning the board is a large part of your control. In the river - it does nothing. You are propelled by the current and have little control other than your fins.

The first few hundred feet of rapids threw me up and down over the waves and had me laughing through the entire section. I could see Lee through most of it. But then, the “Man-eater” class 4 rapid sailed me up and over. I ate it. My board went flying into others’ who had found the same fate, and I finally bobbed up after swirling through a whirlpool. I laughed some more and hoped for another. There was a girl and her friend almost crying next to me. I think they were from Denmark.

It was a workout -always trying to swim in the line of the guide, but somehow never getting there in time before the rapid or whirlpool. My muscles are sore the day after and will be for a couple more days I’m sure.

 In the café after we finished, we all swapped stories, and the girls from Denmark were adamant they would never do this again. I definitely would.

I wish we had pictures to share, but it was impossible to take the camera amongst the rocks and water, not to mention the need to swim.

Lee has a different story to tell.

The river boarding was a great experience, but one that I have more memories of pain than pleasure.  The basic idea is that you go down the 6kms (3.7 miles) of the Might Meg section of the Kawarau River with a wetsuit, lifejacket, helmet, fins and a boogie board all with class 2-4 rapids. It cost $129 NZ ($91US) per person through Mad Dog River Boarding.

I thought it might be lame, but I was wrong, very wrong.  It was not lame, but somewhat harrowing and scary experience in an adventurous way.  My problem was not the water or the equipment, but my body.  From the first few hundred feet, my legs began to cramp and for a majority of the 3.7 miles, I was in excruciating pain as both feet and calf muscles cramped – even as the guides yelled to move across the river to avoid dangerous rapids.  Had my legs not cramped, it would have been a different experience overall.

At the end, there were a few things you could do to finish off the adventure.  One of which was jumping into the river from a 30 foot rock ledge. I love jumping off of things and knew this would be fun.  The jump was great, but soon after I entered the water, my left arm exited the shoulder socket, dislocating my shoulder for a couple of seconds, sending unbelievable pain through me as I floated to the surface. Then, trying to fight the rapids to the shore, it happened again. I just wanted to sit on the shore and cry, from pain, exhaustion and from discouragement. Looking back, it’s an activity I would recommend for those that are prepared for a physical, strenuous and a bit of a scary adventure.  Some people cried while doing it, which is a sure sign it’s not for everyone.

Sachi has a different story.

I have a bit of a mental issue with Queenstown.  I want to call it Queensland, which is in Australia.  My brain will not allow me to call it anything but Queensland, leading Sachi to say things like “Maybe it’s like that there too, in Australia”.

QueensTOWN is known as one of the adventure capitals of the world.  It was where bungy jumping was invented and has since spawned all sorts of adventure activities, some borrowed, some invented.

Among all the choices, we narrowed it down to two- things we’d never done and might not be able to do in other places around the world. They were jet-boating and river boarding.

The jet boating is one of the “big four” activities that people do in Queenstown, which also includes Bungy Jumping, River Rafting and Sky Diving. It cost $99NZ ($70 US) per person and included about 25 minutes on the water, run by Shotover River Jet, which is the best, from what we heard.

The boats are an amazing piece of machinery.  They are like jet skis that hold 14 people have twin v-6 engines and can go in 6 inches of water.  I’ve never seen anything handle like that, as they cruise through a gorge only inches from rocks. The combination of incredible speed, impressive scenery, precision driving made for a great overall experience.