Five adventures in the great New Zealand outdoors

Glide through glowworm grottoes in Waitoto

Venture on your own Tolkien-esque journey into dark passages that plunge deep into the green hills of rural Waitomo, opening onto gaping caverns where extraordinary creatures and sparkly treasures lie in wait.

From the Māori words ‘wai’ meaning water and ‘tomo’ for hole, Waitomo is home to an untold maze of limestone caves, sinkholes and underground rivers. The Waitomo Glowworm Caves were first extensively explored by local Māori chief Tane Tinorau in 1887, who navigated the system with English surveyor Fred Mace. They discovered grottoes and caverns dotted with thousands of arachnocampa luminosa, glowworms native to New Zealand.

Today, visitors can explore three caves in the complex – the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Ruakuri Cave and Aranui Cave – in numerous ways. The classic is a 45-minute tour through Waitomo Glowworm Caves to marvel at its vast chasms, intricate geological formations and glide along the underground Waitomo River on a bug-illuminated boat ride.

You can also travel deep into nearby Ruakuri Cave to see the luminescent critters up close on a one-and-half hour walking tour that starts with a descent down a dizzying man made spiral staircase. Snap the soft glow of the larvae on a special photography tour or brave one of two blackwater rafting adventures into Ruakuri’s murky depths.

The five-hour Black Abyss involves abseiling into the chasm before tubing through larvae-lit grottoes on fast-flowing waters. Crawling through tight holes and clambering up gushing waterfalls only adds to the excitement.

You won’t see glowworms on the hour-long tour of Aranui Cave, but you will navigate narrow and tall chambers to discover an extraordinary and intricate cave system which has enormous stalactites and crystals sparkling on its walls and roof.

Go stargazing at Lake Tekapo

Observe planets, galaxies, solar systems and the depths of the Milky Way while learning about tatai arorangi (Māori astronomy) underneath some of the world’s darkest skies. Lake Tekapo (or Takapō) on the South Island is part of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, the largest of its type in the world.

If you think the scenery is dazzling by day – the intensely turquoise lake is surrounded by golden grasslands and framed by furrowed grey peaks – you’ll be bowled over at night. The inky skies above this glacier-carved beauty are luminous with celestial displays. Scan the heavens from the summit of Mount John, a 10-minute drive from the lake and home to the Mount John Observatory with Dark Sky Project.

Expert astronomy guides will help you navigate the skies with the naked eye and through professional telescopes, while sharing the science and age-old astronomy stories. Another option is the Crater Tour, where you observe while sheltered from the cold wind in a purpose-built crater. Families might prefer the daytime astronomy tour inside the Dark Sky Project Base by the lake.

There are plenty of other ways to connect with Lake Tekapo’s nightscapes including astrophotography courses. If you like your astronomy with a side of pampering, you’ve found your place. Float on a hammock in the lake’s hot springs gazing up at infinite galaxies with Tekapo Star Gazing. Dreamy.

Visiting in July or August? Go on a clear night close to a new moon and you’re in with a good chance of seeing the aurora Australis or Southern Lights that dance above the lake in the winter months.

Canter through high country

Saddle up to trek through the wide and wild high country of Otago on horseback. Largely unreachable, unless you walk or ride, the Glenorchy basin sits at the head of Lake Wakatipu. High Country Horses and Lighthorse Adventures lead small groups out around 150,000 acres of this back country with guides who know the glacially formed landscapes like the back of their hands.

Expect a mix of rolling paddocks, forest and river crossings on thrilling trails that edge along braided glacier-fed rivers (there are two different river systems, the Dart and the Rees), wend through beech forests and climb steep stony terrain. All the time you’ll feel dwarfed by soaring snow-capped mountains all around and big skies above. You’ll also learn about the land from the guides as you go.

The Māori used it as a kind of summer camp, travelling from the west coast to collect sacred pounamu (greenstone) in the Dart River. While European settlers arrived in the 1860s to graze sheep and prospect for gold – mining relics still scatter the region.

Movie fans will find some familiar scenes as they bump along: the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Mission Impossible 6 were all shot here. Its haunting and hostile landscapes also featured in Jane Campion’s TV drama Top of the Lake.

Whether you’re a seasoned equestrian or a total novice, both horse-riding specialists have a horse and trail to suit. There are short and half-day rides along with full- and multi-day rides. Go for the latter to camp out in this extraordinary wilderness, bedding down in rustic but cosy mustering huts. As you’ll soon find, there’s no better sleep than after a day in the saddle.

Take on the Nevis Swing in Queenstown

As well as having gorgeous, good looks, lakeside Queenstown draws adventure seekers with every conceivable adrenaline-boosting activity on offer. While bungee jumps top most visitors’ to-do lists in this fun-loving town, there are plenty of other (equally terrifying) options. If you’re looking to experience total weightlessness without dangling upside down, sign up for the Nevis Swing.

Riders cross a narrow suspension bridge to a platform sat high above the rocky Nevis River canyon, before being attached to the swing via wire cables and 120m-long swing ropes. You can go it alone or opt for a tandem swing and get to choose which way you’d rather face: forwards, backwards or even upside down. But don’t be misled into thinking you’re in for an easier ride than a bungy jump. The main difference is you don’t bounce. After a 70m freefall, the rope catches you at which point you swing upwards in a massive scream-inducing 300m arc. Riders experience a similar sensation to being on a rollercoaster (apparently).

Up for more? Be propelled 150m out across the craggy canyon on the Nevis Catapult, which is billed as the “World’s Biggest Human Catapult”. Or take on the Nevis Bungy, the highest in all of Australasia at 134m with an 8.5-second freefall. Part of AJ Hackett Bungy’s hair-raising stable (pioneers of the world’s first commercial bungee jump), the Nevis site lies 40 minutes outside of Queenstown. The Bungy Bus takes daredevils out from central Queenstown to the hard-to-reach river canyon.

Journey to Middle-earth at Hobbiton

Not all adventures need to be big ones. As you’ll find in the green rolling farmland of Waikato, which struck film director Peter Jackson as the very vision of the Shire, homeland of the hobbits.

Set across 12 acres of a 1,250-acre family-run farm, the Hobbiton Movie Set is one of the country’s top attractions with various ways to experience its magic. Take the two-hour guided walking tour around its 44 hobbit holes (all cheery round doors and bloom-filled gardens) as enthused guides share anecdotes and insights about the sets and filming tricks. It’s full of adorable details like hobbit-sized wheelbarrows, washing lines with miniature clothes fluttering in the breeze, and an abandoned picnic on a fishing dock, just waiting for a hungry halfling to return.

Calling in at the Green Dragon Inn for a flagon of Southfarthing amber ale, stout, cider or ginger beer, all made specially by a Hamilton brewer, is a highlight. You can have lunch here, as any self-respecting hobbit would, or better still go for the evening banquet tour. After exploring the Shire by day, you’ll sit down to a convivial candle-lit feast of Middle-earth themed delights at the inn. Your adventure ends with a night-time walk through Hobbiton, all glowing lanterns and smoking chimneys.

Plans are afoot to excavate three hobbit hole façades, including Samwise Gamgee’s abode, and create a series of themed rooms for visitors to explore. With the art director of The Hobbit trilogy on board it promises to be enchanting. Work starts in April with plans to open by December.

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