AJ Hacket is situated right next to the Auckland Harbour bridge

Heading for the Auckland Harbour Bridge

For me it was the first time trying out bungee jumping as well. I was not really nervous at all; I think it was worst for my poor family members whom I dragged along with me to watch. On the bright side: at least they got to enjoy the nice view of Auckland on the bridge while we made our way out to the platform.

Auckland seen from the bridge

It was not until I was standing on the platform that I started to think that I might have made a foolish choice when I decided to go jumping off a bridge. Forty meters looked a lot higher from the platform than it had done when I looked at the bridge from afar. But of course, who says "A" must say "B". And with AJ Hacket's impeccable safety record with more than 1 million jumps I still felt rather safe.

Taking the leap of the Auckland Harbour Bridge

Other pages:
AJ Hackett Bungy

All blogposts from New Zealand

---

Hotel Booking:

Hotels in Auckland
Hotels in Wellington

---

A Day in Wellington with John's Hop On Hop Off City Tour

Wellington is New Zealand's capital and the country's third largest city. It is also home to the famous movie director Peter Jackson, and has gain increased attention from the international community after he filmed parts of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit in the city. These movies were also very much in focus during our trip around the city with John's Hop On Hop Off City Tour. Actually, our driver's name wasn't John, but Todd. He could tell us that his main job was being an actor, and that he had starred in the third Lord of the Rings movie. He showed us the scene he was in, and that was one of the most epic scenes of the movie if you ask me. Can you imagine having a Harad Leader as your bus driver for the day? Pretty awesome!

---

The Edwin Fox Maritime Museum in Picton
If you are spending a day or two in Picton you might be interested in visiting the Edwin Fox Maritime Museum situated by the city's harbor. This museum tells the amazing story about the ship Edwin Fox, the world's oldest surviving merchant sailing ship. After she was built in Calcutta in 1853 she was used for a wide range of purposes such as carrying troops during the Crimean War, and later she also carried prisoners from Britain to Australia. On her older days she was used as a floating freezer hulk in New Zealand, and she first came to Picton in 1897 where she was utilized as a coal store hulk.

---

Earthquake recovery in Christchurch

Our first stop in New Zealand was Christchurch, a small city on NZ's southern island. Back in 2011 the city experienced a terrible earthquake (on February 22, under a month before the earthquake in Japan), and the place is still recovering from the inflicted damage. Things are however moving forward, and Lonely Planet even rated Christchurch as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit in 2013.

---

The Spellbound Waitomo Glowworm Cave

New Zealand is known worldwide for its magnificent nature, and one of the unique natural experiences you can make while in the country is a visit to the famous glowworm caves in Waitomo. Waitomo is a Māori word that means "water enters", and in the area you'll find many caves that has been formed by the rivers digging into the ground made of limestone.

Photo credit: Spellbound Glowworm and Cave Tours

---

Visiting the Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata

The Hobbiton movie set is part of a 1250 acre sheep farm outside of Matamata, and the place is a must-visit for anyone with a slight interest in Tolkien's Middle Earth Universe. It is also the movie set to visit for people who generally don't like movie sets, simply because the surroundings are so amazingly beautiful and extraordinary that you wouldn't want to miss them.

---

Traveling from Christchurch to Wellington via Picton
One way to travel from Christchurch to Wellington is by driving to a small town called Picton on the northern edge of New Zealand's southern island and catch a ferry to Wellington from there. The drive to Picton takes about five hours if you travel none-stop, but there are of course places along the way where you might want to take a break or two.
About half-way to Picton the road takes you down to the ocean, and you can enjoy the beautiful sight of the endless water and the steep mountains. There are also many animals to see along the way, and the coolest part of our road trip was definitely getting close contact with a group of sea lions.

---

Today me and Dorte joined Gravity Bolivia on their trip down Yungas Road, better known as el Camino de la Muerte or the Death Road. This road is supposed to be the most dangerous road in the world, and every year there are somewhere between 200 and 300 travellers who end their life's here. Sounds like a fun place to go for sightseeing, right? :-/

So anyway, I persuaded Dorte into joining me for this trip (well, not really, she was actually just as excited as me..), and since Dorte lives downtown I spent the night at her place, and in the morning we walked into the city centre to one of the Alexander cafès which Gravity Bolivia use as their meeting spot. After a quick breakfast the guide picked us up, and the journey began.
After a 45 minute long drive we stopped by a small lake, and got to try out the bikes a little on the normal roads for an easy start. It was really cold, but like we had been told to we were using loads of layers, so it was fine. Luckily the travelling company helps you out a lot also; they have available trousers and jackets for those who want, and you also receive a buff that helps keep you warm.

Ready to hit the road!

Getting down the rest of the bikes for the ride

We started out nice and easy with some practice driving down the normal roads

But don't expect nice and flat pavement once you reach the Death Road..

Unfortunately we didn't get the best weather for the trip. In the start everything was fine, but just as we were getting closer to the Death Road itself it started to get both rainy and foggy, and we couldn't really see much of the view. Which of course was really disappointing.. If you look at the bright side though it might also have been a good thing, cause at least you don't get as frightened by the hight as you might have been if you could have seen it... Still, I would have preferred to see more. Some parts of the trail you could only see a couple of meters in front of you.

Going dooown!

Another group of cyclists posing for their camera. Not that easy to see because of the fog though..

You better be careful when biking on the Death Road, cause you never know what awaits you around the corner..

But even though we couldn't see what was below the road we were cycling at, we were still reminded about the dangers of the road by all the crosses placed by the roadside.

They might not always be that easy to see, but you do pass loads of small crosses going down the Death Road, which reminds you that a lot of fatal accidents occur along this road every year.

You better not be afraid of hights..

Taking a break to take a look at the nice view. At least we were supposed to be taking a look at the nice view, but the weather made that rather impossible.

One of the mountain bikes

After having biked a couple of hours the fog lifted though, and we got to see more of the view. Suddently it was a lot warmer also, and we got to enjoy the trip more. Sadly this was only for the last 30-40 minutes of the trip though:p..

The fog is lifting

After the fog had disappeared we could easily see why this road has been claimed to be the most dangerous road in the world..

Enjoying the view!

"Cozy" Death Road:p

Though this is a really dangerous road, the company we traveled with puts a lot of focus on security. The trip costed us 720 Bolivianos (+ a fee the government makes you pay, but that is not more than 25 boliviano and it goes to maintaining the road). Though you guaranteed can find the trips cheaper with other companies, there is still something odd about thinking "which I the cheapest one?" when you are in fact going down the worlds most dangerous road. Besides, most of the accidents among bikers here happens because the equipment isn't working as it should. Not to mention that some of the other companies drove like crazy today, and I'm really glad I wasn't travelling with one of those.
And although it is more expencive than if you travel with competeting companies, Gravity has a lot of things to offer you beside just the trip: you get free videos and photos from the trip as well as a short stay at the animal rescue shelter La Senda Verde at the end of the trip (for those who are interested, it is possible to work as a volunteer here as well!) where they also have buffet.

The last downhill of the trip, and the entrance to La Senda Verde

Crossing a bridge to the animal shealter

At La Senda Verde you have the chance to take a shower, swim in their swimming pool or simply just chilling out watching the monkeys, the parrots and the other animals enjoying the freedom of the shelter. In addition to all this you also get a free beer and a free t-shirt! And for those who are interesting in a little bit more action you have the chance to go woth a zip-liner at the end of the trip, which costs 160 if you buy it along with your bikecycle-trip, or 200 if you make up your mind at the trip.

A parrot from the animal shealter. ..The cage is actually for us visitors; it's a restaurant:) No animals are put in cage if it is not strictly necessary.

If I were to do the trip again I would not have had any doubts at all about which company to choose..
I have to say though, that the trip back by car was a little bit scarier than the bike trip, the driver was really fast, and there was less fog so we could see everything more clearly. Oh well, now I can say I survived the worlds most dangerous road!

Going back the Death Road by car

Related blogposts

Sightseeing in Bolivia: Salar de Uyuni

The Choro Trek 1: La Cumbre to Sandillani

Bolivia's National Day and Sightseeing in La Paz