New Zealand is famous for its adventure activities! It’s the land of picturesque hiking trails, home to several eighth-wonders of the world, and the place where bungy jumping began. (Though they really have Vanuatu to thank for that.) Here are all the coolest adventure things to do in New Zealand if you live for the thrill.
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Prices listed within the article are NZD, per person, adult rates.
Adventurous things to do in New Zealand — North Island
There are so many epic things to do in New Zealand that I’ve split the list into North and South Island sections to make it easier to browse. And always check BookMe for good deals. They often have 30% or more off top activities.
Glow Worm Caving/Abseiling/Ziplining
Where it is: Waitomo, North Island
Average price: $315
Where to book: Discover Waitomo
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: This activity is for experienced thrill-seekers only. It’s a pretty full on day, but you’ll see unique areas of the cave reserved for people adventurous enough to do what it takes to get there. It’s a little bit of everything, from climbing, canyoning, abseiling, and ziplining.
White Water Rafting
Where it is: Rotorua, North Island
Average price: $125
Where to book: Book Me, Get Your Guide, Kaituna Cascades
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: We loooooved the team here, everyone was so great and we had so much fun. Going over a 7-metre waterfall was pretty daunting, but now we can say we’ve plummeted down the highest commercially rafted falls in the world! Do prepare to paddle hard and fall out of the boat at least once.
At the time of writing, this was nearly 50% off through BookMe, so make sure you check so you can get the best price!
Blackwater Rafting (One of the coolest things to do in New Zealand!)
Where it is: Waitomo, North Island
Average price: $200
Where to book: Get Your Guide, BookMe, Discover Waitomo
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: Black water rafting is cool enough as it is, but the added bonus of getting to see glow worms while you adventure through the caves makes it even more incredible. There’s a similar experience on the South Island with Underworld Adventures. Do both and you can make it a twice in a lifetime activity?
River Sledging
Where it is: Rotorua, North Island
Average price: $130
Where to book: Get Your Guide, Book Me, Kaitiaki
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: Somewhere between swimming, kayaking, and rafting, you can go “sledging” down the Kaituna River for something a little different. So far, this is an experience you can only have in New Zealand!
Kayaking Among Bioluminescent Plankton
Where it is: Auckland, North Island
Average price: $110
Where to book: Get Your Guide
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: There are only a few countries in the world where you can see these! I encountered them for the first time on a midnight swim in Thailand… having no idea they existed so that was extra confusing. Since then I’ve learned they’re in other countries, including Cambodia, The Maldives, Jamaica, and of course, New Zealand. But New Zealand is the most beautiful country on earth, so this makes it more once-in-a-life-timey.
IMPORTANT: They’re only around from October to April. It’s kinda perfect because it’s too cold to kayak comfortably outside this window of time anyway. But if you’re looking for something to do in the winter, I’d suggest looking at the glowing cave worms rather than the glowing sea worms.
Zorbing
Where it is: Rotorua, North Island
Average price: $95 — 125
Where to book: Get Your Guide, Zorb Rotorua
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: Another made-in-New-Zealand activity, Zorbing lets you roll down a hill in an inflatable ball…. like a giant hamster.
Night Canyoning
Where it is: Auckland, North Island
Average price: $220
Where to book: AWOL Canyoning
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: You get to see one of Auckland’s most stunning black sand beaches and get off the beaten track into the depths of the Waitakere Ranges to explore the caves. Most caving activities run during the day, but this one gives you the option to go after the sun goes down for an even more daring adventure. It’s also not a super well-known activity, and you juuust might get lucky with a private tour at group tour prices if you go on a week day.
Visiting Hobbiton - one of the nerdiest things to do in New Zealand
Where it is: Matamata, North Island
Average price: $120 – $265
Where to book: Get Your Guide, Book Me, Hobbiton Tours
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: I mean, it’s the home of the Lord of the Rings! There are countless filming locations you can visit around the country, but this is kind of THE one. I’m not even a big LotR fan but the tour is great, and totally worth the (exorbitantly high) price tag.
Note: Prices/tours range based on whether you’re doing a self-drive and just need the entry ticket ($120) or want to hop on a tour from Rotorua ($260) or Auckland ($265).
Schweeb Racing
Where it is: Matamata, North Island
Average price: $55
Where to book: Velocity Valley, BookMe
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: It’s just weird. It only exists in Rotorua — they’re really creative down there, eh? Anyway, who doesn’t want to say they’ve been on “the only pedal powered monorail track in the world?” You can put that in your Tinder bio.
They have a bunch of other unique adventure rides/activities to try as well.
Epic things to do in New Zealand — South Island
Here are some bucket list things to do in New Zealand that you can take advantage of when visiting the lower half (three quarters?) of this beautiful country.
Glow Worm Cave Rafting — Underworld Adventures
Where it is: Greymouth/Charleston, South Island
Average price: $215
Where to book: Underworld Adventures
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: This is still one of my favourite things to do in New Zealand. We stumbled upon it on a short road trip in 2019 and decided to book a tour on a whim. I am SO happy we did, because the experience was incredible. It involved a lot of walking/stair climbing but we saw thousands of glow worms and the cave system is huge so it’s really fun to explore. It’s not along the typical tourist trail, and it’s a totally underrated activity!
Our guide even brought a waterproof camera so we didn’t have to carry one and took tons of pics of us along the way. She was the best.
Whale Watching From a Helicopter
Where it is: Kaikōura, South Island
Average price: $300
Where to book: BookMe, Kaikōura Helicopters
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: Two very cool things — helicopters and whales — mixed into one. You can get a unique perspective and watch whales rising to the surface and even breaching from a bird’s eye view. At the time of writing, this was on BookMe for half price!
Waterfall Climbing —Wildwire (One of my favourite things to do in New Zealand!)
Where it is: Wanaka, South Island
Average price: $200 – 650
Where to book: Get Your Guide, Wildwire
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: We did this for my birthday a couple years ago and I forced my cousin to do it when she visited, but she had the time of her life. The couple who own and operate it are Canadian/Kiwi and they’re just the best. If you’re not totally sure, just try Level 1 ($200) or go full on, like we did, and do Level 3 ($650) which includes a brief helicopter ride down from the top. Doing Level 3 means you’ll get to walk/climb directly below a waterfall and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.
Check out their new waterfall climb and canyoning activity, too. They were excited to be navigating this when we went and now it’s live! (Usually, $400, but at the time of writing it was $320 on Get Your Guide!)
Nevis Swing
Where it is: Queenstown, South Island
Average price: $280
Where to book: AJ Hackett Bungy
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: I personally haven’t done this, but a friend who did both said it was even scarier than bungy jumping! And if you never try, you’ll never know. You can also give the Nevis Catapult a try. You can sometimes get good deals for booking several activities as a bundle. It also makes it harder for you to back out from fear once you’ve spent all that money!
Bungy Jumping (Kawarau Bridge)
Where it is: Queenstown, South Island
Average price: $245
Where to book: AJ Hackett Bungy
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: The home is bungy jumping! This is where it all started. After the adventurous AJ Hackett went to Vanuatu and watched the men on Pentecost Island perform the N’gol ritual, he came home and said… “What if we did that, but for fun?” And now it’s a worldwide phenomenon. If you’ve never been bungy jumping before, this is the time and place to do it.
They also run combo specials with the Nevis Swing, Nevis Catapult, and other bungy places around the country.
Fly over Milford Sound
Where it is: Milford Sound, South Island
Average price: $500
Where to book: BookMe, Get Your Guide, Southern Alps Air
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: Seeing Milford Sound (often referred to as the 8th Wonder of the World) is already a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But seeing it from the sky? Breathtaking. Many people visit and take a cruise through the fjord — which you should also do — but the special experience of flying over is worth the hefty price tag.
You can find flights leaving from Queenstown, Te Anau, and Wanaka, and many include a stop so you can get on the cruise and see it from sea to sky.
Wild things to do in New Zealand — Multiple locations
Some experiences are easier to fit into your itinerary because you can do them all over the country! I’ve chosen the best locations for each activity below, but also list some other options. Guys, the kayaking in Kaikōura in particular is one of the best things to do in New Zealand. It was unreal.
Kayaking with Dolphins
Where it is: Kaikōura, South Island
Average price: $140
Where to book: Get Your Guide, Book Me, Kaikōura Kayaks
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: This was incredible and one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in New Zealand for sure, but I love an ethical animal activity. The dolphins came right up to our boat, did flips and tricks, and even challenged us to a little race (we lost). The whole thing was unreal. Yes, you can do this in other areas of the country as well. But we were kayaking with about 200 Dusky and Hector dolphins in Kaikōura — I’m not exaggerating.
You can also do this in Akaroa, Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, Dusky Sound, Abel Tasman National Park, Wellington, and the Bay of Islands, among many other places. But Kaikōura is the spot. If you prefer to go looking for seals, Kaikōura’s got that too.
Skydive
Where it is: Lake Taupō, South Island
Average price: $400
Where to book: Book Me, Get Your Guide, Taupō Tandem Skydive, Skydive New Zealand
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: Unless you become a complete adrenaline junkie and decide to make skydiving your career, you’ll probably only do this once. Prices vary significantly based on how high you want to jump from,
You can also do this in: Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown, Wanaka, The Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Franz Josef Glacier, Mt. Cook, and many more places around the country. But Lake Taupō is the spot. At the time of writing, it was 20% off on BookMe.
Glow Worm Cave Exploration - One of the essential things to do in New Zealand
A few glow worm tours/locations: Te Anau, Lake McLaren, Waitomo (the most famous and accessible caves)
Average price: $80 – $200
Where to book: Book Me, Get Your Guide, RealNZ
What makes it once-in-a-lifetime: Seeing glow worms is a must for anyone visiting New Zealand. They’re so weird and unique to the area, and there are so many ways to see them. From deep canyoning to casual family-friendly boat tours, you have no excuse!
You can also do self-guided walks for FREE: Caves like Waipu, Abbey, Whatipu are abundant with glow worms. Or go searching in the Wellington Botanical Gardens, Hokitika Glow Worm Dell, or Franz Josef Terrace Walk. Note the Abbey Caves are currently closed until at least March 2024, maybe longer.
An essential read for anyone visiting NZ! Great work.