12 firsts experienced in New Zealand

1st journey involving 2 consecutive flights longer than 10h each ✈
I expected the journey from Luxembourg to Auckland via Frankfurt and Bangkok to be worse but it was fine… a lot of entertainmenr and sleep on the plane helps that the flights don’t feel as long!

1st arrival in a place without my luggage 👕💱
My luggage was sent to Hanoi instead if Bangkok… not to recommend as an experience but in the end you have no other choice but to go out and buy some clothes. Forced shopping trip usually at the expense of the airline or your travel insurance! Making the best of the situation. 

1st night kayaking and sea kayaking in the Bay of Islands
Kayaking on the sea at night with no lights around was the most stunning experiences ever!!!! Kayaking under the shining stars and the milky way was already stunning but paddling in fluorescent water… there are no words to describe that experience!! (And no pictures either!!)

It was like having natural disco lights all around. 💫

Nature allowed us to enjoy a full mind-blowing phenomenon with glowing water and a stary sky in the middle of the ocean, among about 140 islands on the other end of the world… pure natural MAGIC of SERENDIPITY!!

1st time  fishing and target shooting  off a boat in the Bay of Islands 🐟🐠🐡🐚🐬🎣
Nothing too spectecular but worth putting on the list of firsts.

1st Haka dance experience and workshop in Waitangi and Rotorua
We were lucky to be on the Waitangi grouds for Waitangi day Feb 4th and got to experience Maori culture, musoc and arts on the beach and on the museum grounds.
Once arrived in Rotorua we learned about Maori culture and learned how to dance the Haka.

1st time inside the glowworm-lit cave in Waitomo
Beautiful walk and boat trip through the caves lit by glowworms. It felt a little like on a disney ride… such a breath-taking natural occurance.

1st sighting of a Kiwi in Franz Joseph
As Kiwis are rare and nocturnal they can only be seen in kiwi experience centres, it was interesting to see but not spectecylar. An interesting fact: Kiwi birds have the biggest egg to bird ratio… the egg takes up abou 2/3 of their body.

1st Hang-glide in Abel Tasman
The first time being in a flying object and actually feeling like flying. Amazing feeling with closed eyes and arms streched out.

1st Canyon Swing in Queenstown
The highest cliff jump in the world.
An insane experience sliding down into a 109m canyon… 60m of freefall and 200m of swing. Screamed as of I was being slaughtered but it was an amzing view once in the swing!

1st Jetboat experience in Queenstown
Some more excitement on the jetboat the morning after thr canyon swing was our jetboat ride through the narrow canyons od the shotover river and it 360°spins! Of course not as thrilling but totally worth it.

1st Curling experience in Wedderburn
Soooo much fun… I really didn’t expect it to be so much fun doing that hilarious sport. After all the instructions during which there was a lot of laughter and mocking we found out that curling is not as easy as it looks and it is a lot of fun… despite all the preconceived ideas! 😉

1st time spending a night in prison
In Christchurch we stayed in a jail converted into a hostel in 1999. Very exciting at first but still a little spooky as the came about and the rooms were badly ventilated.