Bungee Bobbing. The Sky Screamer hurtles two or three passengers 160m in 1min. and then lets them bob up and down for another 5min. (At the corner of Victoria and Albert St. ☎0800 932 8649. Open daily M-Th 9am-10pm, F-Sa 9am-2am, Su 10am-10pm. $40, 2 riders min.) For a higher thrill, the Sky Jump is a controlled 192m base jump off the top of the Sky Tower. (☎0800 759 586; www.skyjump.co.nz. Open daily 10am-5:30pm. $195, students and backpackers $175, children $145.)
Wheeling. Auckland Adventures leads full-day area cycling tours, some of which include several hours of mountain biking. (☎379 4545 or 025 855 856; www.aucklandadventures.co.nz. $120). Adventure Cycles rents mountain bikes and touring bikes . 4 Track Adventures guides ATV “safaris” through Woodhill Forest and nearby beaches. (30min. north of the city. ☎420 8104 or 0800 487 225. Motorbike safaris $135 per 1hr., $195 per 2hr., $235 per 3hr., $40 pickup available in Central Auckland.)
Climbing. Clip and Climb is the first indoor climb center in New Zealand. (610 Dominion Rd., in Balmoral. Take any #25 or 26 bus from Queen St. near St. James. ☎630 5522; www.theroxx.co.nz. Open daily 10am-10pm. Climbs start at $20, children $15.) If the call of the outdoors stirs your blood, however, try Vertigo. The 1hr. climb up the inside of the Sky Tower ends at the highest view of Auckland, a heart-stopping 270m above ground. (☎368 1917; www.4vertigo.com.)
Skydiving. Skydive Auckland offers tandem jumps from 12,000 ft. (590 Koheroa Rd., in Mercer, 25min. south of the city. Free round-trip shuttle. ☎373 5778 or 0800 865 867; www.skydiveauckland.com. $250, students $240.)
Canyoning. AWOL Adventures leads 7hr. tours that explore the canyons around Piha. Night trips available. (☎834 0501 or 0800 462 965. $145 per person.) Canyonz runs full-day trips into the Blue Canyons. (☎0800 422 696 or 025 294 7724; www.canyonz.co.nz. $175-200 per person.) Both companies include free pickup.
Kayaking. Outdoor Discoveries leads full-day trips to Rangitoto Island , as well as an evening excursion to Brown’s Island. (☎813 3399; www.nzkayak.co.nz. Rangitoto $95; Brown’s Island $95, with barbeque $125.) The Little Adventure Company runs guided tours in the Auckland Harbour and Hauraki Gulf. (☎0508 529 257 or 021 631 376; Half-day $55, full-day $80. Open Jan.-May.) Fit romantics might want to head to Ferg’s Kayaks for a moonlight kayak trip to Rangitoto Island. Ferg also rents in-line skates. ( 12 Tamaki Dr. ☎529 2230. In-line skates $15 per hr., $30 per day. Kayaks from $10 per hr. Kayak trips $95. Bookings are essential. Open M-F 9am-8pm, Sa-Su 8am-8pm; in winter M-F 9am-6pm, Sa-Su 8am-6pm.)
Sailing. Designed to sail in the 1995 America’s Cup (but not finished in time), the NZL 40, operated by SailNZ, now makes several outings daily, as does the NZL 41. (☎0800 724 569. 2hr. tour $135 per person, 3hr. “match race” between the 2 boats $195.) LOGAN Ponsonby Sailing School conducts dinghy-sailing courses primarily on weekends. (☎376 0245; www.pcc.org.nz. 23hr. of lessons $185.)
Dolphins. In conjunction with ongoing research projects, Dolphin and Whale Safari runs daily day and evening trips from Pier 3 through the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. (}/fax 357 6032; www.dolphinexplorer.com. 4-5hr. $105, under 10 $65.)
Hiking. The Coast to Coast Walk starts at the Ferry Building and travels through the city from Waitemata Harbour to Onehunga Beach, home to the first European settlements in Auckland. It passes the Auckland Domain, Mt. Eden Domain, and One Tree Hill on the way. The path is marked each kilometer by blue and yellow signs. (16km, 4-6hr.)
Viticulture. Aotearoa Van Coach Tours conducts half-day and full-day trips to three or four of the Auckland-area wineries. (☎834 5363 or 025 212 3032. $89-155, depending on the type of trip and group size.) Auckland Wine Trail Tours also offers trips to four vineyards as well as full-day tours that visit six. (☎630 1540 or 027 227 4924; www.winetrailtours.co.nz. Half-day $95, full day $175-225.)
Parasailing. Flying Kiwi Parasail has just recently brought its popular aerial experience down from Paihia. Float up 800 ft. for a completely unique view of the city; eye-to-eye with the Sky Tower. (☎402 6078; www.parasail-nz.co.nz. $70-85.)
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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