My top 10 bucket list activities

Hi Guys, welcome to my top 10 bucket list activities.

If you read my last post My top 10 bucket list destinations you will already know that I decided to have 2 bucket lists rather than 1 and am sharing my top 10 destinations along with my top 10 bucket list activities.

I must admit I have already done a couple of these but as they were so long ago they made it back to the bucket list, I hope you enjoy!

If you get a moment comment with your own top 10 bucket list activities and see if you can get me to change my top 10! ha ha

Heli-Hike

This just had to be top of my top 10 bucket list activities.

When I first visited New Zealand I toured about for a month, some in a camper van and some by car, I covered the North and South Island and saw loads of the stuff that I wanted to see and some.

One thing I was desperate to do was get to Frans Joseph and take the Heli-Hike to the top o the glacier so that I could explore the beautiful mountain and take in that fresh air and walk through the awe-inspiring the ice tunnels.

I got to Frans Joseph, booked the tour and waited.

Being on the west coast the weather is quite unpredictable and there is a lot of rain! You could say that it is more likely than not that you wont get to take Helicopter up the mountain.

Believe me I tried, you could do a full or half day hike but you would never reach the heights needed to see what I Wanted to see. Add the fact that I really want to get in a Helicopter and you will see why I waited for 3-4 nights to try and get up there.

You have to check in the morning to see if the conditions are acceptable. 3 days checked and each a no go, gutted. That night we went to the local and had several beers, the tour operators were there and we got on like a house on fire, they offered a free full day walking tour the next day as we had waited so patiently.

Here is the catch; the full day hike leaves before you get to confirm whether the helicopter is able to fly.

The beers and the desire to take the Helicopter took over and when the morning came it was day 4 and another no go on the flight. We also missed the start of the free hike we were offered so we left with out tails between our legs.

I went back to New Zealand Jan 2016 all keen to complete my Heli-hike and tick it off of my top 10 bucket list activities only to be thwarted by the weather once more.

Yes it was summer time and should have been viable but there was a storm off the coast which meant it was another no-go. At least I got to go to Lake Tekapo instead!

My Heli-hike is still on my top 10 bucket list activities and it looks like it will be for a while to come.

Scuba Diving

Ok so I have done Scuba diving once, in a pool and for about half hour. Pretty pointless stuff and only a tiny taster of what it could be like.

I have been snorkelling quite a lot and seen some amazing sites, most notably around the Whitsunday Islands in Australia.

As most of you probably can I was able to get quite deep and close ish to the reef, I was able to follow fish and have shoals of fish follow me but I was limited by my breath.

Scuba diving has to be on my top 10 bucket list activities as I missed it in Australia, I missed it in Malaysia as I had the shits due to malaria tablets and I always promised myself I would get my training and do a PADI dive cert.

Sadly I never have…YET!

Ski doo

Ah man! how much fun do these look??

I go Snowboarding most years, only for a week (yes I do wish it was longer than that) but I have never had a go on one of these things.

They look awesome, fast, responsive, powerful but they must be so much FUN!

A go on one of these devices must be a real treat, I would be buzzing at the trill of riding one, anyone done this already? is it worth it?

Should it remain on my top 10 bucket list activities? for me its a hell yeah..

Whitewater rafting

Whitewater rafting is one of those activities I have done before, it was years ago in the Pyrenees mountains of France.

Yeah the water is bloody cold, the arse may be twitching a little when you realise how powerful the water can be while you have an instructor telling you all about the potential dangers and past experiences but what fun.

The roaring river is a great place to take an inflatable boat. You put on your wet-suit and life jacket, you grab hold of your own paddle and put your helmet on and you are good to go.

Don’t get me wrong you really do have to put in plenty of effort if the river is challenging but my god you you get a lot out of it too.

We all know that at some point the instructor is going to sabotage your journey and you will fall out of the boat and get wet but it is usually in the safer parts of the river not as you are approaching an Eddie.

The fun part is attempting to get the team working together to guide the boat through the hazardous rapids without too many issues, there are times you get thrown about and have to hang on in there but that really adds to the experience.

Get out there get it done and until then keep it in my top 10 bucket list activities.

If you are in NZ or AUS check out our travelshop and book yourself a tour, you will not be disappointed.

Skydive

This is another one of those activities that I have already completed before.

It remains on my top 10 bucket list activities for a number of reasons really.

Firstly it has to be said; what an amazing experience this really is.

Nothing can prepare you for that really random feeling you get when preparing to jump out of a perfectly good plane.

This experience is not really for the feint hearted but I felt relatively relaxed which came as a surprise to me.

A few weeks before I had completed my first bungee jump, I was petrified until I had jumped than had a great time what a rush!

The main difference between bungee and a skydive is that with a bungee you can see the floor with a skydive you cant. I think this has some kind of effect on the way your brain processes fear and for some reason it is so peaceful in the air.

The other good thing for me was that I opted to do a tandem skydive which meant I dint have to jump or concentrate as much on a landing… sweet!

I got it all on camera/video so I can check out my jump when I like but it was such a surreal experience it is just one of those that needs to be done again hence the listing on my top 10 bucket list activities.

The other point with skydiving is that the view you get is truly amazing, not something you get to see very often and this means that if you vary where you jump you get to see the world from a whole new perspective each time.

Think of how many places would look unbelievable from the air and that is how many jumps you could potentially do!

Experiencebackpacking also offer skydiving packages so if you are in NZ or AUS check out our travelshop and book yourself a jump, you will not be disappointed.

Inca Trail

This one has been on my top 10 bucket list activities for ages.

The Inca trail in Peru takes you on one hell of an adventure hiking through the rain forest and the mountains.

I wanted to hike the trial over around 10 days so you really earn the grand finale when you arrive at Machu Pichu for sunset over some of the Inca’s most iconic ruins.

The trail itself is supposed to be really tough, you would have to put up with some altitude issues along with the uncomfortable heat and telling conditions, cuts, grazes, bruises and blisters.

It may be tough but it is ultimately hugely rewarding and if you are able to achieve the goal it would be some sense of accomplishment.

If you are into meeting people and building life changing, team bonding and friends for life sharing this kind of experience with a group would tick all the boxes and would be highly satisfying.

Alternatively you could shrink the trekking time down which i could fully accept or catch a bus and meet all the tourists!

I know what I would prefer through.

That mental road in the sea

I have seen this before but until now didn’t really know where it was or what it was.

We have all seen the pics I guess, a long windy road that crosses the ocean but is it even real?

The answer is YES, I really want to take a drive along this road as I think it would be pretty mad driving that far over the sea.

Qingdao Hiwan in China is actually classified as a bridge and would you believe it happens to be the worlds longest bridge over water at 26.4 miles.

Driving is not my favourite past time but then this is quite an unusual drive and will probably only take half hour.

This could easily be combined with some other stuff in China as there is loads to see and do there but something different.

If not here then there is a really awesome looking road over the sea in Norway!

It is only short in comparison and is more like an island hopping road but that said it does look like a beautiful drive over a treacherous section of the Atlantic ocean.

Ocean drives, who would have thought that would make my top 10 bucket list activities.

Hang Gliding

This was an unexpected entry to my top 10 bucket list activities because until I started thinking about my list this wasn’t there.

I have a huge respect to people who do things like this.

For me this has to be one scary experience and because of that it means that it would be breathtaking, exhilarating and assuming you survive one truly fantastic experience.

Floating about in the sky as if you are a bird while being strapped to what is essentially a kite would be crazy!

It must be thrilling once you realise that the equipment actually supports you, that the person guiding the hang glider actually does know what they are doing and that you re relatively safe.

Hang gliding would give you something really different to experience. Not only is it unusual, as an activity it demands respect and demonstrates the amazing things the human race can achieve if we build robust equipment we can literally put our lives it the hands of.

I think i would be really freaked out by this one but think once up there, soaking in the scenery and gliding around would be massively rewarding.

Stay in an Ice hotel

I think this can just about be classed as a top 10 bucket list activity as at while it is simply staying a night somewhere it is somewhere pretty unique.

As you can imagine an ice hotel is only available at certain times of the year due to the required conditions ie temperature, snow.

Whouldn’t it be cool if you were able to help with the construction?

Ok, so I am possibly clutching at straws there but staying in one would be an option albeit a very expensive one.

The ice hotel features a collection of hotel rooms formed by sculpted ice carved into a beautiful fantasy room.

There are loads of different types of ice hotel.

Some look like an igloo buried into the ground with a glass dome roof allowing you to soak up all the stars of the night sky and some look like they have been completely sculptured into a crazy design.

I am sure some of the internal features will be glass but would have thought a lot would also be light, either way they are a tranquil looking place and generally come with mood lighting and a comfy looking bed.

Lets just hope it is warm enough in there! ha ha

Sand-Boarding

Sand-boarding looks like awesome fun!

I had my first opportunity to try this in New Zealand in 2005, before then I didn’t even know you could “sand board” but alas I didn’t take that opportunity.

This makes me a little sad now and I really wish I did have a go at the time hence why it falls into my top 10 bucket list activities.

I love snowboarding and go each year so when I look at it sand boarding looks equally entertaining.

Taking a board to the sand just doesn’t sound like something that would be “the norm” but when you think about it if you strap a board to your feet that is designed for the surface then why not.

The sand is going to move nicely under the board and i think the steering and sliding must be similar to snowboarding so why not have a go.

I am guessing that if you are kitted up properly even if you fall over it will be ok as it is sand so you are going to slide on what I would expect to be a reasonably soft and forgiving surface.

If you have a few goes and get good at it, it is going to be pretty fast and fun plus you get to hang out on the sand dunes.

Sounds like a win win to me and well worth a go!