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6 • Touchline • Issue 16
the claustrophobic, these caves often contain
the snaking path of an underground river.
This allows rafting and even deep water cave
diving (or spelunking). Glow worms light up
the cave with eerie phosphorescent light, while
stalactites and stalagmites create other-worldly
views.
Glacier walking: might not seem dangerous
compared with some of the other sports on
offer in New Zealand, but recently there has
been a spate of deaths. The Franz Josef Glacier
is one of the world’s most accessible glaciers,
and has the distinction of being on the move. It
can travel up to 70cm per day. Significantly, this
makes it quite unstable. While New Zealand’s
strict safety regulations mean the tracks are
tightly monitored, in 2009 two Australians left
the path. Ashish and brother Akshay Miranda
were crushed under roughly 100 tonnes of
ice and rubble when a section of the ice wall
collapsed. It is reported that some of the ice
blocks were as big as a car. The message to
others: stay on the path.
Zorbing: Much safer is the sport of zorbing,
which was invented in the famous thermal town
of Rotorua. Inspired by hamsters placed in a ball,
this sport simply blew up the ball and replaced
the rodents with people. Harnesses keep things
nice and safe inside, but the thrill of rolling
down a hill inside a giant beach ball is enough
to get the pulse rate hammering.
Ice Climbing: while the name is not particularly
imaginative, it is very descriptive. Modelled
on rock climbing, New Zealand’s abundance
of precipitous ice formations mean there are
plenty of venues on which to haul you body up
and over. The equipment is specialized for the
ice, but the main items you’ll need are crampons
for the feet and picks for the hands. Ice climbing
runs the full gauntlet of climbing: abseiling,
belaying and tying in. But ice is a slippery
substance, and is not to be trusted. . .
New Zealand provides year round opportunities
to scare yourself witless and make you question
your mortality. Done is some of the world’s
safest conditions, among some of the world’s
most beautiful views, there is no end in sight to
the New Zealand extreme sport love in.
CREEKING
A form of kayaking which sends the craft off sheer drops. The
potential for landing on a rock is pretty high.
BASE JUMPING
This sport involves jumping with a parachute from a comparatively
short height. Any failure to open the parachute in time ends with
certain death. There are only about 400 base jumpers in the world:
there is one death for every 2,317 jumps.
TOW-IN SURFING
For years surfers looked on in frustration as the world’s biggest
waves pounded the surf and they were not able to swim out to
them. Today, surfers can be dropped onto the waves by air. Leaving
the slight problem of being dashed on reefs or held under by the
monster waves.
FREE SOLOING
Is rock climbing without any equipment. Enough said.
WINGSUIT DIVING
Perhaps modelled on the Sugar Glider, this sport sees the diver
don a suit that has material stretched between wrists and ankles.
ICE-CLIMBING
Packed with all the danger of rock climbing, this sport requires a
faster ascent to offset the chances of freezing on the ice.
VOLCANO SURFING:
A relatively new sport, which has the enthusiast sliding down a
volcano on a wooden board. Crazy.
CAVE DIVING:
Poor visibility, possible equipment failure and unpredictable
currents can make this a risky pastime.
HIGHLINING
Tightrope walking across gorges. Yikes.
KITE SKIING:
Imagine barrelling down a ski slope. Now imagine you are attached
to a large kite, pulling you still faster. Extreme.
WORLD’S
MOST
DANGEROUS
EXTREME SPORTS
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