Cherlyn Chong
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Cron street ▷
Skydive Franz
2.5/5
I am probably the first person to give this rating, but this is my honest review.
I read all the positive reviews and was very excited to go on this, trusting the professionals to give me an awesome epic first skydive experience.
I paid quite a sum for the 18,000ft skydive + video + photos, and they suited and strapped us up and told us how to get in position for the jump. But not once did they tell us what to expect nor any safety briefing nor anything that could potentially happen.
We were quickly interviewed and taken up. Once my skydive master jumped, I got such a shock. My ears hurt SO badly, and all the saliva in my mouth dried up due to the wind. Despite how happy I looked in my video (it's all for the camera), I was in such discomfort and surprise that I hardly noticed the scenery, all I remember seeing was a lot of greenery and clouds.
My friend and I brought this up to them, and it felt like the guys at the counter were just giving us excuses after excuses! The worst being that 1 in 100 people who jumped experienced pain, and that airlines do not tell their passengers to equalise their ears either. Almost everyone (6ppl) in our group experienced ear pain, and 3 of them got a better experience because I told them about mine. When you are freefalling THAT fast and you have NO CLUE at all if anything you do is safe, you just don't think to do much. Definitely not like in an aircraft where you are calm and can very easily get an air stewardess!
I have a feeling that people think that this experience is supposed to be so epic that they just don't bring this up or can't be bothered to. The Taiwanese girls I jumped with certainly wouldn't.
It's like this company just wants to hustle tourists in and out and get their money in as fast as possible without regard for their comfort or experience.
Thanks for your feedback. It is unfortunate that your experience was not as enjoyable as you expected.
We felt that we acknowledged your concerns on the day and informed you we would consider your feedback. Though we could not promise to implement any new procedures as you suggested without discussion or consideration. We have since amended our procedure to ensure it is now even more clear than it was before that customers that are aware they have sensitive ears must inform us of this prior to their jump. The valsalva manoeuvre is also now a included in our briefing for all customers.
All customers are briefed on what is expected of them during the skydive. The tandem passenger's role is intentionally kept simple. The main reason for this is because sensory-overload is common in skydiving. Giving too much information to an inexperienced tandem passenger actually increases the chance of disorientation. With this there is and increased chance of the customer doing something to put both themselves and their tandem master at risk. Over learning also reduces the customers chances of enjoying the scenery and the sensations associated with the activity. Keeping the passengers role simple means they can enjoy the ride, the scenery and the sensations knowing their highly experienced and qualified tandem master is in control of the descent and any circumstances that may occur.
While pressure build-up in the inner ear and sinus cavity is normal, and slight discomfort can occur, pain the next day and immediately after exit is not. It seems you may have unknowingly had an ear infection at the time. If your discomfort continued we suggest you visit a doctor to check it out.
We love what we do and are proud to offer this amazing experience to people from all over the world. We've been rated New Zealand's Best Skydive based on customers' reviews, so we take on board you comments and appreciate your feedback.
We hope you enjoy the remainder of your visit to New Zealand.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
AJ Hackett Bungy
5.0/5
I backed out about 3 times like a chicken and am so grateful for the prep talk given by one of the guys at the bungee site because I finally jumped and oh boy, SUCH a sense of achievement!
Only thing to complain about is that the DVD and photo package is a little expensive but hey that's Queenstown for you.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Queenstown Rafting
3.5/5
I did the white water rafting down the Shotover river.
I am giving a 7 for the awesome heli ride and the guide who was fun, but like others have mentioned, the rapids were spread out and so a lot of time was spent just floating down, which was quite boring. The scenery was lovely but I would have liked a lot more thrill. It's less worth it to come during the summer because as the guide mentioned the river waters run low and you don't get as much out of the experience.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Pure Glenorchy Scenic LOTR Tours
4.5/5
Very good!
Mark is a great guide and very pleasant to be with. It was only me and another girl, so we got plenty of one-on-one time and he was able to answer all of our questions very thoroughly and was interested in our other LOTR travels around NZ. Would love to have seen more locations though!
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South Island ▷ Kaikoura Region ▷ Kaikoura ▷
Whale Watch Kaikoura
5.0/5
One of the best tours I've been on so far in NZ!
We saw two different types of sperm whale and got up close to some very playful dusky dolphins. The presentations were such a lovely surprise, very high in quality with a LOT of useful info. Safety and customer satisfaction were very important to them, you could tell. Highly recommended!
Kia Ora Cherlyn, thanks so much for your feedback, it sounds like you had a great time on your tour which is wonderful. Isn't it such a treat to be able to view so much diversity of marine life in such a short period of time - Kaikoura truly is a special place! Thanks again.