The Anti-desk

  

Tired of staring at that screen full of numbers? Deadlines coming and going, more coming than going? Try a week of adventure and spactacular scenery on New Zealand's South Island.





9.15pm Friday - fly from Los Angeles on Air New Zealand. Air New Zealand consistently wins awards for its flights across the Pacific. Enjoy good food, quality, award-winning New Zealand wines, and comfortable seats, with a screen in every seat showing over 100 on-demand movies, tv shows, video games and much more. All included in your fare. Even better, upgrade to Premium Economy for larger seats with added legroom, personal attention, premium wines and business-class like dining. In snowy Chicago? You can leave as late as 5pm and still be eating breakfast as you arrive in sunny Auckland.

12 hours later, after dinner, a movie, and a nights' sleep you are in Auckland, New Zealand. Due to the Dateline it's now Sunday, but you'll get that day back on your return. Fly to Queenstown on the South Island, the Adventure capital of New Zealand, in fact the whole Southern Hemisphere. Hit the ground running in Queenstown by wiping away the timezone on Bob's Peak wheeled luge course. After a practise run let your inner Olympian take over as you race down the twisting track. Afterwards enjoy dinner with breathtaking views from the restaurant, then return by cablecar to Queenstown and your lakeside accommodation, with views across the lake to the surrounding mountains.

Monday - you head out today for two of New Zealand's specialties - jet boating and glacier-fed rivers. You'll take a scenic drive to Glenorchy, where you board your jetboat for an exhilarating, high speed journey up river, through wide shallow sections and tight canyons. Zooming along at speeds up to 50mph, your driver will amaze you with his skills, from sliding past obstacles to pinpoint 360° spins. One second you're taking in amazing mountain and forest scenery on a glacier-fed river, the next you're spinning past overhanging rocks just inches away. After two hours of this mix of adrenalin and beauty you arrive at the end of the river part of your day. Now enjoy a hike through New Zealand rainforest, then return to Glenorchy by 4WD and back to Queenstown. It's only late afternoon, so join the locals and visitors on the wharf, first with some home-made ice-cream and chocolate, and then later with some good New Zealand beer or wine as you watch the sun set over the Remarkable Range.

Tuesday - A full energy day today, and we'll use some up. You are driven by 4WD up to 5400ft in the Dunstan Mountains – home to some of Central Otago’s most stunning rock formations with epic views. It's then time to turn downhil and start your ride. There's no trail, just a sheep trail and 4x4. This is fast, rocky and thrilling grade 4 single track riding with big descents, although there are some options around the more technical parts. Depending on skill and experience the descent will take between 2 and 3.5 hours. This is suitable for the adventurous to experience off-road mountain biker, and some have rated it as the best they have ridden. For those who are newer to mountain biking, there are similarly thrilling but less steep gravity descents, grades 2 to 3, and also some cross country rides. You'll be returned to Queenstown in the afternoon, ready for a couple of New Zealand Steinlagers or Tuis, and a hearty feast of New Zealand lamb. You've only been here for a little over 48 hours, but you've already used more muscles, and used up more adrenalin, than in six months checking those spreadsheets. Tonight might be the evening to take adavantage of one of Queenstown's spas for a massage - after all, you still have 5 days to go.

Wednesday - After the high-energy day yesterday this morning's activity needs less energy, but will have the adrenalin equally pumped. You'll be taken out to the Kawarau Bridge, where back in the eighties the idea of jumping off high places with glorified rubber bands around your ankles took off. You'll be hooked up to the famous bungee cords, given the count, and take off 140ft above the Kawarau River in, hopefully for your photos, a graceful swan dive. After collecting the photographic proof of your descent, and ascent, and descent, and ascent, and...., and even the T-shirt to prove it, you'll return to Queenstown. This afternoon you have a couple of options, perhaps fly fishing for trout, an afternoon of visiting some of the local wineries for tasting these up and coming cold-climate wines, or a round of golf on the nearby Championship course, host to the 2010 New Zealand Open.

Thursday -Milford Sound or Riding in Lord of the Rings country. Milford Sound, and the road to it, is considered one of the "must-do" journeys in the world. Today coach down to Te Anau, then continue up the twisting and scenic road, mountains and forest on each side, to Milford Sound. Board your boat for a two hour cruise featuring towering peaks, often mirror-still water, waterfalls and wildlife - dolphins and often penguins are seen. Return to Queenstown tonight by coach, or if weather permits a small-plane flight over Firodland National Park, the best way to appreciate the wilderness and wildness of this part of New Zealand. An alternative today is to return to Glenorchy to mount your trusty steeds to follow the trail of Saruman’s army as they departed Isengard on this epic 3 - 3½ hour ride. With breathtaking views of The Misty Mountains, Wizards Vale and the Mighty Methedras, the Trilogy Loop encompasses both the Rees and Dart River Valleys. There are several river crossings and magnificent views towards the head of Lake Wakatipu with plenty of opportunities for some faster paced riding. This is probably the most scenic horse ride in the world, and a must for The Lord of the Rings' fans.

Friday - Head north from Queenstown today and cross the Mt Aspiring Ranges via the Haast Pass. Continue up the remote west coast to the small village of Fox Glacier. Along the way take a hike in the rainforest of Mt Aspiring National Park, and spend time on a deserted beach. You're in an area so far away from the crowds that the road you came through the pass on has only been sealed since 1995. Once you leave Lake Wanaka there are are only four very small settlements along the way, and even Fox Glacier village has only 280 residents. To the west it's 3000 miles to Australia, with nothing in between. You'll have plenty of "head space" time today.

We should be counting up a bit here. So far you've luged down a twisting course, hiked the rainforest, spun 360° turns in a jetboat on a glacier-fed river, descended over 5000ft of sheep trails on a mountain bike, bungee-jumped off the original bridge, fly-fished for trophy sized trout, enjoyed world-class wines, fresh seafood and local lamb, stood open-jawed while surrounded by some of the most scenic mountains and forests imaginable, and walked deserted beaches with not a person, building or footprint or human sound to break the magic. You only left home 150 hours ago. And it isn't finished.

Saturday - this morning, equipped with sturdy leather boots and other equipment, you board the helicopter for your first flight over the pinnacles of the lower icefall of Fox Glacier. Here the ice is in constant motion. You then circle the upper icefall and Victoria Falls before landing. Your landing site on the ice is a remote and exceptionally beautiful part of the glacier. At this stage, your guide outfits you with crampons, specially designed for these ice conditions and you follow the ice steps cut by your guide as you explore the amazing formations and ice caves which are only seen here. Each departure is a true voyage of exploration; there are so many changing features that the guides always find something new. Return to Fox and continue north to Greymouth, a small town on the west coast, A little while before you arrive in Greumaouth is the small town of Hokitika, the home of many of New Zealand's best jade craftspeople, and a good place to stop to acquire some of this New Zealand specialty. Greymouth has a particularly nice pub with several microbrews on tap; the food's good too.

Sunday - one of New Zealand's most scenic drives is from Greymouth to Christchurch, over the spine of the South Island through Arthur's Pass National Park. This is your route this morning, on the start of your return after your Lifeback week. You'll arrive at the airport at 11.30am, and fly to Auckland for your flight home. Due to the Inernational Date Line you recover the day lost on the way out, arriving back in Los Angeles mid-morning this same day. From there take your flight back to your home city.

So that's your week - depart Friday night, return Sunday, a week packed with adventure, excitement, scenery, good food and wine, new friends, and a new sense of what life's about. Now you're ready for that computer screen again, but with your new screensaver of you leaping off the Kawarau Bridge, the week just won't go away.