New Zealand is famous for adventure sports! Have you heard of Bungy Jumping?
It was made popular in New Zealand in 1988 by Mr AJ Hacket, who was inspired by people in Vanuatu, who would jump off of tall platforms with vines tied around their ankles as a test of courage.
AJ came back to New Zealand and invented the bungy rope with the help from some scientists in Auckland. AJ wanted to show his new bungy rope to the world. So he flew to France and snuck up the Eiffel Tower at night. The next morning he jumped off the Eiffel tower using his bungy rope. His crazy plan made people really excited to try this new adventure sport!
Nowadays there are many kinds of adventure sports in New Zealand. Another one is called the “Nevis Swing'' which is the world's biggest swing! When you ride it, you fall for 70 meters then swing for 300 meters! You can even ride this one together with a friend!
If you would like to watch a video on the bungy, please take a look at this YouTube video:
This time I will introduce to you some hiking / walking spots in the South Island of New Zealand.
If you like adventures, you can go on one of the many Great Walks through forests, parks, hills or mountains. There are short walks around 40 minutes or long hikes that can take from 2-5 days! There are all sorts of beautiful hiking trails for people of any level!
The first picture on this blog post is a picture from the top of the Rapaki Track on the Port Hills which is one of the most popular walks in Christchurch city. You can walk, run or mountain bike up this short 45-minute trail. From the top of this track, you can see the neighbouring town of Lyttleton.
The second picture is of another walking track near Christchurch called the “Big Tree Walk”. This walk goes through a native forest (a forest made of trees only found in New Zealand) where you can see gigantic Totara trees, this one is almost three meters across, and is thought to be about 1,000 years old.
〔編集委員〕
Let’s Introduce New Zealand!
更新日：2021年01月15日
Hello readers!
My name is Lee. I am the new ALT English teacher at Seijo Gakuen and I’m from New Zealand. I would like to tell you some interesting things about New Zealand.
You probably already know our national rugby team, the All Blacks, or that there is more sheep than people in New Zealand, but I would like to tell you some things that maybe you don't know!
New Zealand is one of the most southern countries in the world. It is known for being clean, green and beautiful. New Zealand is about the same size as Japan but only 4.8 million people live there (about ⅓ the population of Tokyo!). Since so few people live there, it is very easy to see the stars at night time. In a lot of places you can easily see the Milky Way with your own eyes!
You can also see the Southern Cross constellation which you can only see if you are in the southern hemisphere!
My name is Lee and I`m from Christchurch, New Zealand.
Christchurch is the third biggest city in New Zealand and is located in the South Island.
Let me tell you some famous things about New Zealand! New Zealand is famous for really delicious "flat white" coffee, "Whitakers" chocolate and fish & chips.
New Zealand is also famous for being a very beautiful and clean country. It is such a beautiful country that a lot of movies are filmed there! The Lord of the Rings movies and the new Disney's Mulan movie was filmed in New Zealand!
I come from a big family. I have two brothers and three sisters. I am the second eldest sibling. We also have two cats! Their names are Manny and Sid.
In my spare time I like to play board games with my friends, I like to go to cafes and I enjoy watching movies and Netflix. My favorite drink is bubble tea (タピオカティー). My favorite movie series are Star Wars, Avengers and Harry Potter. I also used to watch anime when I was in high school. My favorite anime were, Pokemon, Assassination Classroom (暗殺の教室), Naruto and Card Captor Sakura.
This is my fourth time coming to Japan, but my first time living in Japan. The last time I came to Japan, I rode the Shimanamikaido from Shikoku to Honshu across the Seto Inland Sea and I climbed Mt.Fuji! My favorite thing about Japanese culture is Kimono culture and all the beautiful temples and shrines. One day I would like to attend a tea ceremony and go watch a sumo wrestling show.
