Taking a shot in New Zealand

Bill and Pat Manning

Pat and Bill did the shot!

If you’re going to New Zealand, be sure to include the wild jet

boat ride on the Shotover River in Queenstown. Both of us say it’s a

thrill of a lifetime, and you will get wet as well. A Disney ride,

only for real. The driver of the high-powered, 12-passenger jet boat

executed 360-degree turns through narrow gorges with lots of close

calls but nary a scrape.

We met quite by chance several months after our spouses, Allen and

Kay, had passed away. Nowadays, many couples meet over the Internet

or at a Friday night drink at a local spot, but amazingly, Bill was

visiting a friend two houses from Pat’s.

We were married on Oct. 17. Bill picked the honeymoon places,

which included Fiji and Australia, as well as New Zealand.

After the boat ride, we followed it up immediately with a

spectacular helicopter ride through the Remarkables mountain range.

As it was a beautiful, clear day, you could see the merino sheep

grazing in the high altitude, as well as the snow-covered

mountaintops. The helicopter holds only four passengers and should be

booked ahead of time. The trip ended at the top of Bob’s Peak, high

above Queenstown.

Now what? A gondola ride to the bottom, but first a practice luge

run or bungee jump. We left that for the “young” newlyweds and opted

only for the gondola ride.

Because New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, it was spring

in October. Perfect time to visit. Lots of sun. The schoolchildren

are required to dress in long shirts and hats. Australia and New

Zealand have the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, and they

are waging a national campaign against it. Looking at the playground,

you didn’t see any children without their wide-brimmed hats tied

under their chins. How different for us, as many schools do not allow

hats or caps in the dress code.

“It is hard to get back to our local paradise, but I guess the

honeymoon is over,” Pat said. “At least for now.”

* Bill and Pat Manning are residents of Newport Beach.

* TRAVEL TALES runs on Thursdays. Have you, or someone you know,

gone on an interesting vacation? Tell us about your adventures in

about 400 words, accompanied by a couple of photos to choose from

that do not have the Daily Pilot in them, and send it all to Travel

Tales, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; by e-mail to

dailypilot@latimes.com; or by fax to (714) 966-4679.