Authentic Living is all about checking off those items on our bucket list and living a fulfilled life. Each person has a bucket list or life list that represents a portion of who they are and is uniquely them. Our authentic living pieces are all about completing these objectives and living in a way that is authentically us, encouraging people to do the same.

When we left for New Zealand we knew we had to do three things, live and travel
in a van, visit Milford Sound, and Go Zorbing in Rotorua.

Are you sitting there thinking, What on earth is Zorbing and why would I want to go zorbing?

Well, the best and easiest way to explain it is by comparing it to a gerbil ball. Because in all honestly, that’s exactly what it is. It’s a gerbil ball made for humans that gets rolled down a hill. It’s been on our bucket list for quite some time so when we planned our trip to New Zealand we were more than excited to head to Rotorua and go zorbing. Why should you go zorbing? Because it’s an intensely unique experience and is more fun than probably anything else we have ever done. There are not many places in the world where this ‘sport’ (can we say that?) exists.

Why did we decide to go zorbing in Rotorua specifically? Two reasons:

1) That’s where zorbing was invented

and

2) It remains one of the best places in the world to do it!

Rotorua’s OGO is the birth company of the activity (sport?), so that’s the company we ultimately decided on. It wasn’t overly expensive in comparison to some of the other touristy attractions and activities in the country. It only cost us around $80NZD each for two rides. Now, let it be known that $80 for a more ‘extreme’ activity is actually really cheap in New Zealand. Most activities on average would cost you at least $200. This was really the only activity we paid a decent amount of money for the entire time we spent there. Not that we are cheap or anything, we just don’t believe in paying copious amounts of money on activities unless there is no free option or it’s on our bucket lists.

OGO offered us two options for tracks, a straight and a zig zag track. If we are going to go zorbing we are going to pick the most intense track…

amright?

So naturally the only choice was the zig zag track, which was 100% worth it. We threw on our bathing suits (which are required since they do add water into the zorb to avoid friction) and hoped into their SUV’s that took us to the top. When we arrived at the top they began pouring a small amount of water to the bottom of our zorb. Then it was time for us to jump in! Due to the water on the bottom you have to dive into the opening of the ball as it sits upright.

This is the part that no one tells you about, the whole ‘diving into the ball thing’. Not sure why we thought we would enter the ball in any other way but alas we did. But, Andy managed to make it look ridiculously easy as he effortlessly dove into the center of the ball (I later found out he had taken years of diving lessons, go figure). So I thought to myself, ‘damn that doesn’t look too bad at all, I can do this!’

In reality, I got beached like a whale. With my ass sticking out and my arms reaching for anything that would help me pull myself into the ball.

I quickly managed to wiggle my way in as fast as possible to avoid looking too stupid. It was a bit late for that though as andy was already laughing at me…

Once we both finally managed to get inside the ball the demon hole we dove through was zipped up.

That’s when the magic happens.

Don’t mind our watery looks, we know they aren’t fabulous!

You can see from our clip that the hole into the center of the ball is NOT that big so at least I have an excuse for getting stuck. It did hurt quite a bit sliding over top of that zipper though so expect a couple scratches! If you go with a partner (you can have up to four if we remember correctly) just know that you will slide all over each other and get tangled up. But that’s part of the fun! None the less it’s seriously the time of your life as you slosh back and forth uncontrollably.

Once at the bottom of the hill they rotate the hole so it’s facing the ground and you have to slide out of it. It does feel a bit like you’re being birthed by the ball as the water splashes out too we won’t lie.

One more item checked off our list as we continue our authentic living conquest.

If you ever find yourself in Rotorua, go zorbing! It’s an incredible experience and like we mentioned intensly unique. Even if you are somewhere else in the world and have the chance to go zorbing, do it! We promise you won’t regret it!

It also makes a great story for when you get home, people always love hearing about our zorbing experience. It’s a unique sport (?) that not very many people get to try, so why not add it to your bucket list and try to mark it as complete!

Ever been zorbing and had an experience like us?
Tell us about it in the comments!

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