A NERVOUS chill twitched through my body as the jumpmaster called my name. ''OK Dylan, you're next,'' he said beckoning me towards the edge. Summoning all my courage I shuffled forwards, desperately trying to look unfazed as I caught sight of the winding river 150 metres below me in the gorge.

''You ready?'' he asked attaching the bungee to my harness. ''Sure,'' came a voice from somewhere inside me. And that was it.

''Five, four, three, two, one, BUNGEE!''

The time had come, I had to do it - I jumped, screamed, fell and fell.

Eight seconds later - after falling 134 metres at more than 100mph - the bungee kicked in and I was flung back upwards. I screamed wildly in relief as my fellow jumpers cheered on from above. I was still alive!

Never again, I promised myself as I was hauled back up. But, inexplicably, terror addiction had set in since I arrived in New Zealand and I did it again the very next day.

Bungee jumping is one of a bewildering list of so-called adrenaline sports on offer in New Zealand. And if it's thrills you're after, then Queenstown - the world's self-proclaimed capital for adrenaline junkies - is definitely the place to go.

''If you can't do it here, it hasn't been invented,'' a local told me as I perused the list of options in the hotel reception.

Skydiving, heli-bungee, heli-mountain biking, heli-everything, jet boating, rafting - the list is endless.

Queenstown is the place where commercial bungee jumping began, when the legendary AJ Hackett opened the 43 metre Kawarau Bridge jump in 1988. Slowly, jumps have got higher and the technology more advanced.

With 30 different patent designs, the 134 metre Nevis Highwire - the scene of my greatest stupidity - is the highest jump operating in the area. It is the second highest in the world.

Designed to terrify, a gondola hangs from high-tension wires in the middle of a narrow gorge some 150 metres above a river. You get on to the gondola by climbing into a six-man metal basket which carries you across the precipice.

The gondola itself has a part-glass floor offering stomach-churning views of the river below. One side of the gondola, which sways sickeningly in the wind, is open and it is from here that you jump.

AJ Hackett operates three other bungee sites including the so-called ''swing'' option from a ledge 400 metres above the town.

It is anything but a soft option. I realised that as I plummeted towards the ground and swung over a cliff edge leaving my stomach way behind me.

But Queenstown is far more than a destination for the slightly insane.

Buried in New Zealand's southern alps alongside Lake Wakatipu, it is one of the country's most beautiful spots.

The town itself nestles in the shadow of the stunning Remarkables mountain range. In the winter the town becomes a haven for skiers while in the summer the lake becomes a hive of activity for young and old alike.

Many scenes from the Lord Of The Rings films were shot around here and arguably the best way to view them is by helicopter. We went on a white-knuckle 90-minute trip, putting down twice on mountain sides to look at the breathtaking views of the snow-capped peaks.

A more sedate way to see them is by four-wheel drive vehicle which effortlessly takes you off the beaten track. The rugged vehicles even take you up rivers and stop to allow you to pan for gold, which originally put the area on the map.

One of the most fun ways to get into the middle of nowhere is on jet boats which speed you through canyons and narrow waterways.

Although the top tourist destination on the south island, you never get the feeling it is over-crowded. The giant mountains and huge valleys easily offer a hideaway for those keen to get away from it all.

Queenstown itself has an array of cafes and shops, while the bars and restaurants come to life at night. The best restaurant we found was the stone-built Gantleys, which has one of the country's most celebrated wine lists and served arguably the tastiest roast lamb of my trip.

Queenstown was our final destination on a whistle-stop adrenaline tour of New Zealand which took in the country's major cities and some of its countryside.

We arrived in Auckland and headed straight to the top of the southern hemisphere's tallest building, the Sky Tower. Not satisfied with the views over the harbour, adrenaline junkies can jump off the observation deck attached to a wire and slide their way to the ground more than 300 metres below.

Despite a wonderfully comfortable 26-hour flight, this was a bit too much for us on our first day and we satisfied our adrenaline rush by merely walking over the observation deck's glass floor boards.

Auckland harbour bridge is also a focal point for adrenaline freaks with an AJ Hackett bungee jump and a bridge climb.

From Auckland we headed south to the Waitomo caves, home of New Zealand's famous glow-worms. Guided walks of the caves leave throughout the day, while the more daring can abseil into potholes and then ''blackwater raft'' through tunnels wearing wetsuits and headtorches.

We went for the more daring option and entered the cave system via a 40 metre abseil down a narrow hole. Once inside we trekked through some passages before jumping into the river and floating downstream on rubber rings. Turning our headtorches off, we were in complete darkness except from the light of hundreds and thousands of glow-worms stuck to the cave ceilings.

Our guide ''Lovely Lisa'' sang us gentle lullabies as we drifted along, mesmerised by the carpet of lights above us. After a blissful but chilly float, we clambered out of the cave system through a series of waterfalls and narrow potholes.

It couldn't all be adrenaline though and we spent a couple of days recuperating in the capital Wellington in its many cafes and restaurants. We then headed into the Wairarapa wine region and stayed in Martinborough where the vineyards are all conveniently within walking distance.

New Zealand makes some of the world's best Pinot Noirs and Sauvignon Blancs and we spent a very pleasant afternoon sampling Martinborough's delicious best.

On account of its size, Martinborough only produces a small percentage of the country's total wine output. However the town and its wine tasting centre are a must visit if you want to explore outside Wellington.

We spent the night in the the fantastic Martinborough Hotel with its individually themed rooms and mouth-watering restaurant menu.

The cast of the Lord Of The Rings stayed here while they were filming nearby. To the envy of my female friends, I stayed in the room used by Viggo Mortensen, who plays heart-throb Aragorn in the trilogy.

Heading back to Wellington, we flew to Queenstown for our adrenaline grand finale.

Until arriving in New Zealand, I'd never been one for huge rushes of adrenaline so when we touched down at Heathrow Airport I felt a real sense of relief that I was back home in one piece.

If you're ever going to do a bungee jump or indulge in adrenaline sports, New Zealand is definitely the place to do it.

Back in Blighty, armchair adrenaline sports are now more my cup of tea - just watching the video of my bungee jumps is enough to bring the terrifying memories flooding back.

TRAVELFACTS

* Dylan Dronfield travelled with Air New Zealand, which flies daily from London Heathrow via Los Angeles from £667 plus tax. Business class costs from an additional £475 per sector. Travel around New Zealand is available for between two and ten flights by South Pacific Airpass from £37 per flight. For Air New Zealand reservations call 0800 028 4149 or visit www.airnz.com

* For general destination information, call the Tourism New Zealand information line on 09050 606060 or visit www.newzealand.com

* Operators who plan individual New Zealand packages include: Bridge The World (0870 444 7474); Quest Travel (0870 442 3513); Travelbag (0870 890 1458); New Zealand Affair (0207 616 9195).