I went paragliding over New Zealand

Queenstown New Zealand

When I first arrived in Queenstown, I understood immediately why people from all over the world come here

to push their limits. The town sits cradled between Lake Wakatipu and towering mountains that rise dramatically from the water itself. The Remarkables jut up like jagged teeth against the sky, and the lake below glows this impossible blue. It’s not a city of high-rises and concrete - it’s intimate, low-key, but surrounded by this wild, untamed landscape that practically dares you to do something extreme.

Everywhere I looked, I saw people jet boating, paragliding, and ziplining. The energy was infectious. But I wasn’t there just to watch. I was there to actually experience it, disability and all.

The first adventure was the luge. Getting up that mountain on the Skyline Gondola was accessible, sure, but riding the actual luge down required something different. It meant stepping out of what felt safe and comfortable. The team there didn’t just accommodate me, they went the extra mile, figured out how to make it work with my body, my needs. It took effort from both of us, but that’s when something clicked. The ride down was exhilarating, the wind, the speed, the mountains blurring past. 

But the paragliding - that was transcendent.

Sitting at the launch point, I was about to be lifted into the air with nothing but fabric and thermal currents keeping me aloft. No engine. No safety net beyond my pilot. As we lifted off, the world fell away. Lake Wakatipu spread below me like liquid sapphire, the mountains becoming something I was finally equal to, floating at their level. I wasn’t watching the view anymore - I was in it, part of it.

For the first time in days, I wasn’t thinking about my disability or what I couldn’t do. I was just flying. And in that moment, I realized something crucial: yes, I’m disabled, exactly like you might be. But that doesn’t mean the extreme is off limits. It means you might need to work harder, ask for more support, and push past discomfort. It means finding people who believe it’s possible, too. But if you’re willing to take that step, the world - even the sky - opens up.