The reason for our early start was because we'd had confirmation that for the first time in a week, the weather was going to be perfect for doing a skydive – crisp and clear. Now as most of you will know, I am not the most dare-devil of souls, but skydiving is something that has always been on my bucket list. That said, as we arrived at the airfield my nerves started to get the better of me, and I turned very white as the reality of what we were about to do started to hit me. Just as well really that we were almost immediately strapped into our rather fetching patchwork clown suits and goofy hats. Before I really had time to register what was happening, we were cl ambering into the plane and taking off.

It took an age to climb to 12,000 feet. But the view was just spectacular – we flew over Fox Glacier, with the Fox River increasingly far below us. It also gave James time to take lots of pictures of me looking sick with fear. And then all of a sudden, the hatch was open, and James was being launched feet first out of the plane. I followed quickly after – since this was a tandem skydive, and you're strapped to your instructor, you actually have very little involvement in the jumping itself. Left to my own devices at that point I'd probably have been cowering in the corner of the plane, refusing to move.

One second I was dangling precariously out of the open door, the next we'd jumped and were falling through the air, experiencing some 45 seconds of free-fall. After my initial internal monologue: “What the hell are you doing?! You've just JUMPED voluntarily out of a plane, you idiot!” I a) remembered to breathe and b) started to enjoy myself. Especially once my instructor pulled the parachute cord and it opened. Relief!

For me, the best bit was the parachuting. The view below was incredible: a 360 degree panorama. We were surrounded by the enormous Fox Glacier, the local rainforest, the mountains and, behind us, the Tasman sea. And it was nice and slow after the rush of free-fall! James was busy being told which photos of himself to take by his instructor: “Now one of your feet.....now one looking back up at yourself.” All too quickly it was time to come in to land (me a little before James because spinning around to admire the view had made me slightly queasy!). I concentrated very hard on keeping my knees tucked into my chest as per my briefing instructions to avoid any nasty broken bones or twisted ankles, which apparently is one of the most common skydiving injuries. And then I was on the ground, hyperventilating and laughing simultaneously as the adrenalin flooded out of my system.

45 minutes after arriving, we were back on the road, driving the short distance to Franz Josef ready for the afternoon's activity – a walk on Franz Josef Glacier. We just had time to grab a quick lunch in the interim, during which we did little other than grin at each other occasionally and say “we just did a skydive!!”

Our 'tour' of the glacier was with Franz Josef Glacier Guides, who make you feel like you're going on a proper adventure to the Antarctic or something – there is a lot of kitting up involved. We were given extra jackets, trousers, socks, heavy-duty walking boots and crampons, these last carried in a stylish red bumbag. Once everyone in the group was ready, it was a short bus ride to the glacier itself.

Franz Josef was 'discovered' in 1903, at which point it was a lot bigger than it is now. Glaciers apparently ebb and flow over time as the ice melts and new ice forms, although overall it is a lot smaller than it used to be. You used to be able to walk right onto it, but now we faced a 2.5km walk just to reach the glacier, including a steep climb up a large pile of rocks. However, this meant we had an awesome view on the approach to the Glacier, some 11km high, of which only 7km is visible from the base. It's pretty high.

Finally we reached the top of the rockpile and it was time to strap on the crampons ready for our glacier walk proper. I have to say, crampons look to me like some sort of antiquated skiing equipment or animal trap. You would've thought someone somewhere would've come up with something a little more modern by now. That said, they do work very well on the ice, even though I felt a little like John Wayne walking with my legs wide apart and lifting up my feet in an exaggerated fashion (to avoid falling over).

Walking on the glacier was cool – we wandered through ice passages and up steps carved into the ice on a daily basis by the guides. At the top (well, the top as far as we were concerned, our summit for the day) we had a fantastic view of the valley below, and got to sample a bit of the glacial water, which was deliciously icy cold. But mostly we took the opportunity to take some goofy shots on the ice, still grinning like idiots as a result of the day's adventures.