No matter how great it feels when you hit a home run or how far you hit a birdie on the golf course, I can’t imagine that it could be as exciting as jumping out of a moving plane, sailing through the clouds, plummeting towards the ground with the very real possibility of death lodged in the pit of your stomach.

And then the parachute opens and the wind jerks you back into reality. You gracefully float through the sky while trying to catch your breath and look for the landing spot. Phew! Now that’s a sport worth getting dirty over. New Zealand has embraced the idea of "taking it all to the limit" and has become the undeniable extreme sports capital. In the land of Kiwis, there seems to be a new sport born each and every week. Each one a little more dangerous and challenging that the last.

New Zealand is the country where bungee -jumping was first made famous and a 'must-do' for adrenaline junkies. Now they have everything on offer from BASE-jumping (parachuting off buildings and cliffs), heli-bungee (yes, an actual helicopter) and Buildering, free climbing up buildings.

Now, the latest and greatest offering is the death-defying sport known as Fly-by- Wire. This is the sport that has replaced Zorbing as the king of the action sports. In order to understand Zorbing, you must imagine yourself suspended inside a 3.4 metre clear plastic sphere by nylon ropes, then rolled to the top of a steep hill and pushed off. Sounds great! That’s Zorbing. Fly-by-Wire is exactly that - you fly by a wire. I will go into greater detail a little later.

Singaporeans are an adventurous lot (did you see Fear Factor Asia?) and my best friend Mart is from Singapore and is probably even more insane than I am when it comes to action sports. When I attempted to coerce him into going to New Zealand with me to try the latest and greatest high-octane sport, he began packing before I finished my prepared speech. Soon we were off on an adventure of a lifetime, in New Zealand.

As the plane was descending, I couldn’t help but be in awe of the land below. Through the clouds I could see the jagged, snow-covered peaks and slightly beyond were gorgeous green valleys and winding rivers. This is the New Zealand that you see in adverts. My only other images of New Zealand were from the Lord of the Ring movies. Now I understood why Foto Baggins and the rest of the little Hobbits were trying so desperately to get back to their shire. The country is truly breathtaking.

We landed in Queenstown and booked in at our hotel, the Rydges Lakeland Resort. We chose the hotel for its reasonable rate and its great location. Situated on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, it boasts breathtaking views over the lake and surrounding mountains. However, the town is not far away; only a five minute walk along the lakefront gets you to the town centre, with its shops, restaurants and bars.

The next day we arrived at the Fly-by-Wire site. Our enthusiasm was at a record high as we could see one of the fliers gliding effortlessly through the air. Mart and I looked at one another in anticipation and excitement. I think we both held our breath for an eternity as we watched the spectacular landing.

The Fly-by-Wire site was situated between two steep hills in an extraordinarily verdant canyon. The instructors took a few minutes to explain the controls of this bizarre looking flying device. It’s a cross between a sleek jet fighter plane and a go-cart. In actuality, it is a single-seater plane that soars at the end of an overhead cable system.

The objective of this sport is to achieve maximum height by creating a figure 8 pattern with the plane while achieving maximum speed. With the fastest plane being clocked in at 171kph (106mph) and the flier actually being in control of the plane, this “sky surfing” has to be one of the most intense sports ever. We were given flying suits to change in. My friend had decided to go first. At that point, I asked Mart if he had any reservations. He nodded a very definite yes, took a deep breath and bravely walked towards the craft.

After being strapped in, the launch pad was winched backwards up the hill. Lying almost completely vertical, Mart released the brakes and shot into the sky like a wild rocket! A few moments later, the plane began dropping towards the canyon floor at lightening speed—only a few metres from impending doom, his aircraft was suddenly scooped up and propelled to the other side of the canyon and into the stratosphere and then back down once again.

Six minutes later, Mart emerged from the plane with this huge ‘cat ate the canary’ grin on his face. By the time he was within a few feet of where I was standing, he let out a tremendous howl and leapt high into the air. His excitement was matched by one of the female instructors who enthusiastically congratulated him on his amazing first run.

Then it was my turn. Let me tell you, it’s one thing to watch the plane as it is being swung back and forth across a canyon like a perpendicular yo-yo and quite another thing to actually be strapped into the craft…trying to catch your breath with your cheeks flapping as you see your plane and your face heading towards the ground.

I have had the opportunity to experience some absolutely thrilling, adrenaline pumping extreme sports. But after soaring weightlessly above the deep canyon along the steep lush hills of this intoxicating country, I couldn’t think of anything that I have done so far even coming close to that exhilaration. I felt as if I were the master of the world having piloted this fast and amazing aeronautical beast. As I sauntered over to Mart (trying to be ultra-cool) he let a half smile come across his face, patted me on my back and said, “Dude, wanna go again?”