Shadowing Practice: Visiting Heaven on Earth | NEW ZEALAND - Learn English Speaking with Video

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New Zealand is heaven on earth.

This country is one of the most remote places on our planet, but is home to the most breathtaking landscapes that look like they were made with AI.

From pristine freshwater lakes with fjords, towering snow -capped mountain ranges, and picturesque roads where you feel like you're in a dream.

New Zealand is known for having one of the highest qualities of life, more sheep than people, and filled with activities that will get your heart racing.

Welcome to heaven on earth.

So welcome to the beautiful land of New Zealand.

New Zealand has been at the top of my bucket list for so long, but I feel like I've kept pushing it off because it takes so long to get here.

It is about an 18 hour flight as well as an 18 hour time change.

Now the one thing I have not been looking forward to

with this trip is how here in New zealand they drive on the left side of the road

and the driver is on the right side of the car i have never done

that before in my life so hopefully we get around this island safely stay on the left side

all right we're ready so another weird thing is i keep going to hit my blinker

but it's the windshield wiper it's on the opposite side

and then also to go into reverse you have to do it lefty

so driving here it's almost like you're driving with one eye open

and in a reverse mirror everything is backwards and flipped it's

so weird also with me as my co -captain on this

adventure we got chris what's going on y 'all taking over

while brett focuses on the road real quick we keep saying

that this place feels like a movie everywhere you go

and that's actually kind of one of the first things we

have coming up we'll check back with you once we make it there safely got you

so New Zealand is one of those places that is

so beautiful that it makes you feel like you teleported inside of a fairy tale

or quite literally this is where they filmed one of the

most iconic movie series of all time here at the Hobbiton movie set

so we just learned something super fascinating where it took them

18 months to build this entire set where then they shot everything in 12 days

and was only seven minutes in the movie

and they only filmed for seven minutes

because i hate to break it to you guys this hobbit hole is actually a facade where

if you go in here you just have this empty wooden hut

so with a little movie magic When they have the actor go into the hobbit hole, they're actually going into a different set down in Wellington Still really cool though.

So in the beginning of the movie Frodo runs through this path right here and screams

Probably one of the best scenes in the entire movie Yep,

I'm going on an adventure Next movie starring Brett Conti,

but that was my audition tape Brett Baggins Now while the Hobbit homes were man -made, this unique landscape was not.

Even if you are not a fan of the movie series, exploring Hobbiton is truly a magical experience.

Which does make sense why it is one of the most visited places in the entire country, but I'd say is totally worth it.

So New Zealand is the country where Mother Nature just loves

to show off since right in front of me right here

is the world's highest commercially graded waterfall it is a class 5

and by far the highest and most powerful waterfall i've ever seen in real life

and also what we are about to be rafting down

chris you fired up for this i'm fired up i'm like you saying

that makes me feel like oh my god i'm gonna put chris on blast chris has been

so nervous about this the whole trip when i woke up I'm like, oh, man, it's here.

Nothing can prepare you for the rush you're about to have.

Let's do this, brother.

What are the chances of flipping?

Oh Pedals up in the middle of my saddle!

Alright, everybody get down!

We got this, Chris!

Let's go!

How was that?

Incredible!

Let's do that again Does it not always go that smoothly Oh my god,

that would have been fun Not for anyone else

Guys so that white water at the experience was incredible

if you are an adrenaline junkie you must come here to New Zealand and do that.

We did it with Rotta River Rafting

and they did such an incredible job keeping us safe but also making sure we had a thrill of a ride.

And now the thing Chris and I have been looking forward to most about this trip.

We have done a lot of ridiculous things on our travels but this one might be the most ridiculous.

We are driving a total of 10 hours today to go to the city that has the world's longest name.

Literally has a guinness world record for it what is the name what is the name it is uh

thankfully my buddy raw who is a local here in new

zealand has a song where he says the name like five times

so for these next five hours of driving we're gonna listen to

that song on repeat

and hopefully by the time we get there we'll be

masters of saying this name let

this adventure begin

oh my

gosh this is what we just drove three

and a half hours here we're gonna have to drive six

and a half hours after this

and it's totally worth it the longest name of a place in the entire world is right here

so i'm all about doing things for my life resume

but never did i think i would put on it going to the place with the world's longest name

and we made it all the way here where it is

kind of just a sign i do have to give credit

when credit is due chris this was your findings

and put it on the list of things we had to see i basically saw a tiktok video

and i ran it by you with no context i was just like bro look at this video

and you just looked at me in the dead in the eye

and you're like we gotta go i'm a man of my word and we made it to time

TAMATADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADAD BANG!

If you guys do plan on making the trek all the way out here, I do highly recommend checking the weather.

Right, fine and sunny weather

and te taumata whakatangihanga kō wauwau o Tama Te Aturi Pūkā ka pikimau ngā horonuku pō kai whenua ki tāna tahou.

So if you want to travel New Zealand, you are definitely going to be driving a lot.

So we made sure to pin some really cool spots

that we wanted to hit with one of them being here in the famous surf town of Raglan.

So if you guys do have the time, highly recommend stopping here for a bite to eat and for a surf.

Raglan is actually a renowned surf spot since it has one of the longest left breaks in the world.

You can ride a wave for what feels like minutes.

So after getting to explore the town of Raglan and the incredible surf, We got on a quick flight from the North Island off to Christchurch in the South Island.

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So we just met here to Lake Tekapo.

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I must say, this place truly is heaven on earth.

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And I am already so impressed from the North Island, but I know

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that people say the real crown jewel of New Zealand is here in the South Island because of its beauty, nature, and adventure.

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And one of the main reasons I was

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so excited to come here to New Zealand was because my grandfather was a world traveler.

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And out of all the places he's been, he said that you have not lived until you come here to New Zealand.

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So man, it really just is a dream come true.

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So excited to be here in New Zealand.

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so as you guys can see New Zealand is absolutely beautiful

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but I must say the beauty does come with a price so

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if you are traveling here I do highly recommend packaging everything

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together with Expedia since on Expedia you can book your flights

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your rental car your activities your stays everything all in one place

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and when you do package things together on Expedia it does give you discounts

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and makes it overall significantly cheaper also i am very excited to say

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that expedia gave me my own discount code

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which is just brett at checkout

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and you will get five percent off all eligible stays

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and all of you can use that discount code for properties all around the world but

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if you guys do want to see the specific hotels i

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stayed at here in new zealand i will leave a link

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to my expedia travel shop down below i have places from

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70 a night all the way up to around 250 oh

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my gosh guys this has by far been the most incredible drive

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that we've had yet here in new zealand and it's been very moody

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and cloudy for most of it

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but as of right now the clouds just let the mountains peek through

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and you can see the top of mount cook mother nature is just showing off for us right now wow

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so today we are doing the hooker's peak trek

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which is about a three mile trail one way

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and already being just five minutes in it is absolutely incredible

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like just check out this suspension bridge over this crystal clear blue water with this unbelievable view like Come on guys

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How is this even real life and there is Chris?

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Being as lit as ever a lot of you guys might think

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that I hire Chris to come with me because he's good with the camera That's just a plus.

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It's really just because he keeps me very entertained

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So we made it here to the Hooker Lake, which I didn't know that the reward that you get, the payoff, is a three degree iceberg cold punch.

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Honestly, pretty good for me, it's not so good for Chris.

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Let's go, Florida boy.

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All right, so we met a new friend, Nicky, from Australia.

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We're gonna dive in now.

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You guys ready?

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Three, two, one.

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oh yeah nice and cold

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so the reason why this water is so blue and also

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so cold is because it is glacier water as you can see there is glaciers

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that are melting and it's just flowing rushing down the mountain into this lake right here

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and new zealand i would have to describe as just being

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so clean and so pure

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if heaven looks as good as this i'm going to be quite happy

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and you will have gotten the preview this is the preview to have it yeah this is the pre

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and you got a little

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preview after clocking dozens of hours of driving i would say

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the hardest part of the drives has been trying to not stop every five minutes to take in the views

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and after a very successful first day in the south island i was very excited to see what tomorrow would bring

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So something new that I learned about here in New Zealand is that there is actually something called the Southern Lights.

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Similar to the Northern Lights where you have the crazy green aura, you have that here in the Southern Hemisphere

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and unfortunately we have not gotten to see that yet

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but Chris over here did wake up in the middle of

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the night got a dope night lapse yeah thing is

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that I had to stay up so late is

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because I had to wait for the moon to set

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if the moon is out you don't see the stars like

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on camera it came out all right it was my first time doing a couple years

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but even just like looking up at the night sky I

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promise you it's one of the most beautiful things you'll ever see yeah shouts Chris for

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that not gonna lie your boy was sleeping like a baby

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and that is because today we have our biggest hike yet ahead of us let's head out to Roy's Peak so after a two

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and a half beautiful drive we made it here to the

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town of Wanaka to do the famous Roy's Peak Roy's Peak

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is one of the most iconic views in all the South Island of New Zealand

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and is a pretty advanced hike we met a couple hikers

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that said it took them about six hours and was pretty intense

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so Chris let this six -hour adventure begin bro back -to

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-back days of hiking we've got about 10 miles round trip

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and apparently like 1300 meters in elevation I don't know what

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that conversion is but it sounds like a lot so yeah even just looking at it right now

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looks pretty darn steep to me i've got the tunes to get us through ready

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also side note this is very unintentional

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but we're like both kind of matching right now

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so we look like we look like we're on like the amazing race or something

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Checking in about three hours later and five miles later

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and we are really in one of the most beautiful places on this planet.

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I can see the top of the summit right over yonder

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and it looks so close but still got a bit of a ways to go.

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One hour later.

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And we made it.

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Give me a hand.

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Final step.

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Come on.

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Ahhhh

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so the hike was pretty intense but i would say the average person

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and even the average sheep could do it

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so i was like for you guys it wasn't too bad

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overall though hike was amazing definitely one of the best views I've ever had on a hike

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and if you look back you can see all of the switchbacks

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and how intense this hike actually is

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so we went all the way down every single one of those roads

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and then the car park which is all the way down there.

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Now it's time to go all the way back down.

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If you guys are into road trips then New Zealand is definitely the place for you.

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We are currently on a two -hour adventure to Milford Sound

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but the entire drive has just been absolutely beautiful we are

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honestly just up in the mountains in the clouds in the sky

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and through the rivers such a magical place

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so we just took a quick stop to check the tire pressure aka take a leak

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but just check out how beautiful this place is guys definitely top five places I've ever taking a leak.

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For real though, this is just heaven on earth.

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So just when I thought New Zealand couldn't get any more beautiful, we just made here to the Milford Sound as we're going

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through the fjords on this cruise ship where we've already gotten to seeing seals, dolphins, waterfalls, this crystal blue water from the glaciers,

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and just honestly one of the most majestic places I've ever seen out of any country.

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So what makes Milford Sound and all of New Zealand so magnificent?

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is that it all starts with the air

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because of new zealand's isolated location it receives some of the

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purest air on the planet from there clean air transcends to clean rain clean crops healthy livestock to clean food

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which is why new zealand

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and its people have one of the highest qualities of life on earth

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and it all circles back to clean air so much

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that there is a company that literally harnesses the air puts it in a can

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and is bought by people who live in highly polluted areas

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this milford sound experience is a little bit far to get to

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but should definitely not be missed

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if you're in new zealand the cruise itself was about 90

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that i will leave a link to book on expedia down below

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so we have finally made it to the last destination of this two -week adventure here in queenstown

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and i must say it is so nice to be in a place like queenstown

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which is a proper city since we have just been staying

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in all these tiny little villages for the past two weeks like especially staying in places like

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and here in queenstown we are staying in this incredible property let me show you

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so we are staying here at the sherwood

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which has felt like a full -on wellness retreat they have a sauna co -working spaces

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and even a garden where they grow a lot of the ingredients for their incredible restaurants

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so if you guys are coming here to Queenstown this is a great option

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and at a good price point

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so I will leave a link down below to the Expedia

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booking for the Sherwood where you can also use discount code

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BRETT for five percent off also Queenstown is like the adventure

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capital of the world where right now we are in a

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gondola heading to the top of a mountain to do something pretty cool

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and now we are going to do something a little bit more adventurous today we're going bungee jumping

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so this is going to be both mine

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and chris's first time ever bungee jumping chris how are we feeling my brother it's the nerves

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and the adrenaline are hitting for sure

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and we haven't even gotten to yet yeah i've been very excited about this i've always wanted to bungee

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and what better place than here in new zealand where this bridge is actually the first place

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that it was commercialized to go bungee jumping.

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So let's go jump off this bridge.

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Are you traveling with anyone, Brett?

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Yeah, my friend's here.

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He's jumping after me.

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He's really scared.

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You see a tall dude that's like six foot two over there.

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When he comes here, he's shaking.

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This is it?

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Yes.

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Oh my gosh.

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Wow.

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This is insane.

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Let's get out of here in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Woo!

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Ahh!

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Holy shit!

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Wow!

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Oh my gosh!

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That was honestly scarier than I thought But so much fun!

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Let's do that again

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all right remember to talk to the camera you got this brother you got this see you on the other

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Oh my god, you're doing good bro, you're doing good, a little stiff, yep, that's what you did, I think you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right,

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you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're Woo!

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There you go.

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Really?

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One, two, three, two, one.

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Oh my god!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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AHHHHH!

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Oh my god.

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And now I just hang here.

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there he is

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you made it i do have to say you probably won the record for loudest scream of the day

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but you did it you did it

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oh my god a breath glad you did it yeah oh my god a million times

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that well maybe not a million times over a couple times

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if you are here in new zealand and you've never a bunch of jumped

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this is definitely the place to do it this is the place

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after two weeks of non -stop road tripping

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and adventures it is safe to say

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that traveling to New Zealand truly makes you feel like you're in heaven on earth this is a country

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that can be enjoyed by everyone and a place that has

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so much beauty

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that you must experience it at least once in your life

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thanks again to Expedia for help making this possible until next week let's go down get busy in the next one.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 304 sentences and 3469 words to shadow. The speech runs for 25:56. The speaker talks at a steady 134 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
adventure noun	/ədˈvɛn.t͡ʃə/	A feeling of desire for new and exciting things.
hike noun	/haɪk/	A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise.
brett noun		A fault in wine caused by Brettanomyces yeast.
discount noun	/ˈdɪskaʊnt/	A reduction in price.
gosh	/ɡɑːʃ/	A mild expression of surprise or enthusiasm.
surf verb	/sɝf/	To ride a wave on a surfboard; to pursue or take part in the sport of surfing.
intense adjective	/ɪnˈtɛns/	Of a characteristic: extreme or very high or strong in degree; severe; also, excessive, towering.
preview noun	/ˈpɹiːvjuː/	An experience of something in advance.
glacier noun	/ˈɡleɪ.ʃɚ/	A large body of ice which flows under its own mass, usually downhill.
waterfall noun	/ˈwɔːtəfɔːl/	A flow of water over the edge of a cliff.
rush verb	/ɹʌʃ/	To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully.
cloud noun	/ˈklaʊ̯d/	A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air.
package noun	/ˈpæk.ɪd͡ʒ/	Something which is packed, a parcel, a box, an envelope.
ridiculous adjective	/ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/	Deserving of ridicule; foolish, absurd.
crystal noun	/ˈkɹɪstəl/	A solid composed of an array of atoms or molecules possessing long-range order and arranged in a pattern which is periodic in three dimensions.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
check out verb		To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
look forward to verb		To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to.
back down verb		To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously had, or has planned to have.
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.
come up verb		To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.
get around verb		To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path.
get down verb	/ɡɛt ˈdaʊn/	To bring or come down; to descend; to cause to bring or come down.
get out of verb		To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	have not been looking · have been looking · has been trying
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has been · have never done · i've ever seen
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	were made · is known · is bought
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	park which is · people who live

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 102 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: grandfather /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌfɑðɚ/, thrill /θɹɪl/, smoothly /ˈsmuːðli/, breathtaking /ˈbɹɛθˌteɪ.kɪŋ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, glacier /ˈɡleɪ.ʃɚ/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, sheep /ˈʃiːp/, shake /ˈʃeɪk/
Long words — get the stress right: ridiculous /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/, adrenaline /əˈdɹɛnəlɪn/, eligible /ˈɛl.ɪ.d͡ʒɪ.bəl/, destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, unbelievable /ˌʌnbɪˈliːvəbl̩/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like adventure, hike, brett.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Visiting Heaven on Earth | NEW ZEALAND - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?