All Blacks legend Richie McCaw skydives in Tauranga, teams up with Tourism NZ

Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, and The Wiggles will be blasting from the McCaw's car as they hit the road and explore New Zealand.

All Blacks legend Richie McCaw admits there is a lot of places around the country he is yet to explore but is keen to keep trying new things.

Today, he had scenic views of Mauao, a Bay of Plenty sunrise, and a full moon while freefalling 15,000 feet with Skydive Tauranga.

"I've never done a skydive before, so what better place to do it than looking down at the Mount."

The tick off the bucket list activity was in his wife's hometown of Mount Maunganui to kick off the couple's teaming up with Tourism New Zealand to encourage Kiwis to try something new, supporting the industry in its recovery.

Richie McCaw at Skydive Tauranga. Photo / George Novak

Tourism New Zealand is working with the couple to create content that will encourage kiwis to 'Do Something New'.

"While 2020 has been a year for the books, Gemma and I have loved getting out and exploring the country – we've seen first-hand how much it means to tourism operators to have people through the doors," McCaw said.

McCaw was the director and pilot of Christchurch Helicopters and said they were lucky their business was more than tourism.

However, Covid-19's impact on international tourism meant they needed to pivot to look at how they would work with closed borders.

"It's going to be a challenge for quite a while going forward for everyone."

As well as the economic impact, the loss of international tourism also meant the ability to share the great things about our country had also been lost.

While in the Bay, McCaw had done a bit of fishing while in the area for the weekend and said it was warmer than Christchurch where they lived.

Richie and Gemma McCaw at Skydive Tauranga. Photo / George Novak

Gemma said it was "the best place in New Zealand".

She said the region had something for everyone: beaches, bush, and adventure activities, nice places to eat, shop, relax, and it was family-friendly.

Over the summer, the couple will be back in Tauranga with their daughter as well as heading down to Central Otago, and McCaw will be in Rotorua in March for the GODZone adventure race.

Old-school singalongs, Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles were always on the playlist, but the Wiggles were taking up a lot of airtime with their nearly 2-year-old daughter.

Tamari almonds, salt and vinegar chips, "beautiful" stone fruit from central Otago were essential for road-trip fuel as well as the all-important ice cream on a summer's day.

Tourism NZ Director Commercial Rene de Monchy said there was an expected $12.9 billion dollar gap from the lack of international visitors, and domestic tourism was "vital" for recovery.