Today was an “Amazing Race” sort of day—full of adventure! I made the booking last night, because I wanted to make sure that the weather would hold for these activities…and while I would like to have slept in a little longer, I decided to get up while the weather still held and go both Jet Boating and Bungy jumping! There are about a gazillion high adventure options in Queenstown, a city surrounded by mountains and which sits alongside a big lake, and is absolutely beautiful. Needless to say, it is a very touristy town, with a very Park City type of feel. I fired up the GoPro and headed to town. I found a parking place near the pier (hard to do in the city) and the two guys in the travel agency in front of which I parked directed me down to the pier. I dashed down getting there just before the boat was supposed to leave…I know, I know, you are all surprised J The boat ride was an hour long and crossed Lake Wakatipu and then on to the Kawarau river and then up the Shotover river. It was thrilling and scary and yes, AMAZING! There are a handful of different jet boat companies and they are all given a specific area where they can go and are never to cross each other’s boundaries. The company I chose went directly out of Queenstown, and that is partially why I chose it; I didn’t want to spend time riding a bus out of town, same thing with the bungy jumping…I didn’t really have time to take hours just in travel time to the activity. Besides, Queenstown is so beautiful, that I wanted to spend as much time there as possible. I will have to figure out how to edit my video, and will post it here once I do. I am doubtful that anyone wants to sit through an entire hour of boating…though it really is exciting! The weather was beautiful, the water is so VERY clear and much of the water we went over was very shallow, 2-3 inches in some places.
Video to come soon
After the boat ride, I went back to my car only to discover that I had parked in a 30 min spot, and the nice guys from the travel agency came out and said that they had just come by and marked the tires…I was so grateful to him, I had no idea that I was even in a limited time parking spot. I moved off to another parking place, free and for 2 hours, and started hoofing it to the bottom of the gondola on my way to the bungy jump. The ride up was lovely, and they actually have a luge track at the top along with a mtn. bike trail down and a skyline buffet. So people were going up for any number of reasons…but for me, it was all about the bungy…The Ledge. I tried not to freak myself out about jumping off the ledge but tried to remember what an adventure it was…and it actually worked. There was a girl ahead of me who hesitated for a long while, and you could tell that they guys getting us harnessed up were very used to having to talk people into jumping. There had been one woman there earlier who had refused to jump after gearing up. I have to be honest, that first bit of free falling was SCARY! But also so FUN. I had great visions of doing a very stylish swan dive or front flip off the platform, but in the end, I was a bit ungainly but thrilled that I didn’t hesitate too much J
I made my way down the mountain on the gondola, picked up my
car and hit the center of town for a quick purchase of a new adapter (so I
could charge my laptop) and a stop at Devil Burgers (a competitor of the
well-known Ferg Burgers—long lines and high prices and full of tourists) which
the locals say they go to instead and have the same type of burgers and which
are just as good. I would have to agree,
I got a Moroccan lamb burger which was AMAZING…there’s that word again. It was absolutely delish. After wolfing it down, I was starving by that
time…maybe adrenalin does that to you? I
headed through the first bout of traffic I have experienced here in NZ to the
airport to see if they could look at my car’s squeaky breaks. They ended up just swapping my car and soon I
was on my way to Lake Hawea, where my B&B host met me and said that some
friends of hers were going to host me, as she was moving house. May and Joe, are absolutely delightful
people. I feel like I have spent the
evening with dear grandparents. They fed
me ‘tea’ which is really more like Sunday dinner…roast lamb and pumpkin and
potatoes and peas with gravy…delish! I
wasn’t terribly hungry after the lamb burger, it felt a little like being a
missionary again, where you eat regardless if you are hungry or not. But they are dear and delightful!
Tonight, I called the company who runs the flight that I am
scheduled to take tomorrow morning to see if it will go or not. It started to sprinkle as I did my jump, and
since then it has really been coming down.
I am hopeful that it will still fly, as it is supposed to be really
spectacular.
A note on the status of the east coast around Kaikoura, I am
not sure yet whether I will be able to even make it into town…the news is
showing people out camping in the parks and roads and railways completely torn
up. I will be sad not to make it, but Mother
Nature has really spoken. Also, the road
up and over Arthur’s pass may not be drivable…which if it isn’t I will take a
different route to the top of the south island.
More on those change of plans as I make them. For now, I am grateful that I am safe, and
thank you all so very much for being concerned for my welfare. I am keeping the people of the north
Canterbury region in my thoughts and prayers.
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