Canyon Bungee!!! (scroll down for great pictures!)

We have totally rocked the extreme-sport circuit in New Zealand! Yesterday we went to Canyon Bungee and jumped off a platform to a 60 meter freefall, down 109 meters to the bottom of the canyon, and into a 200 meter arc swinging back and forth between the cliffs.

The bathroom at the site was the cutest pit toilet I’ve ever seen, so I had to take a photo:


They had wonderful signs lining the short walk to the jumping platform:





The jumping platform above the canyon:


Actually jumping was TERRIFYING. It was definitely scarier than skydiving, because we had to jump ourselves. You could choose to jump in whatever style/position you wanted – all 4 of us tried the “Pin Drop,” which involves bending your knees, clasping your hands behind your back, and jumping into a complete freefall. I cheated a little and grabbed the rope instead of keeping my hands behind my back, but there was NO way I was going to just let myself fall into nothingness with just one small rope around my waist to keep me from dying. I reallllly liked it, although I would definitely pick skydiving before I would do this again.






And I get smaller...



And smaller...



And smaller!


The people who worked there had a GREAT sense of humor, meaning they like to torture nervous tourists. KL and Caitlin were almost crying when they came up – not because of the experience, but because the guys kept pretending to drop them!! They didn’t give me and Erikka as hard a time because we jumped faster, but they were trying to make us nervous all the same, pretending to throw us off or trip and push us a little. Ridiculous!



We spent the rest of the afternoon yesterday ironing out our plans for the North Island. We leave Queenstown tomorrow and will fly to Auckland, spend one night, and then go to Waitomo to see the glow worm caves and go black water rafting. We were going to try to squeeze in a 4-hour day trip to Rotorua, which has fantastic sulfur pools and mud pits, but it didn’t really seem feasible since we’d spend over 8 hours on buses, barely have time to see anything, and since there are geothermal pools in California like the ones in Lassen, we figured we’d rather see the glow worms and really enjoy the caves.

Today we went horseback riding in Glenorchy, a small town about 45 minutes away from Queenstown at the other end of Lake Wakatipu. Since we’re just traveling tomorrow, I’ll try to get my photos sorted out and send those over! Love you all!

Entering The Hobbiton

The morning dawned beautiful and clear, so KL, Erikka, and I went on a jog around Wanaka lake. It was SO BEAUTIFUL!! I haven't jogged in years, so it also felt pretty nice to get moving and start the day off with some exercise.





We took a bus from Wanaka to Queenstown and we could actually see the landscape transforming into Lord of the Rings territory. Everything here is so gorgeous, especially the snow-capped mountains. I definitely recommend New Zealand in the winter, the weather itself isn't too cold and the scenery is just stunning. It's crazy seeing mountains right next to each other, when one has no snow and the other is covered in white glistening ice. I know it has to do with altitude, but it's such a stark contrast! I love it!

Vineyard nestled among snowy mountaintops:






The view from our hostel is unbelievable, we're right next to the lake and wake up to the mountains and water and clear blue skies.

We're going to try canyon bungee, which involves a 60 meter freefall and then swinging 120 meters down into a huge canyon. It's like bungee x10 because you can choose what position you want to be in as you jump - you can go backwards, forwards, upside down, sitting in a chair, and so on. I'm terrified. The hardest part is that you have to step off the platform yourself, so you're in charge of your own fate!! AHHHH!! Look for photos, we're going to take them ourselves. Erikka has a sport mode on her camera so she can take action shots, and hopefully those will come out well. Again, I'm terrified. Just writing about this is freaking me out. Look for an update later... if I survive!!

Skydiving at Wanaka

I JUST WENT SKYDIVING. 12,000 feet, 45 second freefall. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. The view was amazing!!! We dove at 10 AM, in two groups with myself and Erikka going first, and KL and Caitlin in the second plane. We got all suited up and took some photos. I didn’t feel nervous at this point, just super excited! SO EXCITED!



I decided to get both a DVD and photos taken. The prices here are cheaper than in Queenstown and my “photographer” Ollie was super nice!! I’ll try to upload the video later, when I have free internet (if that ever happens!). The photos are so great! They guarantee 40 photos minimum, but all of us ended up with way more than that. I have over 140 photos of the whole experience, from before takeoff to landing and detaching.

On the plane flight up:






Getting out of the plane:



My instructor in tandem, Chris, was AWESOME. He was super friendly and made me feel 100% safe. He also pointed out landmarks as we climbed and kept me from freaking out as we gained 1,000, 2,000, 3,000… 7,000… 10,000 feet in altitude and all the way to 12,000. Around 5,000 feet, I thought we must have been close to jumping altitude, but we weren’t even halfway!!



We did a ton of spinning and flipping during the freefall, and then the parachute ride was SO beautiful. I got to control the parachute – it was just like flying a stunt kite, Dad, so I was really good!! I actually made myself a little nauseous from being too aggressive with the tricks, so Chris took back the handles and we landed super easily.









We met up with KL and Caitlin for a minute before they jumped:



Afterwards Erikka and I waited for KL and Caitlin to jump, so we posed with the other girl we jumped with. Look at our takeoff poses – head back, hips forward!



Standing by the van:


Posing in front of our trusty steed, the plane! We named it Rocky, and the little car they use to help tow it is called Bullwinkle. Teehee!



I LOVE SKYDIVING. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! NEW ZEALAND IS THE GREATEST PLACE ON THE PLANET!!

Afterwards we rewarded ourselves with some delicious pizza and beer. We polished off garlic bread and two large pizzas between the four of us. Very impressive!

Before:


After:


It was an epic finish to an epic morning, and it’s only 3 PM now! We’re going to nap a bit, and then walk around the town. It’s so beautiful here, I can’t wait to see more! In Queenstown we’re planning on bungee jumping, taking the luge from the sky gondola, and maybe hang gliding. So much to do, so little time!!

Franz Josef to Wanaka

Today we left Franz Josef around 10 AM and took a 5 hour bus ride to Wanaka. When we left Franz Josef, the weather was awful and grey, and it was raining pretty hard. Before we left the hostel, I traded “Mansfield Park” for a P.D. James novel, which I think is a great improvement since Mansfield Park was pretty boring and I love murder mysteries!

As soon as we left the valley, the sky cleared up a bit and the bus ride was GORGEOUS. The traveling itself is worth the trip to New Zealand – just sitting on the bus and watching the beautiful scenery constantly takes my breath away. We saw waterfalls every 10 or 15 minutes, beautiful snow-capped mountains, and several gorgeous lakes. I never expected New Zealand to be so lush and green. It’s such a stark contrast between the relatively warm air and the forests to see a layer of snow directly located above the treeline.






The lakes themselves are incredibly blue, and we passed several as we journeyed. Lake Hawea was stunning and everyone in the bus was pressed against the windows, taking photos and gasping. It was just too pretty!! The sky had lots of dappled clouds and we had intermittent rain.





The most surprising part of our bus rides so far has been the comfort level! They stop every hour or so to give us a bathroom break and let us stretch our legs – it’s the first time I’ve ever been on a bus that was designed for actual people. This bus ride had a lunch break around noon and I got a delicious salmon sandwich from a salmon farm! SO TASTY. And we stopped several other times, once just because our driver wanted us to see a waterfall and rushing river. It’s so convenient and very comfortable. I love everything about New Zealand.

A photo of the salmon farm, set among gorgeous mountains:



Wanaka itself is gorgeous! It’s a ski town and the people are very friendly (per usual) and chill.

View from our hostel’s kitchen deck:



Dinner – it cost us $10 per person and was DELICIOUS!!! Food here is a bit expensive so it makes a lot of sense to cook for ourselves. We got a roasted chicken, tomato soup, cheese, salad, carrots, and soda. Perfection!



There was some debate earlier about whether we should stay in Wanaka for two nights as planned, or if we should try to leave a day earlier and give ourselves more chances to skydive in Queenstown. Caitlin is leaving earlier than KL, Erikka, and I, so she would only have one day to skydive and that’s very weather-dependent so it was a bit risky. Luckily, Wanaka has skydiving available and it’s apparently one of the two best places in the world (or at least New Zealand) to skydive. The best place in the world is supposedly Franz Josef, the town we just left, but they don’t have any commercial skydiving available right now, so Wanaka is basically as good as it gets. In the world. And we’re here! And we have time! So tomorrow we’re going to jump from 12,000 feet. I’m going to get photos and a DVD made I think, so look for those!! AHHHHHHHHHH UNREAL!!! Tonight we’re going to try to find a pub near our hostel and watch a rugby game! Good fun had by all!

Lake Mapourika and Franz Josef Glacier

Yesterday dawned cloudy and a bit rainy, so we were immediately confronted with the question of whether we should hike the glacier or kayak on the lake. Hiking the glacier is fun and provides lots of great views in any weather, so we tried to join the morning tour but discovered that they were fully booked. The only thing available was kayaking on Lake Mapourika, which is usually perfectly reflective (see photos from an optimal day):





However, on a day like yesterday, it was pretty choppy and rough. Luckily our guide, Wayne, was amazing and gave us a splash-guard for the kayak, hand guards, and warm hats! It rained a bit and the lake itself wasn’t reflective, but we went up into a lagoon and it became super calm. The view was amazing!! IT WAS SO FUN. The mountains in the background were totally stunning and the entire experience was great!













We got back to the hostel around 2 and napped for a couple hours until our dinner of soup and bread. I do love the free soup we get here, it’s super tasty and tomorrow we’re going to make grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it. We also bought some fixings for s’mores and made them in the hostel’s fireplace, followed by watching the movie Ever After. We have a VCR in our room, and it’s only us 4 even though the room fits 6, and we have a kitchen, our own shower, and a bathroom.

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Today we hiked the glacier!! They gave us rainproof pants, a jacket, clampons, and boots, and we spent about 5 hours out on the glacier and surrounding area. The Franz Josef glacier is one of only 3 in the world that’s surrounded by a temperate rainforest – that’s right, a RAINFOREST. It was unbelievable. It looked like the mountains of Hawaii or Taiwan, except that we were standing on a block of ice millions of years in the making. Truly incredible! I was basically open-mouthed in shock and awe the whole time, I just can’t get over the fact that we hiked a glacier in the rainforest while in New Zealand!











Our guide, Cliff, was a character and very nice and informative.







The hike itself wasn’t too strenuous, and we never got too cold. I wish they had given us gloves, but apparently they “aren’t necessary” for a half-day hike. We definitely could’ve used them though, since many of the ice-cut stairs were so steep that we had to hold on to ropes to keep from sliding off!

Drinking water from a glacial pool:



There’s also the possibility of seeing an All Blacks game – New Zealand’s rugby team – when we’re on the North Island!!! We’re going to have to adjust our plans a bit but it would be totally worth it and super amazing to see a rugby game live. And the All Blacks are one of the best teams in the world! They still have $90 tickets available so we’re going to try to buy those once we figure out if a bus can take us there in time. AHHH!! Today was just an awesomely epic day, and things seem to have worked out really well so far. This island is amazing. I could seriously live here! And there's still so much more to come!