Queenstown (paragliding, bungy jumping etc.)

Kia Ora!
This past Sunday in Queenstown was honestly the best day of my entire life, let me recap:
1. Jetboating
2. Mountain Luging
3. Paragliding
4. Bungy Jumping

I've learned a lot about myself and how my life should be lived in one word: SPONTANEITY.

The full story:
I left Dunedin Friday morning with the 19 Arcadia kids (the study abroad program I'm here with) and Jane, our outgoing, motherly study abroad advisor. We drove 3 hours to Queenstown and spent Friday checking out the city. Saturday morning we woke up early and drove an hour to the Routeburn Track, one of NZ's Nine Great Walks, where I had been the weekend before tramping a different track. We hiked for 8-9 hours, stopping for lunch at Falls Hut. The weather wasn't as good as the weekend before so we couldn't see as many mountains, but the cloudy weather made everything look like we were in King Kong, seriously.

I've learned that the Nine Great Walks that are supposed to be the prettiest in NZ are truly majestic, yet not nearly as physically challenging as the hikes with OUTC (tramping club). I guess it is so that older tourists can still go on them.

That night we ate at a popular place in town called Fergburger's, and hit up The Buffalo Club for drinks and dancing, fun fun!

SUNDAY!
As I mentioned above, we woke up and went Jetboating (with Shotover Jetboating). About 12 people fit in each boat and for a 1/2 hr we were speeding around boulders and fiords (all the while surrounded by mountains), doing random circling stops to make big splashes. The cool thing about jetboating is that you only need 3 inches of water, so we could fly around the shore without worrying about the depth.

After that we went up a gondola to a viewing area to take pictures, and then did 3 runs of mountain luging. Luges are little motorless racecar scooters, haha, that have steering and brakes. You roll down the mountain on a 5m wide cement track, with the choice of a scenic route or an advanced fast route. (which I did both) It was "heaps and heaps" of fun, aye?

We then were supposed to have a 2 hr lunch break when these two guys came up to Goulet and I and asked us if we'd ever thought about paragliding, emphasizing how they take care of young American girls. (ppl either hate Americans or love 'em here) The weather was clear and it sounded like an amazing opportunity so Goulet and I signed our life away in two minutes. We took the gondola up the mountain and then hiked the rest of the way to the top. I learned that the guy I was tandem paragliding with (Thomas) was a New Zealand champ, so that calmed my nerves. Within a few minutes we put on gear, waited for a gust of wind, and then Thomas and I jumped off the mountain. We were only supposed to be in the air for eight minutes, but the weather was so ideal we ended up gliding for 25 minutes! This is all relative, b/c when you're in the air, time feels a lot longer, so I felt like I was up there for hours. I expected to feel nervous and sick because we were above mountains, Lake Wakatipu, and all of Queenstown, yet it was actually very calming and relaxing. No, surreal would be the best word. It was such a clear day that you could see all the different mountain ranges in the distance. Thomas took lots of pictures and a few video clips, which turned out really good. Although it was windy, we could hear each other just fine. He even let me steer for a while! We smoothly landed in a school soccer field and then were given cards to go to the pub for free microbrew beer!

At this point I thought the rest of my day would entail watching 8 crazy kids in my group bungy jump off Karawauo Bridge, yet once we where there, with all the adrenaline still rushing through me, all I could think about was how insane of an experience bungy jumping would be. Somehow at that moment, jumping off a 43m. bridge into a river didn't sounds scary. I promised my mom I wouldn't bungy jump, but I knew I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't go then. Besides, the weather and view was absolutely stunning, not to mention that Karawauo Bridge was the original site that AJ Hackett first jumped from in 1988. I wasn't nervous until right when my toes were hanging over the edge of the bridge, watching the Karawauo River rush underneath me. I looked over to where the Arcadia kids were viewing and yelled, "Tell my mom and dad I love them!" Usually the guys that fasten you up do a countdown, but I ended up jumping before they got to one because I knew if I waited I wouldn't go. I dove off and got wet up to my chest, and then flailed around in the air for awhile until a raft came and got me. All I could do after was laugh as I looked back up to the bridge.

Thinking back, I realized that the random spontaneity of my day was part of what made it so ecstatic. That and the drop-dead gorgeous scenery that constantly surrounded me. Coming back on the bus Rach and I were listening to "oooh, heaven is a place on earth," and honestly, although this is the corniest statement ever, I really feel like New Zealand is heaven for me. I hope that once I finish college, I can come back and work for a few years here because I already know I won't be able to get enough of this place in the 5 months that I'm here. Everyone should make it a point to visit New Zealand before they die, it's a remarkable country.