Kiwi Land, Part VI

Location: Base Hostel, Queenstown

Date: 29 May 2012

Time: 4:10 PM

This morning I had the best breakfast ever.  The Cocoa Puffs tasted the same, but the view, holy shit the view!  From the kitchen patio at the Base hostel Wanaka, you can see the lake and a near-360 degree view of stunning mountains.  I am so jealous of the locals who get to wake up to that every day.

The view with my Cocoa Puffs

We had the morning to explore Wanaka, and I used the time to hike up Mt. Iron, which is about a 500 meter elevation, a steep 90 minute return trip.  The view from up there was even better than my breakfast.  It seems many of the locals use the path as their morning exercise—infinitely better than a treadmill.  The beauty of New Zealand does not cease to amaze me.

THe view from Mt. Iron

The outskirts of Wanaka (as seen form Mt. Iron)

Cliffs of Mt. Iron

Around 11:30 we got back on the road to Queenstown, the largest city (other than the ruined Christchurch) on the south island.

Before we got to town we stopped at the world-famous AJ Hackett bungy (bungee) center.  AJ Hackett is basically the inventor of bungy jumping, the guy who tied rubber bands to his feet (inspired by an older and much more dangerous tribal tradition) and jumped off anything he could find, including various bridges, the Eifel tower, helicopters, and the tallest building in Aukland.  This guy is the mac-daddy of adrenaline, arguably one of the craziest blokes on planet earth.  Anyway, the center is located at the world’s first commercial bungy site, Kawarau bridge, 43 meters above the river below.

The view form AJ Hackett

Kawarau

After we watched a fifteen-minute video about AJ and the history of bungy, I decided it was time for my debut.  THAT’S RIGHT, I JUMPED OFF A BRIDGE!

The bridge is not the tallest bungy in Queenstown—there are two taller ones.  But it has the unique advantage of being over the water, and I chose it because I was determined to get dunked.  After a nervous half-hour wait up on the bridge, they strapped me in.  You would be surprised to know how informal the official bungy setup is.  You wear a harness as a safety measure and as a way of being ‘rescued’ in the raft in the water below, but the real apparatus is basically a tea towel, some straps, and a carabineer.  They rap the towel around your ankles as a cushion, and then tie the whole thing up somehow with straps and clip you to the glorified rubber band they call and bungy.  Then they set the rope to the exact right height for my weight.

Well, the time to defy all my instincts came.  I stripped off my shirt, despite the freezing wind and the definite chill of the water below, and nervously approached the edge of the platform.  I bawked once, leaning backwards onto the crewmember, and then shimmied to the edge again.  I smiled awkwardly to the camera, then the guy counted from five…

Next thing I knew, despite all my better judgments, I flung myself off the bridge.  The way down was terrifying.  I couldn’t get any sounds out of my mouth.  There was enough time for my brain to register that I was falling to certain death, then enough time for me to realize this was the most exhilarating thing I’d ever done.  Then, arms up, chin tucked, I plunged chest-deep into the freezing water.  I was only under for a few milliseconds, then I got yanked out again.  Then I screamed.  Wooooo! Wooooo Wooooo!  As I bobbed up and down, waiting to settle before I could get lowered into the raft, I was sure that was the most fun ten seconds of my life.  Coming from a person who used to thing bungy was an absolutely suicidal hobby, I can say I’m a changed man.  Everyone needs to experience that terrific near-death jump at least once in his life.

The moment before I stared death in the face.

The moment after I stared death in the face (note the smile)

Gravity is a toy.

The plunge.

And back up.

And back down.

Landing! (Note how the normal people are dressed.)

There was too much adrenaline pumping in my arteries for me to be cold.  The guys in the raft asked me how many fish I saw, and also commented that I was crazy and bold for doing the water dip in winter.  Go me!

We’re at the Queenstown Base hostel now, which is definitely the busiest place we’ve been yet.  Ski season hasn’t even started yet, and the place is already packed with travelers like me taking it all in.  We have a free day tomorrow, so tonight should be a good time touring the Queenstown nightlife.