QT with the Flatties!
Trip Start
Feb 04, 2010
1
22
23
Trip End
Jun 25, 2010
Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand
Saturday, May 22, 2010
QT is a tourist hotspot, especially for those who are interested in getting that adrenaline rush, as it is a famous destination for adventure tourism. The area provides abundant opportunity for the thrill-seeker, including activities such as skiing, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, sky diving, and bungee jumping. And so the flat arrived in Queenstown – Andre and Aleisha excited to go bungee jumping, Jenna battling with the idea (she has a prior and recurring back injury…), me not wanting to part with my money, and Louis…well, we’re not quite sure what he’s ever thinking. After exploring their bungee options, Andre and Aleisha settled on jumping at the Kawarau Bridge, the original bungee site (it was the first permanent commercial site in the world). Andre really had his sights set on the Nevis Bungy, which is 134m (8.5 seconds of freefalling!) but the price tag was too high for Aleisha to agree upon (it requires a 4x4 and a boat to get to this site and costs $250NZ to jump and $50NZ just to watch). The Kawarau Bridge Bungy is perhaps the most popular option. It is about a 20 minute drive from QT and you can see the bridge and bungee setup from the road. The Kawarau Bridge crosses a gorge and the jump here is 43 meters (and you get the option if you want to be dunked in the river).
When we arrived at the bridge on Saturday morning, the Penn State Glee Club was in the process of jumping (there were about 30 of them – they were an interesting group). It was a chilly morning, but a few still chose to get dunked in the river, which was quite entertaining. It was funny watching the jumpers waddle out to the end of the landing (as they were feet were bound) and then dive off. Jenna, Louis and I had a great time watching and commenting on the various jumpers as we waited for Andre and Aleisha’s turns. Right before they went, a 65-year old man jumped (his wife was standing next to me and was nervous for him and thought he was crazy). He just looked so happy that he was going to jump and according to Aleisha was completely nonchalant about the whole thing – what a good chap! I hope I’m like him when I’m old (and apparently you get really good deals - $80 for the jump, t-shirt, pictures and videos). Andre and Aleisha both did their jumps and survived…Aleisha was a little more vocal about her jump (and I did reprimand her for it). Aleisha did explain how scary the jump was, because the water comes at you so quickly that you don’t think you will stop in time.
After the thrilling morning, the flat headed to Arrowtown, a historic and very cutesy/touristy gold mining town, to get a bite to eat. We found a lovely café and ate heartily (we hadn’t eaten earlier, because Andre and Aleisha did not want to lose their breakfasts in the river) and explored the little town. We went to the Chinese settlement where the old miners lived in very tiny, primitive huts. The trees were all golden and it was such a pretty, sunny day.
We headed back to Queenstown to take the gondola up 400 meters above QT for some wicked views and a little luging…but when we got to the gondola there were signs that said the luge was closed for maintenance. I was so gutted, because I really wanted to do it. Compared to $175NZ, $35 sounded like a reasonable amount to spend on an activity (especially one that doesn’t last very long) and was an amount that I had been prepared to spend. We did head up the gondola, and as we were passing the Ledge Bungy, we watched as a girl was leaning backwards off the ledge with someone holding onto her and was suddenly dropped – it looked so terrifyingly awesome, and at that moment I knew I was going bungee jumping. I had never had that urge where I thought that I would really want to do it before, but I did at that moment and I knew that I wanted to drop backwards, because I imagined the rush from that would be so much greater. Jenna really wanted to jump but was nervous about her back. She had been toying with the idea of doing a bungee swing – there was one at this location, so it was easy to convince her to jump with me.
The Ledge Bungy is a different setup from the bridge – instead of jumping headfirst into a river, you are jumping off a platform into the trees and rocks below…but 400m over Queenstown and Lake Wakitipu, so gorgeous views. Also, instead of being bound by your feet, you are attached by a harness (similar to but more substantial than a climbing harness), so the impact it has on your body is not as bad. After much deliberation, Jenna decided that this setup would probably be okay on her back so she went all-in with me. We parted with our $175NZ and headed to the platform, where we found out that we were allowed to jump 3 times (and an unlimited amount after that depending on availability)! Jenna was a bundle of nerves and let me go first, which I couldn’t have been happier about. I was so excited to do it that I didn’t want to have to wait.
They strapped me in, and let me do the first jump, where I could just run and superman off the platform. The feeling of free-falling was incredible – I really did feel like I was flying until the bungee caught me and flung me back into the air. When I was raised back up to the platform, I was ready for my next jump – this one is traditionally the "Matrix." For this jump, you twist in the air once you’ve jumped and pretend you’re pointing guns at the person behind you. I felt a little bit like a tool as I was doing it, but it was still really fun. The third jump was the one that I was waiting for. It’s called the pendulum, and you stand on the platform with your heels over the edge. The jump master holds onto you as you lean backwards, and he counts down before he drops you. In my case, he must have realized that I was having so much fun with it that he tried to mess with me by pretending to drop me 4 or 5 times before he actually did. When he did finally let go, I just free-fell backwards and it was the most incredible rush. It was as incredible as I had expected and I do not regret doing it.
Jenna jumped after me (she was a bit more vocal…) and she also survived unharmed – no back problems! Afterwards she told us that she’s scared of heights, which I was surprised to find out. I had no idea, and I’m so proud of her for jumping (and without coercion, as none of us knew that she had this fear)! Once we jumped, Louis decided that he should, too. Since we got to jump 3 times, it was as if we were paying only $40 US per jump (still a lot, but more reasonable). Besides, we got a free t-shirt for doing the Ledge Bungy (yeah right – that was the most expensive t-shirt I’ve ever bought!).
Overall, it was an incredible weekend with the flatties, and it was fun getting up to our usual shenanigans in a fun spot like Queenstown!
Comments
175/3= 58.33
Yours sincerly
Big Andy
Dude, I know somebody in the Penn State Glee Club.
What a cool weekend! You rock girl! And I can see your summer venture now: bungee jumping over the Lamoille River from the swinging Long Trail foot bridge.