Nevis - The Seat Of Doom
Some Words for The Class of '09
17 years ago
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Nevis
Today was the big one, the Nevis Highwire bungy. Me and Justin were doing this one (I managed to talk Justin into doing this even though he said he was never going to do a bungy!) plus the lucky git won free photos and a DVD so I guess that was a good incentive too. We went to check in and get weighed before the bus came to pick us up as the site wasa good 40min ride away. When we got on the bus the driver told us it was quite windy up there today and at the moment the wind was blowing in the wrong direction which would mean we couldnt jump but we were going to go up anyway and hope the direction changed. Luckily by the time we got up there it had changed so we were able to jump woohoo!
We put on our harnesses and then went to the viewing platform to wait for the cable car to come over and get us. Where you jumped from was a suspended cable car in between two big mountains so that looked pretty scary in itself. When I got out the the suspended jump car you could see all the way down as it had a perspex bottom and it was a damn long way down well 134m. When it was my turn to jump I had some safety things strapped to my legs and then went to sit in the chair to get hooked up. Walking up to the platform was the scary part as you couldnt move your legs and were more worried about tripping and falling over the edge!! When I got to the edge I just looked forward and waited for the quick countdown before making my jump and plumeting down in a 7 second freefall towards the ground below. It was such a relief to bounce back up, the jump was just unbelieveable! On the secound bounce up there was a cord to pull which released my feet and put me in a seated position so it was more comfortable when I was winched back up to the top. I can't wait to put the pics up but Im going to have to wait until I find somewhere where I can do it :-( hopefully it wont be too long!!
By the time we got back from the Nevis it was around 4pm and we had tickets to do the Luge so made tracks to get there fast as it closed at 5 and we had 6 goes. When we got up there the advanced track was closed due to the weather as it was snowing and freezing cold, Im glad Christian had a spare pair of gloves as me hands were frozen. We managed to speed around the scenic route really fast and had taken all of our goes with 15mins to spare which was pretty good going. I was really glad to get back into the warm though and stick my hands next to the fire for a while. The first Lions vs All Blacks test match was on in a couple of hours so we went to get ready for that and made our way to the bar to watch it.
We put on our harnesses and then went to the viewing platform to wait for the cable car to come over and get us. Where you jumped from was a suspended cable car in between two big mountains so that looked pretty scary in itself. When I got out the the suspended jump car you could see all the way down as it had a perspex bottom and it was a damn long way down well 134m. When it was my turn to jump I had some safety things strapped to my legs and then went to sit in the chair to get hooked up. Walking up to the platform was the scary part as you couldnt move your legs and were more worried about tripping and falling over the edge!! When I got to the edge I just looked forward and waited for the quick countdown before making my jump and plumeting down in a 7 second freefall towards the ground below. It was such a relief to bounce back up, the jump was just unbelieveable! On the secound bounce up there was a cord to pull which released my feet and put me in a seated position so it was more comfortable when I was winched back up to the top. I can't wait to put the pics up but Im going to have to wait until I find somewhere where I can do it :-( hopefully it wont be too long!!
By the time we got back from the Nevis it was around 4pm and we had tickets to do the Luge so made tracks to get there fast as it closed at 5 and we had 6 goes. When we got up there the advanced track was closed due to the weather as it was snowing and freezing cold, Im glad Christian had a spare pair of gloves as me hands were frozen. We managed to speed around the scenic route really fast and had taken all of our goes with 15mins to spare which was pretty good going. I was really glad to get back into the warm though and stick my hands next to the fire for a while. The first Lions vs All Blacks test match was on in a couple of hours so we went to get ready for that and made our way to the bar to watch it.
Queenstown / The Thrillogy
In the morning before leaving Wanaka we stopped at Puzzling World which had lots of puzzles in it funnily enough, a maze , some holograms and other visual tricks which were ok to pass the time but it wasn't anything special. The previous day a form had gone around for activites in Queenstown one of which was the AJ Hackett Bungies that I had decided to put my name down for!
There are three bungies in Queenstown, The Kawarua Bridge which is 43m and the original bungy site in NZ. The Ledge which is 47m and then The Nevis which is a whopping 134m being NZ's biggest bungy and the world's 3rd biggest. I thought I may as well do them all so paid for that along with photos from each one and a DVD of all 3 jumps! When we gt into Queenstown the Kawarua Bridge was the first stop and quite a few people from the bus had decided to do the jump. I had never done a bungy before so it was kinda scary though once I had seen a few people jump off it didnt seem that bad. When It came to my go I got strapped up, well they put towel around my legs and secured them together with a strap which at first looked really dodgy but once the strap was around it felt super safe. I was ready for the jump now and stood on the edge of the plank after having my photo taken, then it was a 5-4-3-2-1 countdown until I lept forward and made an elegant dive down heading towards the river below which I missed by about an inch!! The bungy guys said I was going to get a little dunk but I guess I must have done a big jump so the rope didnt stretch far enough :-) Once I had bounced up and down a few times it was all over and I got rescued by the raft on the river and made my way back to the top. I can't really explain the rush you get once you dive off the edge but Its amazing and even better once you know you have survived haha. My photos turned out really good and the DVD was brilliant so was all ready for the next jump that evening which was The Ledge.
When we got into Queenstown we checked into the Discovery Lodge Hostel and then went to book some more activites. I ended up booking a day trip to Milford Sound and two days Snowboarding so had the next few days all sorted. When It got to 6pm I made my way to the Gondola which took me to the top of a big mountain overlooking Queenstown and was also where I had to go for my next bungy jump The Ledge. By this time it was dark and the whole of Queenstown was lit up which looked amazing, there were a few other guys from the bus doing the jump as well so I met them at the top and made my way to the bungy site. This bungy was slightly different as instead of being attached by your feet you had a body harness and were attached to the bugy rope by your waist. This meant your legs were free and you had to take a running jump!!!
When I got up there I was still a little nervous while waiting but when It got to my go I was totally up for it and didnt bother me at all. After my countdown I took a nice long run up and made a good dive out which felt awesome. It felt like it was over so fast and I was being winched back up to the top. The photos from this jump looked amazing especially the side view just after I had jumped and Queestown is in the background all lit up and it just looks absolutely wikkid so I was really pleased with that.
Once I got back to the hostel I went and met everyone in the bar and ended up staying out until 3am so was quite a big night out and was really good fun. They have Teapots here which are basically teapots filled with a cocktail and you are given shot glasses so you can pour your own shots its a really kool novelty - more tea vicar!
There are three bungies in Queenstown, The Kawarua Bridge which is 43m and the original bungy site in NZ. The Ledge which is 47m and then The Nevis which is a whopping 134m being NZ's biggest bungy and the world's 3rd biggest. I thought I may as well do them all so paid for that along with photos from each one and a DVD of all 3 jumps! When we gt into Queenstown the Kawarua Bridge was the first stop and quite a few people from the bus had decided to do the jump. I had never done a bungy before so it was kinda scary though once I had seen a few people jump off it didnt seem that bad. When It came to my go I got strapped up, well they put towel around my legs and secured them together with a strap which at first looked really dodgy but once the strap was around it felt super safe. I was ready for the jump now and stood on the edge of the plank after having my photo taken, then it was a 5-4-3-2-1 countdown until I lept forward and made an elegant dive down heading towards the river below which I missed by about an inch!! The bungy guys said I was going to get a little dunk but I guess I must have done a big jump so the rope didnt stretch far enough :-) Once I had bounced up and down a few times it was all over and I got rescued by the raft on the river and made my way back to the top. I can't really explain the rush you get once you dive off the edge but Its amazing and even better once you know you have survived haha. My photos turned out really good and the DVD was brilliant so was all ready for the next jump that evening which was The Ledge.
When we got into Queenstown we checked into the Discovery Lodge Hostel and then went to book some more activites. I ended up booking a day trip to Milford Sound and two days Snowboarding so had the next few days all sorted. When It got to 6pm I made my way to the Gondola which took me to the top of a big mountain overlooking Queenstown and was also where I had to go for my next bungy jump The Ledge. By this time it was dark and the whole of Queenstown was lit up which looked amazing, there were a few other guys from the bus doing the jump as well so I met them at the top and made my way to the bungy site. This bungy was slightly different as instead of being attached by your feet you had a body harness and were attached to the bugy rope by your waist. This meant your legs were free and you had to take a running jump!!!
When I got up there I was still a little nervous while waiting but when It got to my go I was totally up for it and didnt bother me at all. After my countdown I took a nice long run up and made a good dive out which felt awesome. It felt like it was over so fast and I was being winched back up to the top. The photos from this jump looked amazing especially the side view just after I had jumped and Queestown is in the background all lit up and it just looks absolutely wikkid so I was really pleased with that.
Once I got back to the hostel I went and met everyone in the bar and ended up staying out until 3am so was quite a big night out and was really good fun. They have Teapots here which are basically teapots filled with a cocktail and you are given shot glasses so you can pour your own shots its a really kool novelty - more tea vicar!
Wanaka
After setting off from Franz Josef we stopped off for breakfast at a cafe near Matheson Lake where we went and got a nice photo of the lake with the mountains mirror reflection in it. As we were not going to be stopping off anywhere for lunch we were told to fill ourselves up so ordered a big backpackers breakfast, which consisted of a pot of tea, some orange juice, sausages, beans, toast, eggs and bacon so was a good feed. Justin just got a toasted sandwich until he found out we were not stopping for lunch so also ordered a big breakfast as well. As we were the last to order everyone else was on the bus waiting for us while we shovelled down our food so we were hurried along by the driver, this resulted in Justin having to make a quick exit off the bus five minutes down the road and fill a plastic bag!
After we had a good laugh at Justin all those people on the bus that didnt know him now did but he was better known as sickboy haha. We then had a nice scenic drive down to Wanaka where we stopped the night at a hotel, though it was no different to a dorm and we even had to pay extra for a duvet so I wouldnt really call it a hotel. After dumping our stuff in the room me, Justin and Christain went for a wander around the town and I went and got a plate of nachos with a nice thick milkshake even though the sun had just gone down and was now freezing cold. Wanaka Is only a couple of hours away from Queenstown which is the nearest place to the slopes so is becoming a popular ski / snowboard resort type place, though there's not that much else to do here. Anyway we ended up spending the evening at the hotel and watched Harts War on the DVD player they had.
After we had a good laugh at Justin all those people on the bus that didnt know him now did but he was better known as sickboy haha. We then had a nice scenic drive down to Wanaka where we stopped the night at a hotel, though it was no different to a dorm and we even had to pay extra for a duvet so I wouldnt really call it a hotel. After dumping our stuff in the room me, Justin and Christain went for a wander around the town and I went and got a plate of nachos with a nice thick milkshake even though the sun had just gone down and was now freezing cold. Wanaka Is only a couple of hours away from Queenstown which is the nearest place to the slopes so is becoming a popular ski / snowboard resort type place, though there's not that much else to do here. Anyway we ended up spending the evening at the hotel and watched Harts War on the DVD player they had.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
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