It's Halloween. I'm in a foreign country. What can I do to make the day a little bit more scary? Answer: Stand on top of a 142ft platform overlooking the Kawarau River and jump off.
Ahhhh-hah!!!!!!
This day ranks as one of the most ballistic days of my life. (You're gonna do what??? Just stay on my wing Cougar --- let me tell you the story)
So, although I would consider myself fairly conservative, I also have a bit of a wild side that enjoys an adrenaline rush or two. With this in mind, 5 of us today took a 25 minute nerve-racking bus ride to the site of the original bungee jump -- The Kawarua Bridge. This is where bungee jumping got its commercial beginning (That's right Ice Man -- 'pat on the shoulder' --- I AM a little dangerous).
Our bus was scheduled to depart at 11:30am. We walked into town from our hotel a couple hours early to grab some breakfast. I was freaking out upon wake-up this morning. For some reason, this whole "jump off a bridge thing" hasn't been sitting well in my stomach.
No worries mate. It definitely helped that 5 of us went together. We walked over to the booking location when we got into town. There was a big board stating: "Free pictures (otherwise $50) of your bungee jump when wearing a Halloween costume". We learned of this information about 1 hr prior to departure. What do you do? Answer: You go buy a $10 pirate custom (complete with hat, eye patch, vest, and hook) and proceed to jump 143ft over water in costume. (At that speed and distance, sounds a little bit too aggressive ----- Yeah, I guess when I see something I really want - I go right after it)
I will say I have no affinity to dressing as a pirate -- it just happened to be the cheapest costume in the discount store across the street from our pickup spot. Actually - even while writing this - I can't believe I jumped with a pirates hat and eye patch on (and it didn't come off).
So, we get to the place, sign some things I preferred not to read, weighed ourselves twice (once for confirmation), and were led to the middle of the Kawarua Bridge. There just happened to be a couple dudes bungying naked upon our arrival. What??? This sport tends to attract the wilder side of life. I said I had a wild side -- just not that wild. After not watching, but watching what was going on, we were each handed a harness based on our weight. 1 was number 4 of 5 from our group. I got to see my buddies make the leap before me -- this helped with the confidence level a bit. They sit you down on this platform and wrap towels around your ankles and secure your attachment to the bungee. Your feet are completely bundled together and you cannot walk -- only scoot.
Next - the moment of truth. They help you to your feet and ask you to "scoot" up to the edge. I have one hand on the edge of the bridge as I'm doing this. I get to within about 6 inches of the edge with the toes of my shoes (I'm thinking this is about far enough). They say --- "keep scooting out". I continue another 3 inches. They tell me again --- "keep scooting out". (I'm thinking this is no longer a good idea - try putting your feet together and effectively moving your whole body to within the absolute lip of a 142ft drop). I continue to scoot out and my toes are now slightly over the edge. I see the river below -- my hand still death-gripped to the bridge.
Then, they tell me to release my hand from the bridge and turn to the right (You gotta let go man - you gotta let it go) --- they want to take my picture (OK -- whatever -- this "picture" is not that important --- so I half-heartily looked to my right). Then, they tell me to look straight ahead and raise my arms above my head. (seriously - just writing this right now is making my stomach turn). With my arms fully extended above my head and my gaze straight-forward, they count backwards 3 -- 2 --- 1 --- JUMP.
WHHHOOOOOAAAAAAA!!!!!!!! I let out some guttural noises as I plummeted my way downward. The water is getting closer, closer -- then WOW -- I'm going upwards again. Then, another rush towards the water. Then up again, then a shorter surge to the water. I DID IT. I was hanging upside down about 20 ft or so from the water. I figured if I fell out of the harness -- I'd still make it. The blood is rushing to my head -- but the feeling is o-so-good. They lower me down to a raft on the river and plunge into the boat. They ask me to look up for my final photo. All I can think
about at this moment is: "That was AWESOME"
My "not so efficient" look to the right
Yahtzee!
HEELLLPPPP MEEEEE!
Nice form
I'm free falling
Wow - I'm still alive
Let me off this thing
SOLID
So, if bungee jumping was not enough, upon arrival back into Queenstown - we had a couple beers and then met up with our jet boat excursion at 3:30pm. The Shot Over Jet is the most aggressive jet boat ride in the world --- we would make this happen today as well.
I wasn't nervous for this - just excited. We caught a 15 minute bus out to the canyons where the excursion would begin. Awesome. We were going at speeds up to 80km/hr at times - coming within inches of sheer rock cliffs. We would do 360 turns in the middle of the canyon -- it was unbelievable. This is another "must do" in New Zealand.
I could go on -- but need to get some shut-eye. Just know it was about 30 minutes of the most aggressive boating one could ever encounter.
ALL GOOD from the Land of the Kiwi.
Shotover jet team
Excellent!
Not a bad Halloween
Nice work, man! Incredible scenery, but I've been waiting to read about THIS day since you left!
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