Connor, my flatmate and Alexa, his girlfriend and I headed to Queenstown last Friday. Weather forecasts were against us predicting rain and snow all weekend, but that didn't stop us. After all the weather in NZ can change in one minute and you can experience four seasons in one day.
We drove there in the evening in pouring rain. Luckily Nomad backpackers hostel was nice and warm. Fergburger was the dinner destination, recommended to Alexa by a friend of hers. The burgers they serve are amazing! Watch any hamburger commercial for McD or Burger King and imagine there is a real burger like that - big and crispy, with lots of salad and grilled beef. I ordered one with lamb - yummy! (though I couldn't finish it)
Next morning Connor and Alexa were going to go bungy-jumping. I'm not crazy enough for that, so I decided to follow them and watch the horror instead. While getting their booking confirmed I read the ads and saw something called the world's highest swing - Nevi's Arc. Without knowing what to expect, whether to be afraid or not, I decided to go. Connor and Alexa were nervous, but not me, I was just going to go for a swing. A bus took us all to some remote location where adrenalin was in the air.
First we watched some people jump, and then it was Connor's turn. (I was still calm, just enjoying the views). It didn't even look like he hesitated, he just jumped with his hands out like a bird. I don't think I can grasp the overwhelming feeling of falling helplessly into a deep valley with an ice cold river. Many people dream about flying, and this is probably as close as you can come to flying without any support.
Alexa jumped after him, with the same determination and grace. They both looked very elegant in the air.
They were both very happy after the jump, so I guess bungy jumping is worth both the fear and the price (it is quite expensive).
Then it was my turn to get an adrenalin kick! I was not nervous at all, in fact I was very excited and happy. I decided to go first, because I haven't yet seen anyone do the Swing (and if I had I'm not sure I would have jumped) and I also chose to swing backward (avoiding to see the ground below).
The Swing is in a pretty deep valley. The arc is about 200 m, the rope is 120 m and since I was starting at one point I had to be dropped about 70 m, without any tension. One second I was there, hanging in my harness, smiling. And then someone pushed a button and I was falling handless into the valley. It was crazy!
And this is how happy I was afterwards (the guy behind me works there, he is not a scared customer):
I'll post more photos from Queenstown next time. It's such a beautiful place!
