A Town Fit for a Queen (a very adventurous queen that is)

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So I arrived into the welcoming arms of the “adventure capital of the world” eager to try all of the crazy things my mind and body would allow me to sign up for. And these queenstown arms are indeed so welcoming to any and every tourist because it is basically what the town thrives on…scratch that…what the town survives on. As you walk through the little town that does have the energy of a city almost every single store is either a tourist shop (i.e. t-shirts, shot glasses, and 20 different kinds of stuffed animal sheep to decide from…not to mention some interesting prints featuring kiwis and sheep together…yeeeah), shop geared toward tourists, or a shop selling one or more of the various adventure activities the town is known for. But don’t get me wrong on queenstown…sure there are tons of tourists…but the place does have energy and feels like a ski-town crossed with a surf town. All the activities, all the vibrancy of people who spend their days workin outside…but still incredibly laid back and friendly. And once again…the views are spectacular. Sit right on the lake and look out towards the Remarkable Mountains…what can I say…they’re well, remarkable! Ohhhh…I love the NZ names. And besides all the adventure hoopla in town with all those surrounding mountains there are bound to be hikes…I’ve realized that no matter where you go in NZ there is always outdoor fun to be had. I went on a couple of hikes, one up to a peak called Ben Lomand, and was not disappointed. A challenge for sure, especially because the sun beat down the entire time…and the last part felt like I should have brought some climbing gear along…but so worth the views. Yes…views…there is no peak higher in visible range and you look out to 360 degrees of mountain range after mountain range with a bit of deep, dark blue lake in between. From here…queenstown seemed so distant from it’s bustling little adventury self. Being up on that peak was like waking up to all of what surrounds such a tiny speck in the midst of it all.

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But back to the “adventure” part of this adventure capitol… since you may well likely be uniformed of these adventurous activities, allow me. First and foremost is the bungy jump: AJ Hackett started it all right here in Queenstown off the Kawarau bridge and it has since become a staple of the town and a draw to many crazy travellers looking for a 43-137 (there are 3 different jumps..) metre free fall, with only a bundle of elastic strings (like the ones in your underwear) technically tied together and a towel wrapped around your legs as you leap off a bridge, kinda thrill. Who are these weirdos anyway?? Ha. Then we have jetboating: another activity invented in QT and still going strong. This machine actually paved the way for the jet-ski. The boat is therefore exactly the same concept…the motor works by taking water in through the front and shooting it out the back and thus propelling the boat to super high speeds with incredible manueverability….so much fun! This was my first adventure in QT as I thought I’d start tame and work my way up….it was a blast! The drive there alone was incredible…through Skippers Canyon along an old mining road that digs into one side of the mountain with a sheer drop off the other side that was built in the 1800s by the gold miners themselves. this tiny lane winds around and through incredible views that can only be described as purely new zealand. You hope another car doesn’t come the other direction to avoid the tight pass and pray that no side of that mountain road gives way…at some points it actually seemed like the front tire was hanging off the cliff. Our driver even mentioned that most of your nerves will be spent on the drive and not in the jet-boat. But anyway…once I did get in that boat…what a ride it was! Man…this thing just tears down the river…right over shallow waters and the drivers know how to control it so well that you come within inches of hanging rock walls…woooah! And don’t forget a few 360 spins as well! Like i said…it’s a giant jet-ski. I loved the feel of a water-activated roller-coaster ride…like being a little kid…and the complimentary face-sprayings were also appreciated.

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Second on the list for this day was taking a gondola up the queenstown mountain and sliding down the luge! Sweet!. Little rolly car that you sit in, with bike handle bars to steer, stop and GO! Fly down and over dips and bumps, swerve around the corner, get out and do it again! Once more I found myself with a smile permanently slapped across my face.

But wer’re just getting started…There is also river-rafting: self-explanatory, river-boarding: going down the rapids on a body-board! Paragliding: jump of a cliff with a parachute to guide you Hang-gliding: jump off cliff with kite-thing to guide you Sky-diving: jump out of aircraft and hope parachute opens to guide you…Canyon-swing: like a bungy except you are in a harness and free-fall an ungodly distance (the picture showed it as equivalent to the statue of liberty) before swinging through a massive canyon a few times like a giant human pendulum). And finally the Fly-by-Wire: this one still confuses me…it’s some tiny plane thing attached to a wire that you get into lying on your stomach to fly up, down and in circles or something for 5 minutes….i think any more and you’d be training for NASA…or seeing that ice cream cone again…one or the other for certain. So there you have it…adventure capital summed up. only problem is…that to do all these crazy/cool activities you need a very large bank account. What a dilemma…you walk around the town, screens flashing in windows, adds calling out, photos beckoning…and then….wooooh…wait…how much is that? $200? Right. It ain’t a cheap place for sure.

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So I basically spent my time in queenstown hanging out and trying to decide which one of these crazy endeavors to take part in. two workers at the hostel would ask me every day…you doing the bungy yet? Come on…just reserve a spot…swipe the card…do it, do it! Many a conversation ended with…ahh…I really want to…but I really don’t think I can! I’d freak out, I’d probably pass out on the way down or maybe I’ll just get there and completely freeze. But in the end they convinced me that I’d never know what it would be like if I never took the dive…”then you won’t have to spend the rest of your life wondering what it’s like! Plus…I know you’ll love it! And you’ll be conquering a fear! And you’ll get to brag about it to everyone who says ‘I can’t believe you did that!…what’s it like??’ and in the end…they were too right…so I bucked up and did the credit card swipe…and my signature has never been so wobbly. That night i went out for a walk to soothe my nerves and ran into a slender Indian fellow named Gopi, about the same age as myself who had already done the “Thrilogy” in one day…this is the title given to participation in all three of the bungy jumps queenstown offers. and he was already signed in for a sky dive the following morning. We ended up hanging out and he became my prime mental mentor for the jump and actually ended up rescheduling his own jump to come on the bus with me and cheer me on to soaring, bouncing victory! What an amazing guy! As I waited for the bus I sat in the waiting area ( which I have renamed the try and look relaxed while hiding the your frantic panic, area) thinking “what the hell have I gotten myself into!...queenstown has just gotten into ME!” watching bungy videos flash across the screen I laughed nervously, swallowed the little saliva left in my mouth, and wiped my sweating palms still wondering if I could actually do it. But before I knew it… 5-4-3-2-1- BUNGY! And that was my cue to go against every natural instinct in my body that wanted so badly to stay upon that jump platform: toes clamped to the ground, and arm happily clung around the guy who had psychologically tricked me into this predicament. And then…yes…i suddenly I took a deep breath and dove out, hands and arms spread like superman,only left with the guy’s “good on ya” as his hand on my back helped me off… and then flailing downwards…woah, wooah, wooah…I’m flying!...boooiiing! I did it I did it!! Wooooo! Woooooahweeee! Up again! Deep breath…wooo…back down towards that teal blue river again I go! Wooohooo! This is great! Ya! Ya! Ya! Holy shit ya! I just did it….and I’m still alive and bouncing! What a rush! And as I ran up the stairs to meet Gopi happily congratulated me and complimented my very experienced looking dive…it’s all because I had such an amazing guide I replied with complete honesty.. And he was so right! How incredible it was! Can we go again?! I’ve already decided that there will surely be a next time. I love Gopi’s approach to life…see a challenge and face it head on…be bigger than it and then take that rush of confidence with you. I like this outlook on life…it’s just so much more fun.