Day 30 - A Fun Packed Last Day

Today we awoke to he perfect day, there were no clouds to be seen the sun was shinning and not a breeze to be felt. We rushed down to the sky diving place to check that we were on for our jump which we where! Which was very lucky as this is our last day and opportunity to do the jump in Queestown.

After a briefing we where driven out to the jump zone were we where greeted by another group of tandem jumpers falling out of the sky at great speed. We where all feeling nervous at this stage. As we couldn't all fit into the one plane they divided us up into groups of three, of which we where the third group to go up.



When our turn came, we where geared up with jump suits, harness, goggles, gloves and hats. The jump suit and harness where very uncomfortable mainly due to the extreme wedgie. We where then instructed on the position to adopt whilst falling out the plane and that was about all the instructions needed. There where then nine people, including the instructors, camera men, and us, cramped into a very small plane. The space inside was very basic, with no chairs and no room to stand. We all had to sit between/on our instructors laps whilst securely fastened on to them.




Adrian's Jump Experience:
Once we'd reached 15,000 feet above the ground the see-though door opened next to me and I was shuffled out of the hatch so that my legs where hanging under the plane and my arse was barely on the floor. At the same time the camera man had climbed out the plane and was hanging from the outside of he plane taking pictures. (The mad gits!) Much to Bev's shock I was out the door very quickly and hurtling towards the ground at 150 mph. All I can say is that it was such a buzz and a lot of fun but a very unique experience.





Bev's Jump Experience:
I think my real fear kicked in after i was handed the oxygen mask at 13,000ft which i proceeded to inhale on very deeply. when we reached 15,000ft the see through door of the plane opened and one minute Adrian was there, the next he was gone!! This completely freaked me out but it was to late to turn back as i was then dangled off the edge of the plane by my instructor, rocked a couple of times, told to smile for the camera, then off we went!!! Initially the first few seconds really make your stomach go, i felt like i had left it behind in the plane, but then you get the sensation that you are flying which is an amazing feeling! After 60 seconds of free fall your chute comes out and everything goes completely silent. The view of the mountains were absolutely spectacular. Then after a minute or so my instructor proceeded to spin me all the way down to the ground which was great fun!! I would defiantly recommend doing a sky dive its a fantastic experience.





The reason for the oxygen mask was due to the height of the jump. Any jump higher than 13,000ft is classified as a high altitude jump and therefore oxygen via a mask or nasal specs is required due to the lack of oxygen at that height.




Once safely back on the ground we were taken back to Queenstown. Everyone in our group had a brilliant time and really enjoyed the sky dive. All the adrenaline had given us both an appetite so we headed off to our favourite brunch place for a full English breakfast. This went down very well indeed. We took this time to ponder on what to do for the rest of the afternoon. We decided it would be fun to try out paragliding from a boat. So after a drink at another cafe we boarded the boat and were harnessed up once again. We were both shocked at how high we actually went, and how quick the gear was that launched us up there. It was very breezy up there but the views around Queenstown were fantastic. At one point we were lowered down so much that we thought we were going to fall into the water, this freaked us both out a fair bit and we started waving frantically at the men in the boat, who didn't see us as there backs were turned!!!! After resuming a safe height above the water we headed back to Queenstown.





We then went for a beer after collecting our photos and DVDs of the sky dive.

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Day 29 - Just Another Scary Day

Today was the day we decided to take the plunge and do the Nevis bungy jump!! The Nevis is the highest bungy jump in New Zealand, it is 134metres high with an 8.5 second free fall. This was Adrian's birthday present and i went along for the ride originally as a spectator.

We were picked up from the bungy centre midday along with 16 other extremely nervous looking people, including one guy who was terrified of heights. The trip to the Nevis took 45 minutes most of which was up a steep dirt track. Once we arrived we had to get into our harnesses (even those who were not jumping). We were then transported across to the bungy pod via a open air cable cart.



The bungy pod was larger than expected with part of the floor made of glass so you could see how high up you really were. Through this glass floor you could see everyone that was jumping which did wonders for the nerves of those who hadn't jumped yet.



Adrian was the second up to jump which was good as this meant he could get it over and done with. The only option was to jump head first as though diving (so this meant that Adrian could not stumble off the ledge this time !!) As you can see from the video below all went very well !




After another ten people had jumped i was asked if i fancied a go. Despite what my stomach was telling me i decided to face my fears and jump! So i did and it was brilliant.




All the people in our group except for one took the plunge and jumped and everyone loved it !!



After the drive back we went and had a well deserved pint, which went down extremely well. We spent the rest of the afternoon in Queenstown doing some shopping and ended up sitting on the beach with snapper and chips.



Today was one of the first days with no wind so the lake was very still and crystal clear, with the sun setting behind the mountains.

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Day 28 - A Windy Day

Well the weather for the sky dive seemed to be a lot better today as the sun was shinning and the clouds had all gone some where else for the day. Unfortunately the people at the sky dive centre decided that the wind was too high so it's been rescheduled yet again, this time for Sunday!



Fingers crossed for Sunday everyone.

Day 27 - Milford Sound

We'd booked up late last night to go on a day trip to Milford Sound rather then wait for another let down on the sky diving. We had been told that Milford Sound was a must visit as this fjord (For Jo: Lake supplied by the sea! Help from Bev after explanation to her!) was set in some great scenery.

The coach picked us up early and wet set of on the 4 hour journey to get to Milford where the boat was waiting for us. The weather stayed good for the journey round to the first set of mountains that needed to be crossed. We had stopped off at a few photo points on the way there so that we could stretch our legs.

One of the stops that we where let off the coach for was for a 15 minute walk though the woods to an extremely picturesque waterfall that had carved it's way though the rock in very strange way. We where lucky that it had been raining hard the previous day as this and many other waterfalls along the way where running well as they depended on rain water for there existence. As you can see from the pictures the forest in this area was made up mainly from beech trees and ferns all covered by moss. Some of the trees here where as old as 600 years.

We also encountered the Kea parrot which is a very friendly and funny bird that seemed to inhabit all the tourist stop off points. These birds are very inquisitive to the point of coming right up to you and nibbling your camera (Good job mine is parrot proof!) Bev found it very amusing that they have a knack of side stepping with a hop like a cross between a penguin and a crab!

Once we had crossed through Homer tunnel under one of the mountains for the final run into Milford the cloud descended to a low level and the rain started to drizzle. We reached the boat wharf and set off on our pleasure cruise though the sunny picturesque scenery, except the cloud was low and the rain was getting worse so we could just make out the mountains on one side!!!!

The trip was very wet but entertaining as we got to try out our special Peruvian hats. We did see lots of waterfalls although to be honest we'd seen a lot of water falls by this point!!

We did have one small treat on the return journey which was a small penguin that was spotted on the shore line. You can play spot the penguin in the picture below:

After the boat trip we all jumped back on the coach and had a long 4 hour trip back to Queenstown where the weather had been nice all day!! Once back, and as we had been driving past fields and fields of new born lambs (or new born sheep as Adrian calls them!!) we decided that tonight was the night to sample the lamb shank :) (It was very tasty)

We then fell asleep and hoped that the weather would be nice in the morning for our sky dive !! (wishful thinking)

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Day 26 - A really chilled day

The weather here today has been awful, we awoke to torrential rain and strong winds so needless to say the skydive has been cancelled for a second time. We have rescheduled it for Friday at midday so fingers crossed that it is a nice clear day with little wind.




The rest of the day was spent relaxing and sorting out some arrangements ready for Australia.

Day 25 - Chilling Around Queenstown

We awoke this morning to a lot of rain and wind which wasn’t a good thing considering we due to be doing a sky dive midday! As it was early we decided to wait and see if the weather improved. Eventually the rain stopped and the sun came out so we headed into town to go and do our sky dive. Unfortunately due to strong winds the skydive had been cancelled so we had to reschedule for the following morning (weather dependant).



So we headed off for a walk in the botanic gardens instead. This was a nice short walk through some nice gardens with lots of flowers and small wooded areas. We managed to track down the bouldering rock which Adrian enjoyed a climb on. Otherwise it’s generally been a chilled out day sampling further restaurants and local beer (doing what we do best!).





We’ll keep our fingers crossed that the weather is nice in the morning for the sky dive.

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Day 24 - Shotover Canyon

This was our second day in Queenstown and we thought we’d keep going on the adrenalin buzz that seems to be the natural state of the town. We had booked up a combo deal of a ride in a boat and a go on a swing.

The boat was the first event. Now being Queenstown this wasn’t a normal boat trip but the Shootover Jet boat. This is an 80Kph jet boat that skims very very close to the side of the canyon and the shallow river bed. The ride was a great as it really got the adrenalin going as you passed the rocks by at very close range. It was also quite a wet trip as the boat would do a 180 degree spin spraying cold water all over us. We both ended up with very numb faces from the wet and cold winds but was a really good laugh.



Our second event was a swing in a canyon. Now this isn’t what you’d picture as a normal swing. It’s a 109m drop to the canyon floor and the swing has a 200m arc after a 60m free fall! (As expected from this part of the world!) We where both fairly nervous about doing this as it is the biggest swing in the world and defiantly the biggest drop either of us has ever done.



As we where harnessed up and walked out on the platform the staff where extremely helpful about settling our nerves with comments like ‘It’s the fastest way to die.’, ‘The other people have a much better safety record’ and ‘Hope cord isn’t too frayed!’ and the best of all ‘You’ll jump how we want you to jump!’. This swing has a list of different styles that you can jump with pant ratings to give you an idea of how scary they are. Bev was first up (still not sure if that was completely of her choice!) and was trying to go the easy way by being suspended and let loose by the jump master. He had a different idea and convinced her that if she stepped out over the ledge she would hang in the harness until ready to go. So she stepped out over 109m and fell with the shock of her life. This is the forward style although I’m sure that it’s normally supposed to be done voluntarily!




After the rest of the 4 people in our group had gone and my nerves where starting to show it was finally my turn. Having seen everyone else go in a normal style I thought that the look of the garden chair was a curious alternative. This involved me sat with my back to the 109m drop secured to a garden chair and all I needed to do was rock backwards. I’ll admit that, for some reason, I thought this would be an easy way to go but proved to be a bit more mentally challenging then thought. Having plucked up the courage to push back beyond the point of return the helpful jump master decided to catch me mid tilt and pull me back in for no more reason than to see me go through that again. The Git!! The second push was a little less interrupted and I plummeted down sat on a garden chair and had an amazing buzz.




We both enjoyed our first drops so much (or we were still high on adrenalin from the first go) that we went for a second jump! Bev was first up and after a bit of indecision she opted to jump/fall backwards off the ledge. She had to stand with her heels on the ledge and her hands behind her head and fall backwards constantly looking at the people on the ledge as she fell 60m. Without hesitation (and no pushing involved) she fell straight off on que and loved every minute of it.




As all the others had chickened out from doing a second jump it was my turn up. Being a little unsure of what style to do the jump master made the decision for me. For this jump I was to be Gimp Boy. This involved hanging upside down above the 109m drop with my legs wrapped around the rope above me and then let loose. This was an amazing way to go looking face first down the canyon. Look out for the gimp teddy bear in the video, strapped to my bum which was very amusing to watch according to Bev!




The canyon swing is probably one of the best things we’ve done so far it was such a rush it would be easy to get hooked to it. I think it’s also helped my confidence in doing the Nevis bungee as what’s another 30m when jumping off a ledge!

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Day 23 - Welcome to Queenstown

Today was our first day in Queenstown, New Zealand. We awoke to a bright sunny day with a fabulous view of the snow topped mountains and the lake below the town.



We decided to get up and have a wander into town so we could grab some breakfast and sample the New Zealand cooking (not that foods always the first things on our minds!) We went to a cafe that over looked the lake and ordered a fry-up which was entitled ‘The Big Daddy’. We were both really hungry, which was a good job as the ‘large’ plate was completely stuffed with food.
After breakfast we decided to catch the gondola/cable cart up to the top of the mountain it was situated on. The views from the top were spectacular and over looked the whole of Queenstown. We went and had a look around and stopped off at the various viewing points to take some pictures of the scenery.



On the way to the top whilst in the gondola we passed a bungee platform called ‘The Ledge’. Out of curiosity we went and had a look at a few people jumping. There was also a bungee swing available to do which looked very fun. On investigation we found out that this is a 47 metre drop/swing overlooking Queenstown 400 metres below. It looked strangely appealing and Adrian needed to get some practice in before doing the Nevis* bungee (And for Bev doing the Canyon Swing). After debating and putting it off for a good few hours and a G&T, we decided to go for the plunge.



These were great fun but the best way to describe them is by watching the video’s for your selves.


Bev doing the swing.


Adrian stumbling off the Bungee platform. (Listen out for extra humiliation!)

*The Nevis bungee is a 134 metre drop being the biggest in New Zealand. Gulp!

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Day 20 to 22 - Travel to New Zeland

This was the part of our travels that we neither of us had been looking forward to. In the diary the three flights that we had to do covered a three day period. Our actual travel time was around 38 hours and crossing three different time zones.

After a 2am get up we caught our first flight from Lima to Santiago were we had to wait ten hours until our next flight. The flight had some good scenery of the Andes.



The flight from Santiago to Auckland passed by quicker than we thought but was still long and tiring. The final flight was from Auckland to Queenstown. Once again we saw some really good scenery of the southern alps. The landing into Queenstown was pretty interesting as the approach comes through a valley with mountain ranges on either side of the wings.



Our apartment in Queenstown was better than expected with fabulous views of the surroundings and a five minute walk into town. We fell asleep at 3pm that day which was supposed to be for only an hour but turned into a solid 15 hour sleep! We awoke the following day at 6am.




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