The Nevis: Highest Bungy in New Zealand

1/23/10
Waking up from my sleep feeling much better than I did at 7:30 when Trevor left, I showered, made some breakfast, and headed over to AJ Hacket Bungy headquarters to once again sign my name a twelve times next to lines saying something about death/serious injury. Waiting for the bus to arrive for my bungy was nerve racking, however they did offer free internet which was a pleasant distraction from the knot my stomach was twisting and turning its way into. The bus showed up on time, I found a seat, put in my ipod (thanks again Jenn), and contemplated life for the 45 minute drive to the jump site. Arriving there did not untie the knot in my stomach by any means. I was weighed again, harnessed up, and put in a cable car to take me to gondola, swaying in the wind, some 500 feet over a very beautiful little river.



Once in the gondola I was fitted into my bungy gear, put into a chair much like a dentist chair, strapped in, and told to walk to the ledge.




With my legs bound together I baby-stepped my way to the edge, and the count down began. Thank you Scarlett for the great advice to think off as I was about to jump. So it was 3-2-1, I left all the emotional baggage I have been carrying around on the ledge and took the biggest dive of my life.

Such a feeling once you clear the platform. It’s like your brain can’t make sense of what you are doing. As I was falling I remember my brain saying to me your diving into this water and going to die right now. The feeling of falling, weightlessly for 9 seconds, head-first towards the ground below is one that cannot be described.



Then the pull of the cord quickly changing from slack to taut as you reach the apex of your fall, the bounce back up, fall back down, and then pulling the release cord to sit you right side up for the ride back to the Gondola. Sitting there, being pulled back to the platform, taking in the scenery, and reflecting on what I just did was an experience I will remember forever. It was also a big step forward for me as it was my first day on my own. My journey by myself truly began as I took that leap.
Back to the hostel to relax a little and see what the crew was up to for that night. Made some ramen and shared a bottle of wine with a group of American girls I had met from Virginia and then headed up to Geoff’s room to play some cards and talk for hours. Headed out for one drink on the town, and then for another much anticipated Ferburger. It’s amazing that I was just as excited to this, my fourth Ferg as I was for the first one. Enjoying every bite as I took down the last Fergburger of my trip and then into bed for a short sleep before having to wake at 7:30 to get to the airport to head to Auckland, on the North Island.
Once in Auckland, I walked around the town to try and clear my head a little and see if I could get the nervousness and loneliness out of my system. Feeling a little better I sat down to read and write a bit. Met some people over dinner in the common area, and sat and talked for an hour so there before heading back to my room to play a fun game of international kings.



I have to say it is pretty interesting playing a drinking game with people from six different countries, but amazing fun as well. After our game, my bunk mate Chris and I headed out to see what the town had to offer, the result, not much. After walking in to and immediately out of four or five bars, without even ordering a drink, we headed back to the room around 3 and slept right through my alarm for my bus to the Bay of Islands. I quickly booked a later bus and crawled back into bed. Sleeping for a few more hours I woke to realize that someone had taken my camera. Bummer. This is the reason for the lack of pictures in my last few postings. I did, however, buy a new camera and am now sitting on my bus to the Bay of islands and the Northern most point of New Zealand. Can’t wait!

Queenstown: Home of the Fergberger

1/23/10

After getting settled into our room at Nomads Backpackers, we got in touch with Camilla, her boyfriend Geoff, Geoff’s brother Gary, and Sabrina to figure out our plans for the evening. Plan: Get a bottle and some mixers and pre-party in one of our rooms and hit the town for the night. Queenstown is known for being a great party town and party we did! Before heading out on the town Trev and I knew we needed to eat, and what better to fill your belly before a big night of drinking than a Fergburger?!



We had had two burgers the last time we were in Queenstown and knew that due to the massive size of them we could get the double burger and split it with some fries. Not only did we get the double, we got the “Big Al”. As Trevor ordered it the girl behind the counter looked at him and said, “Seriously?!?” He informed her we were splitting it and she continued on taking the order. So what is the Big Al you ask? It is the largest burger you have ever seen. Huge, square fresh baked bun, crisp greens, ripe tomato, two massive juicy beef patties, bacon, edam cheese, onions, bacon, beetroot, two eggs, and the most delicious barbeque type sauce I have ever had. The burger was so big that I not only had to hold it with both hands, but had to use all of my fingers to hold and adjust the contents so they didn’t fall out. Carl’s Jr. had no idea what they are talking about when they said if it doesn’t get all over the place it doesn’t belong in your face. Their burgers are mini and clean in comparison to the Fergburger. After that we headed to the store to get a red bull to prevent the onset of the dreaded food coma, and I made a stop at the travel and activities desk to book my bungy jump for the following day. There are a few options for bungy jumps in Queenstown, I went with the biggest. After getting over the shock of the fact I was going to jump off of a 440 foot ledge we headed to Camilla’s room for our pre-party cocktails. Then we were heading out on the town. First stop, Altitude was packed with young people drinking and energetically dancing to hip hop and drum and bass.



After dancing here for a couple of hours it was over to World Bar to continue the fun. Sabrina, Camilla, and Geoff headed back to the hostel as Sabrina had to get up super early, and Geoff had to take care of Camilla as she was over her limit. At the world bar, we immediately knew we made a good decision by going there. An awesome cover band playing the latest rock and alternative songs, a ton of people, and very positive vibe.




Trevor left after about an hour because he had an early flight back home in the morning, and I stayed and danced for another hour or so. Took a great walk past the lake on my way back to the hostel, and had a great sleep. Walking up early and with mixed emotions I walked out with Trev to see him to his shuttle for the airport. After a couple hugs and wishes for safe travels, it was back to my bed to catch up on some much needed sleep before my big plunge.

Making friends and Meeting People

1/22/10

Hanging out in Wanaka for a few more days we made a nice little group of friends. It was really nice actually staying in one place for so long. Not only did we not have to keep packing and unpacking our bags, but we got to know the staff and others who had been staying there for a while. Sabrina, who I already mentioned, Camilla and Richard from England, AJ and another guy from Indiana, Adam and Jenny from Canada, Clarissa, I think from Canada, and Charlie from Tahoe. We also made friends with some of the regular staff at the hostel, Shane from the front desk and Tim at the bar. We spent the next couple of days hanging out with them. Our last day in Wanaka, Trev had to take care of some stuff on the computer so I went down to the lake to sit and chat with our new friends. Hung out there for a couple hours, just relaxing, talking, and throwing around a football. After that, it was back to the room to grab Trev and on to Red Star, home of the second best burger I’ve had in my life. The best burger I’ve ever had was in Queenstown, at Fergburger, but I’ll get to that later. So, the ten of us brought some beers over and sat on the deck and enjoyed the red star burger. Laughing and having a great time, we sat there for over an hour before heading back to the hostel because Charlie had to get ready for work that night.


On top of cleaning toilets he was also the karaoke guy at the Mint Bar, below our hostel. Trev stayed in, still recovering from the race and the insane amount of money we had to spend thus far, and I headed out for a few beers and to watch Charlie do his thing. Had such a great night. Charlie not only runs the karaoke, but when he feels it he gets up and throws down some pretty mean freestyle raps. We were leaving the next day around two for Queenstown, and most of our friends were doing the same. Before our bus left Trev and I killed a few hours by walking around the lake before sharing a subway and a last pitcher of Tui, our favorite New Zealand beer. Off to Queenstown, on the bus and fast asleep. This was certain to be a fun couple of days.