Queenstown and Wanaka

The highlight of this blog is undoubtedly Queenstown - possibly one of the best places on earth. Before I delve into that I will inform you that we spent a rather uneventful night in Wanaka; the town which didnt really have much to it save for a nice lake and a decent curry house. We had a chilled night with the Kiwi crew; playing cards and shooting pool - getting a good sleep ahead of our onward journey to the traveller capital of the south island.

After our many single nights along the west coast blessed with fantastic weather we eventually arrived in Queenstown. For months we have been hearing rave reviews of this place which is meant to be one of the best places on earth! If you were to do every single activity in Queenstown it apparently would cost over $8,000 and take up 7 weeks! Unfortunately we didnt have that much time, or the money, but we were determined to make our week long stay here one of the most memorable of our travels so far and I dont think it disappointed...

The town/city isnt as big as I expected. It really is quite small and rests on Lake Wakatipu with a population of only about 8,000 people. The town however does has a great buzz and a constant turnover of travellers so you are forever meeting new people which is pretty cool. Our hostel, Base, was located bang smack in the middle of Queenstown in prime location to the nightlife and the much relied on Ferg Burger! We have been out every single night here spending our much earned cash but it has all been worth it! You dont always have to drink, so on some night we have found other activities to entertain ourselves.

This has possibly been one of the best week as we have done so many 'once in a lifetime things'! It has also been the most expensive but it has been worth it and Im sure all the money will be earnt back somehow in the future years of employment that unfortunately face us... In order to save myself from raddling on here are some summarys of the things we have done:


Canyon Swing

We did this at the first major commercial canyon swing which is in the Shotover valley. The basic principle is a 60 metre freefall and then you are swung across the valley in a 200 metre arc; all connected by one piece of bungy cord! This was our first experience of a bungy fall and was only done by me, Nick and Muc. We got ourselves pumped up and headed off. Soon we were faced with the massive canyon but we had to confront any fear and go for it. I stepped up first. We were doing two jumps and so I had the possibility of doing 2 different positions. Unlike the majority of bungees where you jump with it connected onto your feet, this is connected to the waist so you can do many more things. My first move was to go off backwards. On the "Pants Rating" this is "5 pants" and so is one of the most scary. If you can imagine the feeling of when you fall back into someones arms - that rush you get in your stomach. Times that by one-hundred as you fall back into nothing and just keep on falling! Such a great rush from the first one and my confidence was boosted. My second jump I went for the famous "Gimp boy goes to Hollywood"! This move involves swinging your legs up above your head and so dangling face first into oblivion. The connecting pin is then pulled leaving you to fall face first to your peril! Luckily, the bungy kicked in and I was flung across the valley at 200 kph! Pretty awesome for our first sample of the extreme sports Queenstown has to offer! Oriteee!!

Shotover Jet Boat

This was the first part of our Queenstown Combo Package which included a Shotover Jet Boat ride, Helicopter to the peak, 5 Luge rides and then a Gondola down. The Shotover valley is famous throughout New Zealand for its amazing rapids and wicked canyons that the river has cut its way through. In true Kiwi wild style, they have decided to build an 800 horsepower boat to ride the rapids and do some crazy shizzle! Similar to the jet boat ride in Niagra, you get whipped along the valley, narrowly missing huge rocks by a matter of inches and getting sprayed by ice cold waters! With numb cheeks we pulled off the famous Shotover 360 degrees spin in the water which was crazy! A great laugh; especially as there was such a big group of us doing it! Michel's shouts were awesome - "Nice one Dave!" - classic!
Good times...

Helicopter ride

As part of the Combo, we left the Shotover valley for the 10 minute flight to the Queenstown peak. Although the flight was only really short it was pretty cool and I can now tick the box saying I have been in a Helicopter! Our pilot was pretty cool and pulled off some pretty stomach churning turns and drops over the mountain peaks! Got us to the top in no time!

Luge ride

At the top of the peak overlooking Queenstown is the Luge ride which is a bit of a bargain and is a good laugh! Even though it looks pretty tame you can get some decent speed; especially on the advanced track! Our pass included 5 rides and we had a massive race of our whole crew down which was great banter! Even if the rather agressive driving of Postman Pat did annoy some people; he came last anyway so the final laugh was on him!

Nevis Bungy Jump

Getting the AJHackett mini-bus on the 40 minute ride up to the Nevis gorge was nervy enough; winding its way through a canyon track with serious drops either side. With increasingly sweaty palms, we all made it to the top and caught our first sight of the infamous Nevis jump - the biggest bungy in New Zealand and the southern hemisphere! We were all weighed up and split into groups. I was set in a group with Kain (an Irish lad we have been with throughout the west coast) and we boarded the rickety cable car which would take us to the Nevis ledge which is suspended on a zip wire over the valley. The wind was whipping about and the cable car was flying everywhere. What were we in for...
In the Nevis pod we watched the first group go off into oblivion and the 8.5 seconds of pure freefall that this jump provides. In a matter of no time my name was being called out... With my ankle straps on, I strolled over to the seat to have the cord attatched, take a last minute picture and then waddled over to "the meat slab" - the name they give to the platform you jump from. With the rest of the crew cheering me on from behind and looking straight out, I was gone...
Rushing towards the rocks below at an amazing 150kph! Heart in the mouth and then the bungy kicked in and I was safe! Probably the best adrenaline rush from all of the extreme things we have done over here. The ground rush you get is amazing; however quickly it is over! Within 2 minutes I was back onto the platform having completed my first bungy jump! Absolutely AMAZING!!

15,000 ft NZone Skydive

For our second skydive in New Zealand we had to go for the big dogg - the 15,000 feet! We were going to be saving this bad boy for Taupo which is meant to be the cheapest place but we got a bargain deal from the Kiwi bus and soon snapped up the opportunity to jump out of a plane again! We got picked up early after a weather check. This time only me, Muc, Nick and Jonny were doing it. We were joined by 2 friends from the Kiwi crew - Kain and Judy (Judy only being present as she lost a game of rock/paper/scissors with the forfeit being to jump from a plane!) After some Schumacher driving we were soon at the runway, briefed and split into groups. Me and Ross were going up and coming down together - both representing with our country flags on our chins (England and Scotland respectively) Everyone was opting for the photo/DVD package to savour the moment. We were last up but the wait was worth it. 15,000 ft and the ground is distant. Last checks and a nice pic before rolling out of the plane and setting into a 1 minute freefall at 220kph! My co-diver (Dino) was a bit of a madman and threw me into some insane spirals which made the ride even better! This jump was much better than the first one as I was able to take in more of the experience and the surroundings. Pulling the chute we continued into some roller coaster turns and were given some serious Gs! Incredible ride and the buzz was wicked! The pics came out pretty well (even if I do look horrific with all the wind etc - at least this time I wasnt hungover and still wearing female eye liner!) Only downside was that the camera man missed me landing so I didnt catch that but the rest of the DVD is sweet so all the family at home can wait to see that!

Crazy Golf

This indeed was pretty crazy but I have to confess the adrenaline buzz was not quite as intense as that of the other adventures! The actual course though was pretty awesome with some rather wacky holes which were a great laugh. To make it more competitive we introduced some rules which would be linked to that nights pre-lash drinking session. Miraculously, I won!! And, as my prize I got to nominate someone for a dirty pint which I put forward to a championship of rocks, paper, scissors. Unfortunately Kane lost. Ask him about the dirty pint...

Frisbee Golf

Perhaps the most least adrenaline filled activity of the last week was Frisbee golf which can be done for free at the Queenstown park! The basic principle is like golf except the balls are substituted for frisbees and the holes are either peculiar bins or trees which you have to hit! Renting the frisbees from the hostel we got some shockers! The aerodynamics were appaling as mine had been ravaged by a dog and run over countless times (at least that was my excuse for the poor throwing!) The game was a good laugh and did fill in an afternoon for free, although Im not too sure I would take it up as a serious hobby...

Ferg Burger Challenge

In Queenstown lies the most glorious of all the world's burger joints and it goes by the name of Ferg Burger. We had heard of this little place and we couldn't go to Queenstown without sampling its true beauty. Our first night we had our first one. After that, it was one every night! The last day (after we didnt manage to play golf) we dedicated it to the Ferg Burger challenge! From our group I won - eating 4 and finishing off with the 'Big Al' which in one word is BEAST! Out of the entire menu there were only 4 burgers which I didnt get round to eating. Next time...


So, after a glorious and activity full week in Queenstown we depart with a depleated wallet but many glorious memories and a new sense of adventure. A nice long bus journey now to Christchuch and then a flight to Wellington where our north island adventures will start...

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