NZ FAM: Day 3

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Woke up with so many mixed emotions this morning. Today was our “Adrenaline Day!” I never ever thought I would bungy jump in my life but knowing that it was going to be FREE for all of us made it seem like this was a task we MUST take part it! We started off at 8am and the vibe on the coach was off; you could tell everyone’s nerves were all over as we drove to the Kawarau Bridge – home of the first bungy ever! We watched a video about the crazy AJ Hackett who originated bungee and the video did work to inspire me to actually want to do this. We all were weighed in (they actually write your weight on your hand) and then we didn’t really have an order as we walked out to the bridge. I was so excited my harness wasn’t even done up properly as I got onto the platform, the guy was like “wow slow down” you are not even done up yet. I had watched 3 people go and I wanted to be the 4th, no more waiting around. They ask if you want to touch the water, be dunked in or not touch at all and then adjust the length. I didn’t want to touch as it was freezing cold water, cold air outside, I was sick and we had a full day of more ahead with no change of clothes. It was really hard standing at the edge of the platform and all of a sudden just letting go of all your fears and falling…. It took me quite a bit to get my heart back to normal once I was done. We got DVD’s and t-shirts all included in the jump so we were all very impressed with the package! I watched the others jump (not everyone went) and luckily the viewing platform was great so we could all take pics and video each other as everyone else went. A few girls were not sure if they should go or not and were worried about regrets if they didn’t try it so at the end Murray (with the help of the rest of us) convinced Sally Wu and Erica to try it. Erica was up there and so close but you could tell it was extremely hard for her and she couldn’t do it. We were all glad that she atleast got up there and tried. Sally Wu however got the name “Legend” this day. She was up there and strapped in for a good 5 minutes before she eventually went. The video says it all, you can hear her freaking out and then the guy coaxing her, she asks if he can push her, but he can’t. Her legs even look like they are not holding her up but she eventually slides off the platform. We all cheered her on like crazy and her jumped made us all feel so amazing for her! Soon as we got on the coach leaving the bridge, Murray played her DVD cuz it was priceless!
We then went to a very quant town called Arrowtown which was cozy and reminded me of small towns where I am from. We had a lunch stop for an hour and the majority of us ate Meat Pies at the best bakery we’ve been to yet! The town is surrounded by a backdrop of hills which were all colorful as the leaves were changing since it was fall. It had been a grey-dreary day but the sun came out as we went to the canyon to ride on the Shotover Jet Boat. The drivers of these boats are amazing! We were inches from the walls of the canyon on purpose and skimming across water so thin we felt like we were on rocks and about to collide with the land the entire ride! It was more intense of a ride then I had expected. I bought a DVD and photo pack from them. Next excursion; on to skydiving! I signed up for the 15,000 feet jump which was the highest offered! I jumped before in Australia and it was 10,000 feet so I knew that the longer the freefall, the better. The other bonus about doing the highest jump, was less people went, only 5 of us went so it wasn’t a long period of waiting around for our turn. The majority of the group was signed up for the 12,00 ft jump going the following day and it ended up getting cancelled due to bad weather so we were very lucky! The guys didn’t do any training with us (unlike the training I had in Cairns). They just told us to arch like a banana and that’s it! Myself, Rachel and Laura all went up with our jumpers attached plus an extra jumper for each one who we paid to film us so there were 9 of us total crammed in the plane. It was a long hike up to 15,000 ft. We were at the top of the mountain peaks, my ears were bursting with pressure and it was only 6,000 ft. I couldn’t believe it! No nerves at all doing this; just excitement so my guy pushed us out and then next thing I knew we were flying around…my camera guy was great! He grabbed my hand and spun me around a bit and was sticking his tongue out, making faces the entire free fall. I cant believe the entire freefall was 1 minute. Soon as he pulled the shute and we glided, it was only beautiful and relaxing the rest of the way. I got to pull the levers to steer us in circles and we had a perfect soft landing. We had to wait for the other 2, Gor and Amanda to go up and jump before we could go back to our hotel, so we had tea, coffee and got VIP treatment from Derek the sales rep for the company. Derek drove us back to our hotel where he had a drink with Murray and us to calm our adrenaline filled nerves. We then got all dressed up and went to the Skyline Restaurant for a fancy dinner! The restaurant was atop the mountain (took a gondola to get up there) and the view was incredible overlooking all of Queenstown lit up at night! Our next surprise was awaiting us where we had a performance from a Maori tribe doing their traditional dancing and chanting. Some of the girls got to partake and go onstage to perform with them as well! After the show, we had dinner at the buffet restaurant which was incredible food! After that amazing day of activity it was nice to relax and get to know everyone over a few drinks. We had the option to catch the bus at 10pm after taking the gondola back down the mountain and going back to the hotel or staying out. I was lame again and exhausted so I headed back to the hotel and rested up for our next day of adventure in Queenstown! Best day ever!

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