Bungee Jumps and Kayaks

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I only had one full day in to look around Auckland and perfect blue sky ensured I made the most of it. My first stop was the skytower, which at 328m high is the highest building in the southern hemisphere, since I got there quite early (I can’t seem to get the knack of sleeping past eight even when I go to bed at seven) I was the only one on the entire upper viewing deck which was amazing since the views and visibility were exceptional. Feeling far too sensible after strolling round several museums, I went off to do another bungee jump, my forth in New Zealand.
This one was off the Auckland Harbor Bridge; at only 40 meters it’s quite small but the incredible jump location added to being able to skim the water at the bottom more than made up for it. Just before my jump an Indian guy was jumping who had a look of shear terror on his face, he approached the platform at a snails pace then bent his knees as if about to jump. The only problem was his knees just kept bending until he was squatted on the edge of the platform arms outstretched gently rocking back and forth. This went on for a minute or so before he slowly tipped sideways and scrambled back to the safety of the chair. Poor guy; it didn’t help that the entire platform were in fits of laughter, it was almost as if he was replicating the Mr. Bean swimming pool sketch.
The final part of my Kiwi Experience ticket was a trip up to the Bay of Islands, which is a collection of 144 small islands dotted around a picturesque little bay. Four of us hired a local guide and some sea kayaks to explore the bay. We had the most fantastic day, the sun shone and we paddled from island to island, playing Frisbee and relaxing on the beaches. The last section of the tour was the mangrove forests which grew straight out of the estuarine waters, the trees are only a few meters high gut grow in about six inches of salt water, some of the areas are only accessible by kayak so we had a great time exploring. On the way home the guide met us with a motor boat, which contrary to every water regulation, he toed us up and down the river with. Our Kayaks were not quite designed to go that fast but despite a couple of minor semi sinkings we had a fantastic time whizzing up and down. We got back to the hostel barely able to lift our arms, covered in sand and soaking wet, but were all in very high spirits.
We got back to Auckland last night and met up with some other friends from Kiwi for a last night party. It was sad to say goodbye to the friends I’ve made here but I’m still looking forward to moving on. I fly to Santiago tomorrow morning so its good bye Australasia, but I will be back here without a doubt!

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