Mum, You can relax now.

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Hi all

Well adventure sports week is all over and heres how it went.

The morning after I last updated I went to go hiking up the Franz Josef Glacier. We left at about 9am and really the hardest part of the whole hike was getting to the glacier which was about 2km away from the car park and up some hills which they do not normally need to do, but as the river has recently changed course they now do. We then got to the entrance of the glacier and put on all of our gear such as the crampons and gloves and started the climb up. I was in the last group to go and our guide was Brad (apparently not his real name but he has american characteristics). The glacier is really strange as the end of it is in rainforest so you can be walking accross a lot of ice and see clear mountains to the side. We went through some small ice caves which were really amazing with incredibly blue ice. Went through some ice craveses which also looked amazing. It was actually really hot doing the hike, well untill we stopped for lunch and we all started to cool down. After lunch we walked a bit further up the glacier and then turned back and went a slightly different way back through a fairly newly formed ice cave and past an ice pool where people the day before had gone swimming, but not for any of us. Then we got back down the glacier, had the hard walk back to the bus and then the short bus ride back to the hostel. It was another early night that night all ready for the next day.

There was just me and Ed up at 5.30 the next morning ready for our scenic flight over the glacier. We got picked up at 6.15 (well we were ready at 6.17 and got moaned at for it) and got taken over to Fox Glacier airfield. When we got there, it was the smallest airfield ever (a few chickens ran accross the runway) and the tiny plane was parked next to the owners car. There was two flights to go before us so me and Ed had a wait for about an hour when we just sat watching the companys dvd with the same song over and over again. Then at about 8.30 we got to get into the plane. There was four of us to go in it and somehow we all fitted though me sitting at the front was sitting next to the pilot. Once we had taken off we passed through some quite low cloud and got spectacular views of Mt Tasman and Mt Cook which are the two highest mountains in new Zealand. We could also see the Tasman sea. Then at 12,000 feet the pilot opened the door next to me, and the guy (Rod) who had attached himself to me during the flight swung me round so my I was just dangling out of this tiny plane. I crossed my arms and he pushed us out, (ok, so it was not just a scenic flight, it was another skydive) we did a complete flip when we left the plane so we could see it flying away from us, then we faced down again and headed for the cloud and tried to do a superman impression through the cloud before he pulled the chute. The great thing about this is as I had already done one jump I knew more what to expect and was able to take in a lot more of the surroundings and keeping an eye out for the mountains, the sea and the whole view which was spectacular. Once the chute was open I got my camera (really I did) got a view pictures, practised the landing and then got a go at controlling the parachute in a few rollercoasters before we landed. The sensation of freefalling was still just amazing especially in such a great place. I was a bit nervous still whilst we were waiting for the flight but once I was in the plane I completley relaxed.

We got dropped of at the Kiwi Ex bus and waited for everyone else to finish their walk before we headed off to Wanaka. We stopped at a couple of places along the way to take in the view which has just got amazing now, and got to Wanaka late afternoon. Me and Barry took the time to walk up Mount Iron which was quite hard work but well worth it when we got to the top for the great views over Wanaka. We then walked back down and walked back into town for dinner and a few drinks.

We got a little lie in the next morning before we went to Puzzling World which had a maze which was quite frustrating, you to find all four corners and the way out which was actually the hardest bit. Then we played with some puzzles they had left hanging about for us. A few people got filmed for a tv comercial and we were off to Queenstown. Just before we got to Queenstown we stopped at Kawarau Bridge which is the site of the worlds first comercial bungy jump. We got to watch a video about AJ Hackett and company about all of their different jumps, how it all started and how they make the bungy. We then watched a few people take the 43m jump to the river and some people off our bus did it as well (not me, I was waiting), one who managed to touch the water below (you can ask to touch but its not guareenteed). Then we headed into the town got a group photo taken and checked in. Me and Liz (mancuian girl) went up the gondola to take in some more views, we saw someone do the 47m Ledge Bungy (still not big enough) which is 400m above Queenstown (I hope that makes sense) and another person do it when we were on the way down. That night the whole bus went out first to the Bar in the hostel where we had a few drinks and our driver had a lot. Then we went to World Bar where I got a cocktail in a teapot (as you do). It was a really good night and a lot of fun, and the driver got us all in a party mood.

The next mroning it was time for my Bungy Jump. A lot of us from the bus were doing it. Once we got on the AJ Hackett bus to take us there the driver started playing a lot of songs, I can't remember what they were but a lot about falling, jumping, blood and guts etc. We then turned off the main road into what looked like a farm on a dirt road, went up a really steep hill and got our first glimpse of the Nevis bungy (134m/440ft) after being asked if we all had that sense of grim innevitability. We got strapped into out harnesses and the first few people got taken to the jump pod. The jump pod is suspended above a canyon by a lot of cables and you get there by taking a cable car (with a mesh floor, thanks) We watched the first few (they did it in weight order so I was near the end) jumpers and the jump just seemed to go on forever, even lost sight of them towards the end of the fall, before they popped back up. I then got called accross to the pod with 5 others and met everyone else there. Waited around for a bit till they called my name and I got my feet tied up. Then waited in line till it was my turn to sit in the black chair to get ready. They checked my weight and I was the first person on the next rope down, tied me up. Then walked me ungraciously (its hard to walk gracsiously with your feet tied together) to what is lovingly known as the meat tray. Counted me down (3,2,1) then something in my head went "oh why not" and I went into this swan dive out over the canyon. As soon as I had jumped something else in my head went "what the heck have you just done" as soon as my head thought this I made some random noise of like "Woooooaaaaaa" and before I knew it I was slowing down and then being pulled up again. It was a completly different sensation then skydiving but absolutley amazing and even just after the jump it just didn't feel real. On the top of the second bounce I managed to undo my feet (you were meant to) so they can drag you back up the right way up and apparently when I got back to the top I looked extremely relaxed. I would definetley do one again.

We got back to the hostel. I walked around the town for a bit, looked at the Frisbee Golf course. That evening me and Katherine went to get a Fergburger which are amazing and massive burgers and taste so good. Then we went back out to the bar with the new bus that had arrived that day and the bus I was on and had a good laugh meeting up with everyone again. Including someone I hadn't seen since Taupo who was hitchiking around the country.

I got a good lie in the next day (yesterday) then met up with a few people who I had persauded to do river boarding and waited for the bus to take us. Riverboarding is a strange sport which involves going going white water rapid on a body board. It was the last day of the season so only if enough people went were they going run the trip, hence why I worked on persauding people. There was 6 of us and 2 guides. We drove about half hour to the base of the comapny, got fitted out in many layers of wetsuits, helmets, bouyancy aids, etc. This is probably the most dangerous thing I have done and we actually used a different company as opse to the one Kiwi Experience normally uses as they had shut early for the season because of an accident about a month ago yet I was strangely relaxed . We drove another minute to the river and after a briefing jumped in to water with our boards. We then practised a few things in the calm water before getting into the main flow. We had some small rapids straight away where a few people tried to do some barrell rolls, and I managed to jump a little bit out of the water on my board at the top of the waves. We then had a smooth bit before the next small rapids where we were all following each other down, bumping into each other a lot. Then there was the longest rapids they had where you had very little control over where you were going but was great fun none the less. Then one last set where I managed to get a small squirt (going under water for a few seconds). Then we had a nice long float down the river before heading to the side to get picked up and do it all again. We were all more relaxed on the second trip. I tried to do a barrell roll on the first rapids but completly failed then had so much more fun going down the rest of the rapids. Right near the end we did a rock jump into the river and then headed out of the river again and got driyed before all heading to the hot pools that was included in our price. Considering its very late Autumn the river was nowhere near as cold as I thought it was going to be when I was all layered up. But the hot pools were still amazing and had an incredible view.

Team Sweden (of Jonos bus) made it to town yesterday so we all went out for a few drinks (well apart from Katherine who was worse for wear after the night before. Then I headed back earlish for another action packed day.

This morning I was doing the biggest rope swing in the world. (109m) at the Shotover Canyon. I got picked up at 8.30 (after they had weighed me and drew a fish on my hand) watched a video about all the jump styles. When we got there we got kitted out in our harnesses (well I didn't as they someone else had my size). The person who was fitting them kept apolagising that it was her first day and someone else was standing there correcting all her "mistakes" after a few people had fallen on the swing, they got me fitted in my harness. I went to the platform the guy checked my harness, made a comment like "thats not how I would have done it, but it should hold" asked his assistant if it looked like I was tied in securely she replied "yeah I think that looks ok from here" then I jumped off the edge into the pindrop which looked nothing like a pin after a few seconds. I fell for a while then went into a big swing. It was ok but not as good as the bungy. Two went after me and then I got my second jump as "Gimp boy goes to Hollywood" For this I had to get myself so I was hanging upside down and they released me. Well they went "ok when you want uncross your feet and your go into a seated posistion, so we will count you" and they released me then and I was gone falling again.I kept upside down for a good few swings till they started to slow down. The second jump was a lot better and got a much better head rush. They pulled me back up, made some comment about having to tie me to the safety quickly and then we headed back into town

Now this afternoon I did something really random and it is quite hard to explain, but i'll try. We headed out to another canyon where I was doing "Fly by Wire" which if you haven't seen "Jack Osbournes adrenalin junky" it is a little fan engined propelled cart that I lied in and controlled. It is attached a couple by a wire to more wires suspended above the middle of the canyon. Im sure that makes no sense but if you look at www.flybywire-queenstown.co.nz it might start to. I was first out of three to go and get winched up the valley in the plane until the winch stopped when I released the plane and of I went. It wasn't scary at all just amazing fun and got to go a lot higher that I thought was possible, the staff kept holding up signs saying turn later when I didn't think it was possible to turn any later, but I kept going and got some great height on it and some good turns in the middle of this canyon. It looked so weird but was so much fun. I have just got back from that now, and thats my adventure sports over with for New Zealand. So Mum you can now relax.

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