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Queenstown! The Adventure Capital of the World, Copyright. If you can ride, jump, fly, swing it it's here. To complete every activity avaliable here would cost you 3000 pounds and take you 21 days. For me, I choose to do the imfamous AJ Hackett Thrillogy which consists of three of the most famous bungy jumps in the world. The K Bridge, the original bungy which opened in 1988 from 43m over a river. The Ledge 400m above Queenstown looking over the whole town, lake and mountain backdrop, with a freefall of 47m. And finally the daddy, the Nevis highwire bungy, from 134m above a canyon, with a freefall of 8.4 seconds. It is 3 times the size of the K Bridge.
On the drive in to Queenstown we stopped at the K Bridge as part of the Kiwi Experience, also so that anyone jumping could get straight to it and jump. On arriving at the centre, I was pretty nervous, and had pschyed myself up, after registering and paying it really hit, it was go time. I got my first look over the bridge, and 43m is along way up, especially if you plan to jump off. I was first
up, so hadn't seen anyone jump. The bungy was attached, and before I knew it all eyes were on me and the guys were counting down. Then I jumped. It was over so quick, but the first 3 seconds were 3 of the most amazing of my life. From being about as nervous as you can possibly be, telling your body to throw itself off a perfectly stable bridge to total adrenline and about as ecstatic as you will ever feel. Falling, falling, falling and waiting for the bungy to tug on your heels, you wait and wait and you think it's not going to. I can't describe the feeling, but you genuinly believe even for just 1 milisecond you're dead and the bungy has failed. Of course AJ Hackett has never had an accident and the safety here is number one priority. It was one of the best experiences of my life. My first Bungy Jump.
But not my last after hanging out and having some down time in Queenstown including Frisbee Golf and walks along the lake front on Sunday I was preparing for my second jump. The 47 metre Ledge jump which is situated 400m up
a mountain over looking the town. We decided to jump at dusk which gives some amzing views of Queenstown just at sunset and then at night. This time I wasn't too nervous, just excited, plus I planned to do something a little different on the jump whilst riding the gondola up. I was last to jump this time and it was fully dark by the time I had the bungy tied on me. The difference with this jump is that the harness is around the waist instead of your feet, therefore the jumper can do a running flip when jumping from the platform. I had told myself this was what I was going to do. And I did and I it was a very strange position to find yourself in, looking at my feet, and seeing the mountains, the lake and the town at night all upside down while falling from a platform. Hmm. It was a great jump and mentally I achieved alot. A bungy jump is all about the mindset. They are no physically demanding aspects to it, all thats required is the mental strength to tell your body to jump off a ledge. You do feel achivement
when you've done it as well, I was very happy with my flip and it added a whole extra dimension to my jump.
Then. On Tuesday was the big one, the Nevis Highwire, suspended 134 metres, 440 feet, above the Nevis Canyon River. The journey alone is epic, taking 45 minutes and along a winding track climbing the steep hillside. At least this gave us a chance to psyche ourselves up. When we finally arrived, we got strapped up to a harness and got our first glimpse of the highwire. It was massive. To get to the Steel can which is suspensed by wires over the jump you take a little shuttle box, and also provided a great view of the drop we were about to do. All strapped up and ready to go, with the Foo Fighters blasting out around me and I was ready. After a quick countdown I was away. It was unbelieveable, the most unreal thing I'll ever done. The freefall was epic and just amazing. Indescribable. Afterwards the rest of the group all successfully managed to take the jump leaving us all as Nevis Jumpers, the highest Bungy jump in New Zealand. On arrival
back in Queenstown, we treated ourselves to a Fergburger, the best best burgers in the world and had a few games of pool before watching a movie and bed.
But I wasn't quite done there, Wednesday morning saw me take on the Canyon Swing a huge arc swing 109 metres from the Shotover Canyon, with a 60 metre freefall. The beauty of this is the many different ways you can jump as its a waist harness and the fact you get two jumps instead of one. For my first I did a back dive, which is pretty scary as you can't see the ground, but you know you're getting close, before finally the swing sweeps you up out of the canyon. A good thrill. The second jump attempted was a handstand for which I had to lean face down over the edge, starring into the bottom of the canyon, whilst the crew lifted my legs above my head, so I was looking straight down and pushed away towards the floor. This was insane, and alot of fun as well.
So, Queentown. One of the best places I've ever been. Chilled out by the lake with the beautiful Remarkables
behind makes a fantastic postcard picture, or whiteknuckle adrenline fuelled fun by throwing yourself off bridges and great heights for a bit of a kick. It's all here and I love it.
3 Bungy Jumps, 2 Canyon Swings, 1 Skydive and a whole load of fun, Queenstown is an awesome place.
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non-member comment
Gulp!
I don't know how you did it once James, but three times! Watching you jump off into an abyss goes against all my maternal instincts. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Take care xx