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Published: March 23rd 2009
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18th March 2009 - CANYON SWING - AWESOME!!!
We arrived in Queenstown at around 10.30am and rode our bicycles straight to the hostel. We were booked in the Flaming Kiwi Backpackers. As we went to enter the room we were warned that it was a 'little fresh in there'! I laughed but as we opened the door it was more than a little fresh. I was slightly dazed by the smell and opened some windows fast! 2 guys still in bed said hi. They had been out the night before and were sleeping it off. It appeared that Queenstown was quite the party town! We dumped our stuff and headed into town to check out what there was to do!
I had a look at a couple of things...the canyon swing and the Nevis Bungy jump. I really wanted to do both and couldn't decide between them. I decided that as I had already done a bungy I should do the Canyon swing so I booked that for later in the day. The lady I booked it with said it was awesome and that I would love it. I really hoped so! I had to be at the office at
2.45pm and so I had some time to kill which I used to have some lunch. I don't understand people who can't eat before an adrenalin activity.....I need to eat to calm my nerves! I also had a browse around town before heading to the canyon swing shop to meet.
Queenstown is a weird place but in a good way. So busy and full of tourists but not your average town with the mountain backdrop and a big lake right next to the town centre. So much to do too....bungy, skydive, rafting, paragliding...you name it, Queenstown does it!! It's amazing!
Back at the canyon swing shop I met my jumpmaster and some fellow jumpers, signed my life away and promised not to sue if I broke my leg or died. We then watched some previous jumps by others such as Jack Osbourne before heading out to the bus. Our jumpmaster, Johno, then drove us to the 15 minutes to the shotover canyon swing. On the way he played us a video of all the different jump styles so that we could decide how we wanted to do it. They all looked cool and I was so excited for
my turn!! I was torn between 'The Elvis Cutaway' and 'The Gimp' but not to worry as I still had plenty of time to make up my mind!
As we arrived in the carpark we were advised to use the 'longdrop' to get everything out of our systems. I would have rather have done the swing without a harness that use that toilet....not nice! I laughed and was told by Johno that 'on my pants be it if I didn't go!!' I said I would take my chance! Once all out of the van and ready we headed on a 5 minute walk to the swing base. There were loads of quirky signs and scary looking gnomes hidden along the way...made the walk fun anyway!
The swing was in very scenic surroundings over shotover river. It looked pretty high and pretty scary! We got a quick safety chat from Johno that basically said “don't die” before being taken to the jump ledge to get harnessed up. 3 guys were working the swing including our jumpmaster. All 3 of them worked together to wind us all up and mess with our heads. I felt really sorry for the first
Aarrggghhhh!!!!!
Cut Loose and free falling!! jumper who they shouted “no...wait” to just as he jumped off the edge. Poor guy thought he wasn't clipped in properly! Funny though and all added to the experience. A couple of the others weren't too keen though!
I was up 6th out of the 7 of us. The majority before me jumped off forwards and despite the screams seemed to love it. I had already jumped off forwards before at the Taupo bungy and so wanted to try something different. I asked Johno for his opinion and he told me to go with the Elvis Cutaway - the king of all headrushes. He asked for safety reasons if I wore glasses or had any shoulder problems...I lied on both counts and said "nope!" I was raring to go!!
On the edge they clipped me in and I took my feet off the ground as they swing me out over the edge. I was suspended over the canyon lying flat on my back facing the sky. Totally cool! Once suspended they really tried to frighten me by telling me to tie my hair up so that it wouldn't get tangled in my harness and also that I had
to ensure I kept my arms way above my head or else my harness would fall off. I laughed but as one of the guys pulled it down over my shoulder my face fell......what?!! Mid conversation they then released me. So unexpected and I became pretty vocal as I freefell 60 metres from a 109m high bridge before swinging through the arc upside down at 150kph with the canyon walls rushing past my eyes!
“Oh my god” I screamed as I flew through the air. Totally awesome feeling and like no other. Not so much scary as fun and the haul back up to the top on a pulley system was pretty cool too though hearing the sound of the winch clicking was non too comforting! I wanted to do it again as second jumps were only $39 but even at that price I couldn't afford it. They tried to sway me and said I could jump for free if i did it naked.....New Zealand Policy! I hadn't quite sunk that low yet though and stayed fully clothed!! Best for me and the people watching I think!!
The videos and photos were cool and I bought both as
proof of my madness! I then watched a couple of more jumpers being thrown off whilst strapped to garden chairs (no kidding) before getting back in the van and taken back to Queenstown. Fabulous experience...such a buzz!!
Back in town I met Nat who had been on the net and we headed back to the hostel for tea. At around 7ish we headed back into town for an hours internet time before going to the cinema to see Watchmen. I didn't know much about it but Nat said the trailer looked good. It was by far the worst film I had ever seen. I struggled to stay awake and if I had been at home I would have walked out it was that poor! There was no story, no eye candy and it lasted for far too long! Watching the film is the closest I have ever come to torture and the only possible thing that could have made it worse was if they had cast Burt Reynolds! The best part of the film was the trailer for Wolverine at the beginning! $15 wasted!
After the film it was pushing midnight and we walked quickly back to the
hostel as it was very very cold outside. It was nice to get curled up in bed and get warm again. I lay awake for a while thinking about the following day and deciding that I wanted to do the Nevis Bungy Jump else I would regret it. Decision made.....I fell asleep excited for the day ahead!
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