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Published: April 3rd 2008
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cold!
me in the icy river after jumping off the bridge Whats the craziest thing you've done lately?
This week has been a crazy time. We've really been getting to know the people on our tour bus. Its great having the company of all these awesome people. In Makarora we had a karaoke night and we all got drunk in this little pub in the middle of nowhere. (Its mars. No its a satellite! No I swear to you, Mars blinks) Its sad to be parting ways with them. I suppose all good things come to an end in time. We all went out for a last round of ale last night. I wish it was not our last.
As for the crazy adventures...
The other day as we were winding our way from one small town to the next we stopped at a random bride in what seemed to me to be the middle of nowhere. The weather was shit - rainy and cold - and we were all tired from our hikes around franz josef glacier. One of our drivers, Lucky, asked who was in for a bridge jump in the rain. Of course I'm in! I did a quick change on the bus behind a towel
- very classy - and ran with the group down the road back to the bridge. It was so cold out. She jumped before I got to the bridge. I got there just in time to see her swimming out of the current to the shore. Out of our entire group only two others were going to jump. Stephen and Ian jumped together as the rest of us watched on, and I debated chickening out. It was so crazy. The river was rushing pretty quickly from all of the recent rain, and we had no idea how deep it really was. It was all on faith that our guide said it was deep enough. Once Ian and Stephen were safely out of the way I stepped over the railing and looked down. Keep in mind that I am not a strong swimmer. Looking down was terrifying. But everyone was waiting and watching and cheering me on. A car passing by even stopped to watch this crazy tourist jump off the bridge. With a deep breath I leaped off the edge. Suddenly I was plunging into icy water. It was shockingly cold. Think the saskatchewan river in may cold. not as wide or fast, but just as cold. and not as deep as I expected. I hit the bottom and sunk into the sand a bit before pushing off to struggle back to the surface. I got water in my lungs because I didn't plug my nose and started to choke. Trying to choke out water and swim out of the current does not work so well. But I made it safely out! I've never been so cold in my life. It was exhilirating. And a good bonding experience!
The next day, after drinking and karaoke, we headed off to Queenstown. The weather was perfect for the days adventure. Crystal clear skies and the sun shining brightly. I stopped off in Wanaka for some more jumping excursions. This time out of a plane at 12,000 feet. I was the only one to do the sky dive, but thats all right. I was oddly calm for the whole thing. I guess after jumping off a bridge I felt I could do anything. The only real moment of fear was when the airplane door opened and we tumbled out into the open air. That first sensation of dropping made my heart stop I'm sure. I never realized the pressure you would feel as you plummet down towards the ground. It actually gave me a headache. It was incredible feeling the the pressure of the cold air rushing past you. Then suddenly it all slows down as the parachute opens and you begin to float through the sky. It was so crystal clear. The view was phenomenal. Mountains all around, a winding river, lake watawea (?), and a plateau of fields. I could have stayed suspended in the sky like that forever. It was a perfect moment. I don't even have words for how incredible it was. It was over all too soon and we were back on our way to Queenstown. We stopped at the original bungy jump site on the way, but I didn't take part in that one. I thought a sky dive and a bungy jump both in one day would be a bit much. Especially after the bridge jump the day before. Ian and Stephen did the bungy though. It was nerve wracking just watching them. I might do it yet, but we'll see how the funds go. I think Jacq wants to do it even though she's afraid of heights.
Today we're taking a chill out day. Doing laundry, a bit of shopping, having a green tea latte from starbucks. That kind of thing. Its definitely needed after the last two days! Tomorrow I think we'll do a couple of hikes around queenstown, and the day after we're off to dunedin to tour the speights brewery and check out their fringe festival. So adieu until the next adventure!
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