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24/01/2010
Three and a half hours after leaving Australia we landed in Christchurch, New Zealand and the next leg of our adventure. Greeted at immigration by strict signs saying about bringing in food and other objects Steph began to worry about the boomarang and food we had in our bags. Luckily, having declared them and our bags scanned we sailed through and jumped on the number 10 bus to the city centre. As it was so quiet due to it being midnight the bus driver was kind enough to drop us off at the doorstop of our hostel, Base. Checking in easily and quickly thanks to the hostels 24hour reception we found our room, freshened up and went to bed, ready for our 8:30am bus to Queenstown in the morning.
Waking early with the New Zealand crisp air, there was a distinct feel of England. The
traffic lights and roads have changed to ones more familiar to home as have the trees and buildings. Leaving ourselves enough time to shower and check out we walked the short distance to the bus stop and boarded the 8 hour bus to Queenstown. The scenery on this drive was breathtaking - the whole way. After a good few hours and a few short toilets stops we arrived at Lake Tekapo our stop for lunch and to change drivers. This lake is incredible. It is a quite strange bright blue colour, caused by the glaciers rubbing against the rocks high up in the mountains and has a back drop of the southern alps mountain range and clear blue skies. We stopped here for about 40 minutes and we had already fallen in love with New Zealand. The landscape from the little we had seen so far is just amazing. On we pushed in the coach and a stop at another beautiful spot on lake pukaki, this time with the awe-inspiring Mount Cook in the distance. A good 8 hours after setting off from Christchurch we arrived in Queenstown and were greeted by Millsy. It was so good to see him after such a long time. We jumped into his car and he took us up to his house on Fernhill. The views from up here are just beyond words. Queenstown is perched on the edge of the huge clear Lake Wakatipu with the Remarkables mountain range in the background and Darren has a huge terraced garden off the back of the house to view it all.
Arriving at his house, we are also greeted by Dolly (the dog they are babysitting for
friends) and Trev and Sheila (Darrens mum and dad who are also visiting from England). After unpacking our stuff we relaxed in the house with a few beers before his housemates came home from work, Emma and Aaron. We popped to the supermarket to get some supplies for the week and stock up on beer before heading back for a bbq in the garden.
The following morning we went down the hill into town to see Emma at work to see if she could get us some extreme activity for cheap, and she did. We got buy one get one free River Surfing for that afternoon. Sweet. So with a few hours to kill we went into the park and played frisbee golf. They have an 18 hole course all laid out that you can go around for free. You start at the tee and then you have to throw the frisbee either into a cage or against a wooden post in as little throws as possible. It was good fun and Darren beat us all, and I managed to lose a frisbee in between 2 rocks :-S
With not long before our River Surfing we finished on the 9th hole and grabbed a bite to eat before heading back to Emmas shop. There we were greeted by a guide who filled us in on what we were about to get ourselves into. It turns out it is where you don a wetsuit, fins, helmet and lifejacket and throw yourself down the rapids with only a bodyboard to keep you afloat. Brilliant. Although Steph didnt think so.
Arriving at the launch point after a 20 minute minibus journey we geared up and went
through the safety brief. After that we were taken to the side of the river, sheltered
from the current and got in practicing a few moves we may need on our journey downstream.
Then we set off...
The first rapid was the biggest, throwing us straight into the deep end as it was
literally only 30 seconds down stream. Steph got caught up in a strong surge straight away and got sucked under making her panic but the guides were heros and were always there quickly to help out, but to steph it felt like a lifetime in a washing machine. This put her off for the rest of the trip so she didnt enjoy it as much as the rest of us. It was really hard work and we had to kick all the way down to fight the current and avoid getting sucked into dangerous parts of the river, following the guides commands the whole time. We went through 3 more large rapids before the river calmed and we relaxed, floating down the river. Before we got out we were given the chance to do some rock jumping so we all climbed up the side of the river with our fins on and plunged back in, from about 5 metres. The first run was over. Yep, we were given the chance to go through that all again. Steph opted out and decided to stay on dry land and the rest of us got whisked back to the start to do it all again. This run, however, was much easier. It felt like we didnt need to kick half as much and had more control of the boards and the rapids as we knew what to expect. It was so much fun and we even tried a few tricks like 180s, and catching squirts. Squirts were where two currents met head-on pushing one underneath the other, so if you see this happening then you can push your board down at the front and you get whisked under and squirted out really fast. It was cool. The second run seemed to go a lot faster and we were all shattered.
Back up at the start again, we got changed and were given drinks and biscuits before being taken back into town. Once in town we met up with Sheila and all went for a well deserved curry and a few beers, Yum.
After a good nights sleep we woke up not sure of what to do, with so much to choose from Jaz, Darren's girlfriend, rang around to see if we could get anything on discount. It turned out that we could do a skydive that morning and only pay for a 9,000ft jump but get a 15,000ft. With everyone excited to do one we said yes and got pysched. Steph, Sheila and I were all doing it with Darren and Trev opting to take photos and save their money for the Nevis bungy. So, we all jumped into Daz's car and made our way to the airfield. Within no time Steph and I were getting kitted out and getting the very brief safety brief.
Having met our tandem jump masters we made our way to the plane. It was tiny inside, no seats or TVs or even an inflight meal, just a hollowed out plane with enough space for us, our tandem jumpers and a camera man each. The plane took off and we climbed quickly above Queenstown. After no time at all we were above the remarkables mountain range and still climbing. Looking at my tandem jumpers watch it said 9,000ft... still 6,000 to go. Finally making it to 15,000ft the light on the ceiling went red, then green and the door opened.
First to jump was an old american guy who looked like he was about to cry. 3-2-1, and he was gone. Next it was Stephs turn. Her, her cameraman and jump master shuffled to the edge of the plane with steph hanging out over the town and lake below.
Steph's Jump
I was so excited and not scared one bit, my stomach felt like I'd left it behind for a
second but after that I loved it! Two somersaults later and I regained my bearings, which way was up and which was down! I couldn't keep the smile off my face, but everytime I smiled with my mouth open, my mouth went dry so was doing my best to keep it closed - pretty difficult for me you know :) My Tandem master decided to give me a few spins while we were in the freefall which was pretty cool, but had to get him to stop after a while because I started to feel a bit sick! I couldnt think of any funny poses to do for the camera while I was freefalling my mind just went blank, so just stuck to smiling. Towards the end of the 60 second freefall I could feel that I needed to equalize my ears, so was pleased when my tandem master pulled the shoot so I didn't have to fight the G-force to use my hands to squeeze my nose and pop my ears! The scenery was beatiful, we were just below the clouds, so the view was amazing. My tandem master had a thing about spiralling because he asked if I wanted to do it again with the shoot out, I thought, what the hell, it felt different from spinning whilst freefalling, slower and more graceful and you could actually see the view, which was a bonus! The landing wasn't going to be as graceful, as we were opting for the bum landing, but it all worked out in the end...and I survived!!
Alex's jump
Then, last but not least, it was my turn to jump/fall. Hanging over the edge of the plane, with the cameraman standing over me, this was it. A quick rock back then.... gone. The first bit was the most extreme, accelerating from 0-200kph in 8 seconds. It felt like my stomach was still in the plane, it was amazing. We steadied out and I adopted the 'banana position' with my arms and legs back and head out, trying to take in everything that was happening. The cameraman kept swooping in taking photos and filming so I managed to pull off a few moves (check photos and video). It was an incredible feeling and the scenery below us was just amazing. After what im told was 60 seconds my jump master deployed our shoot and we watched the cameraman disappear beneath us before he opened his in order to beat us down to take footage of the landing. With the freefall over it was time to relax a bit and enjoy the scenery and the 5minute smooth ride down to earth. Getting closer and closer my jump master told me to lift my legs and when he shouted, to start running. So I did and the landing was pretty smooth, even with slightly jelly legs. Amazing. Get me back up there.
Once we had finished our jumps it was time for Darrens mum to do hers, she was really excited but had to wait a little longer so her anticipation was building, then it finally came round for her to go she went and didnt look scared at all, what a legend!!
When she'd finished and we'd seen her photos she looked liked she had as good a time as us, and even managed to pull a few poses for the camera!
After such an eventful morning we thought we'd have abit of a chilled out afternoon on the beach (by the lake) and take Darrens boat out. It was nice and relaxing sunbathing, Emma and her friend finished work early so they managed to join us and Emma's boyfriend Aaron also came down when he finished work. Darren's favourite thing to do at the moment is to use his boat to pull someone on a surfboard, its so much fun, a little bit like wakeboarding but because his boat is quite small, its not really powerfull enough to pull a wakeboard out of the water, whereas the surfboard we were using was really boyant so worked a treat! Obviously Darren was really good and could pretty much stand up on the board the whole length of the lake - which is pretty long. Alex, Emma and Aaron managed to stand up after a few faceplants, but all eventually got the hang of it, even Trev, (Daz's dad) managed to get up to his knees.
At the end of such an eventful day, we were again too exhausted to hit the town so opted for a night in watching the Inbetweeners (even awkward watching it with parents when they're not yours!!) and the feast of a meal that is the Fergburger! Me and Al weren't too adventurous and went for the traditional Fergburger but with a slight twist - Brie instead of cheddar, living on the egde we know!!! Glad we didnt get anything bigger though because it was gargantuous!
The next morning, carrying a ferg-hangover, Darren was keen to take us up the Gondola to the top of the hill above Queenstown where the views are incredible. But this being New Zealand, you cant just do a relaxing gondola ride up a hill, oh no, we bought tickets to do the luge too. This was situated at the top of the hill up another chair lift and consisted of you racing down one of two tracks on a luge with just a go and stop lever and using your own body weight to lean and steer it safely to the bottom. It was great fun! Until Steph managed to fall off her luge at the bottom because she was going to fast. Luckily she was ok other than a few scrapes and bruises. Women drivers hey!!
When we finished we sat and had some lunch and took in the amazing view of Queenstown, the lake and the remarkables mountain range before heading back down the gondola. Once at the bottom we decided to play a round of mini golf. With the loser of me, Darren and his dad buying the beers... I ended up buying a round at Pog Mahones, a pub right on the harbour.
That evening Darren's good friend Chappers was having a bbq party at his house so we went along after meeting up with the Canadians that we met in Oz, Blair and Mike, who were passing through. It was great fun. We had some good food and played alot of games, including cricket and some more random, made up games that involved drinking. At around 11:30pm we headed into to town to a bar called Winnies where a live band was playing which was awesome. After there just Darren and I made it to World Bar, a popular backpackers club, with the others going home.
Friday morning was missed with everyone waking up early afternoon, catching up on some much needed sleep. The rest of the day was spent relaxing before packing up the car for our weekend camping trip on New Zealand's south coast in the small town of Riverton.
Darren drove himself, Jaz, his mum and dad and the boat down in one car and Chappers drove Steph, me and Emma in an another and then Aaron drove himself and his brother down. After an eventful journey that took much longer than expected we arrived at Monkey Island campsite just before dark to put our tent up and put some food on the fire.
That evening was spent huddled around the fire and drinking beer to stay warm.
The next morning we woke up to an absolute downpour. Our tent was pegged down so we were lucky to wake up with a tent over us as someone elses had blown off in the night and they were drenched. Other than a small puddle in our tent we weren't too bad off. With everyone feeling a bit low due to the weather we drove into town in search of breakfast. Managing to find a place that was open, if a little over-priced and not that great, it still helped lift morale. After breakfast we made our way back to the campsite and with the sun breaking through the clouds we got the fire going again and relaxed. Darren and his friends brought loads of toys with them, including a sandboard that he pulled along the beach with his car. We played a bit of cricket til someone lost the ball and then just relaxed in the sun as the clouds disappeared. In the afternoon we decided to head to a surf beach just down the road and give the surf a go. The water was sooooo cold. Luckily Darren had a spare wetsuit for me and i used Aarons board and joined the others in th sea. The waves were ok, a bit choppy but we all managed to catch a few before the cold got too much for us.
Back at the campsite we all huddled around the fire again to warm up after surfing and cook some jacket potatoes. After that Steph and I walked down to the beach and crossed the sand to Monkey Island, which you can only walk to when the tides out, and watch the sunset. Was pretty amazing. Then on our way back we managed to find a few mussels for the others to eat over the bbq. The night finished with a few beers and a bit of a sing around the fire with Darren's guitar.
Early the next morning Darren, Jaz and his mum and dad packed up and set off to Milford Sound for their overnight cruise. Whilst the rest of us went back to the beach for another surf before heading home.
The journey back we took a different route and made it back in good time, stopping at a lake for a quick swim to cool off. That evening we unpacked the car and cooked a big stirfry for all of us before getting an early night to catch our bus back to Christchurch to join the Kiwi Experience bus. Both of us looking forward to what the rest of the south Island has to offer and coming back to Queenstown in 10 days or so.
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