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Tues 16th....BUNGY DAY!!!!! AAHHHHHHHH. and also our 4 year anniversary, AWWWW ;o) Why we thought jumping 135m to our death was a romantic thing to do I have no idea but no backing out now....
Alarm set for just before 9 so had time to get ready, have quick Starbucks breakfast and then feel almightily sick in anticipation of throwing myself 135m down into a canyon - Dan was revelling in it, weirdo. Had to be at the Station for 10am where we got weighed (depressing at the best of times but especially so when wearing 6 layers of clothing) and signed our lives away before wasting half an hour on the internet waiting for the bungy bus to pick us up and take us to the Nevis site. The drive took about 40 minutes up some properly windy treacherous roads (not helping with the sickness) and of course, disco choons... including the classic Jump Around by House of Pain, what a joker.
Arrived up in the mountains (or what felt like mountains) and got harnessed up and weighed again (had put on another 2kg from the harness AHH!) before we commenced a seriously nerve wracking journey out to the cable car, in what can only be described as a rattly metal box. Terrifying! I hadn't even considered the bungy at this stage, certain I was going to die before we got there. The main bungy station was quite big, I sat around whilst Dan got ready to go as you jump in order of your weight, heaviest first ;o) Off he leapt into the canyon, leaving me to take photos and crap myself over him being 135m down in a canyon/my impending doom! More people went before I had my foot supports attached and was escorted to the chair, where you get all hooked up and ready to go. Tottered over to the edge, clinging onto the bungy instructor for dear life before having no chance to back out with 3,2,1 countdown. Have no idea how I managed to jump out but soon found myself falling through the air, head first, screaming my lungs out and feeling almightily relieved when the bungy pulled me back up! After a couple of bounces you are supposed to sit up and pull out a strap from the leg binding to release your feet and be pulled back up to the top by your middle harness. This proved too much for me in my somewhat hysterical state so just clung to the strap for dear life in a sit up position whilst hanging upside down and moving very slowly back to the top! Even when I reached the right level, I had managed to tangle myself up in the all the ropes so was left hanging like "catch of the day" whilst they span me round, 135m above the GROUND in an attempt to untie me. NOT cool. Finally reeled in and by this point I had nearly lost both trainers, turned the air completely blue and had super stiff ankles. AWESOME though!! Went back across on the rickety cart to the Bungy centre where we had all of about a minute to get re harnessed and prepare ourselves for the Canyon Swing! Crossed a very wobbly bridge to reach the Arc despite the fact by this point my left ankle was killing and could only hop/put minimal weight on it. Thankfully the Nevis Arc involved sitting and putting our weight through the harnesses, no feet involved. I got strapped in first, decided to face outwards on Bim's lap - couldn't sit side by side due to big weight discrepancy between us and would just spin! I sat suspended for a while whilst Dan got hooked in and attached to me. Slowly got manouvred out to the top of the swing away from the platform and after no countdown released into the void! Completely different experience from bungy - I much preferred it and the rush was awesome. Got hoisted up much more comfortably and released at the top, though by this point I really couldn't walk as a result of jelly legs and a ridiculously sore ankle. Hopped back to the Bungy station to find an ice pack and sit for a while as Dan took photos and watched the bloke we bungied with also do the Arc. I had to fill out an incident report and also got the photo/video package we wanted plus the free T shirt and cap. AJ Hackett offered to pay for me to get my ankle checked out properly at Queenstown Medical Centre as by this point it looked like I had a second ankle sprouting out the top of my foot so got dropped off there by the bus. Got seen to surprisingly quickly by a nurse and then a doctor. All really friendly and repeated our travels countless times. Good news was that it was not broken so instead I got tubi-gripped and advised to invest in alot of ice! Dan went to the pharmacy to get a reusable ice pack and then starving we hopped to the infamous Ferg Burger - had heard a lot of rave reviews and it certainly didn't disappoint. I had a massive chicken burger with bacon avocado and all the salady bits plus aioli and relish whilst Bim had the aptly named "Mr Big Stuff" - a ton of beef and bacon and cheese! The burgers were huge and stupidly we ordered fries too which were about the same size as the burgers! Absolutely stuffed so hopped back to the hostel for a lot of icing and elevation... read and chatted with our room mates and didn't move an inch until it was time for more food! ;o) Spent ages sorting out our bungy photos and videos on the free internet at AJ Hackett before going to a really nice Italian restaurant on the lakefront. Had delicious ciabatta and dipping oils then gnocchi for me and bolognaise for Dan accompanied by really good red wine. Really good end to a wicked day (except the ankle of course!)
Wednesday 17th we had booked our day trip out to Milford Sound so was a very early start - met the Kiwi Discovery bus at 7am! :o( My ankle was very swollen and walking even more painful but we figured that we would be sat on a coach/boat the majority of the time, a correct assumption! Drove from Queenstown to Te Anau for a quick break then continued to Milford via the Fjordland National Park. Had a couple more stops for photos including some spectacular mirror lakes and mountains, general Lord of the Rings scenery! As we approached Milford Sound the road became much more dangerous, very icy and twisty through the mountains. Reached the Homer tunnel, a very creepy small passageway carved out the solid granite, much more exciting than the Dartford one! ;o) Saw loads of frozen waterfalls on the cliff faces whilst continuing on the most dangerous roads for avalanches in NZ/the world, great! Finally arrived at Milford Sound (which is actually a fjord not a sound as it was carved by glaciers not rivers, fact) and got the 1pm cruise. Ate our free lunch inside looking out the huge windows before braving the cold. And bloody hell was it cold! The Sound was pretty amazing though, took lots of pics and admired its vastness before retiring inside for some free tea. Went back out again to see where the sea met the sound before turning around to cruise back. Came back via an amazing waterfall, that we went right up into before we saw loads of fur seals and dolphins chasing the boat :o) Had about an hour and a half in total on the water before meeting the coach and driving a good 4 hours back to Queenstown. Slept most of it! Got back to Bumbles around 7, met some new room mates before quickly checking out the internet and heading to World Bar for food. Had a few drinks but back at the hostel by 10.30 or so as it had been a very long day and my ankle was still really sore, ready for more driving tomorrow - thank god it was my left ankle!!
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