Queenstown
The hostel we are residing includes free breakfast and dinner so in true backpacker style we were up nice and early to beat the queues and fill ourselves up to try and save us being hungry at lunch time.
All morning one thing loomed over us and the whole coach. THE CANYON SWING. Today is the day where at 11.30 we will be free falling off the worlds highest cliff dive at 330ft into the canyon below. As the third and last item on our adrenaline list for the year, it was a big day. We had definitely saved the highest fear factor till last. Scared doesn't even cover the emotional roller coaster that we had from the bus, to the swing, to the few hours afterward. The conclusion we came to was that we are glad we have done it and we didn't enjoy it at all but glad to have experienced the feeling. The events of the swing were as follows:
- We arrive with friends from the bus - Hes, Emma and Daisy. - Initially it didn't seem that high. - We get harnessed up and onto the platform. - Daisy (19) goes first with a casual backflip into the canyon. - She comes up saying she has wee'd herself a bit. - Next up Matt and Char. - The guys that work there just mess with your mind - "your harness isn't right", pretend to push us off, counted down to the release then didn't drop us. - When we were least expecting it they cut us loose.
It is the most unnatural feeling we have ever experienced. Who does find plummeting into a canyon enjoyable. The photos say it all and it is safe to say we were relieved to get back to solid ground, however, the tomfoolery still continued.
There was only one thing to bring us back to normality and that was to visit the world famous 'Fergberger'. This is a must when in Queenstown and the queue outside says it all. We stood and waited for 15 minutes in the freezing cold, however the wait was so worth it. This place gives you a seriously big feed and we all struggled to complete the gigantic burgers.
With skiing on the agenda tomorrow we stopped at the ski hire shop to pick up some warm clothing as we were seriously lacking in this.
Not only does our hostel off free breakfast, but it also gives free dinner. So at 7.30 we headed to one of the bars to be served up a bowl of our favorite - Thai Red Curry. Tonight we all joined the hostels bar crawl. First we visited Hideout and Rhino's bar. The next bar was an absolute treat - Ice Bar.... A bar which was completely made from ice.... Everything from the bar, to tables, to the walls and even the glasses we drank from. The night then continued to Loco's and The Find where we laughed the night away. A particular highlight was Johannes showing us his moves in a dance off. They were a bit avant-garde.
Just incase we hadn't eaten enough today we stopped at another important place of Queenstown - Devil Burger. Tomorrow we WILL be back to healthy eating. We sat into the early hours of the morning listening to Johannes' love story. We love this Italian guy!
M & C xxxx