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So we were heading to the the south island and caught the ferry nice and early. While on there we bumped in to a guy from Leeds who decided to join us on the bus, little did he know what would happen later that day though! Once we got on the bus after 3 hours on the ferry our new driver informed us that it was perfect sky diving weather in Nelson that day and we would be there in 3 hours. Before I knew it my hand was in the air and I had been signed up along with 8 others including the poor lad who just wanted a lift to Nelson. I wasn't too scared for the next few hours but once we got off the bus in Nelson and got picked up by the Skydiving bus I became a tad nervous. We arrived at the airfield and Me Sam and Jessica were in the first plane and we got togged up. Sam and Jessica got in the plane first which left me with the seat next to the door and the full view of how high we where going, it was when the plane took off that I became terrified when we hit just over 13,000ft the door opened and my camera man disappeared outside. I then had to swing my legs out and was dangling outside the plane trying to smile to the camera. It was then that the fear disappeared and before I knew it I was given the instruction to go and that was it, I was free falling. I really cannot describe the amazing feeling, it's wild and rocks! I shook hands with my camerman while freefalling and then he spun us, which is magic. I truly cannot explain the sensation, everyone must do it! When the parachute opens it feels like you are are being dragged up then my instructor loosened the straps, this was a little scary but ok then he started doing some crazy moves , it was like a rollercoaster, mad!!!! My landing was not the most dignified but I did stay on my feet which is good! Whoooo, I landed after a 15 min flight but my head was still up there for hours... it's truly awesome!!!! That night the 9 of us that did it celebrated with fish and chips (just like home) and wine, what a fan dabby dozy day.
Still buzzing from the day before we went of to the place where we had jumped over to walk it this time. It's called the Abel Tasman national park and the only way in was by boat. It is one of the most beautiful places I had ever been to and the beaches are better than Thailand, check out the piccy's bet seriously they dont do it justice!! Once we left Nelson we set off on the Magic bus again visiting the Pancake rocks and then arrived in Greymouth, not the most exciting place in the world, not a lot more to say!
From Greymouth it was on to Franz joseph where the glacier is and got an early night ready for a full day hiking. The next day we donned our walking gear and once we got the to foot of the glacier put our Crampons on and started the climb, this really works your legs but it was worth it. Once up on to the good ice we went through caverns and crevases which where a little on the tight side in places so tight in places that you had to get pushed through. Again the photos dont do it justice, the ice is so blue it doesn't look real trust me though it is and I froze checking it out. Once up we had to come back down again and this is alot quicker but alot scarier. It was another fantastic day and so it didn't end so quickly we found a bar yippee.
Time to move on yet again and we headed to Queenstown home of the adventure activity's. Me been the quiet and non-adventure type through caution to the wind and booked a few trips as soon as we got to town. A trip to Milford sound with a helicopter ride home after, White water rafting, river boarding, rock jumping, river swings and to finish off getting dragged by a jet ski on my river board, not much really!
First on the list was the tame one and we set off on a very long drive to Milford sound via the mirror lake, which are amazing, in fact the whole of NZ is, it's really hard to explain. Unfortunatly it was raining bad when we got there (they get 9m of rain a year, not good) so I was glad I got to go in the helicopter home. That was a real rush the pilot flew up in to the mountains through the snow blizzards and then back down the other sides, it really made your stomach turn, I got the front seat as the other people didn't want it, fantastic for me.
Ready for even more adrenalin I was up early and got a very nerve wreaking bus ride to the start of the shot over river for my white water rafting trip. The road you go on to get there is very narrow and half way up a mountain, needless to say I didn't take in the view and neither did alot of the people on the bus. We arrived at the river and got told you didn't have to raft but if you didn't you had to get on the bus back, no one did want to get back on it suprisingly! Rafting was fantastic very gentle at times and the views you get are amazing. It was a grade 3-5 which is impressive for a first go (well i think so anyway) we went through a 150m tunnel and on our last set of rapids our instructor fell out and I almost did. luckily we had another instructor in our boat with us, as we were the last boat down the river (and the safty boat) and he saved us from going over. He told us after that if we hadn't have done the moves he told us as quick as we did we were definatly swiming. After the rafting I bumped in to Dave from Leeds again who came skydiving with us and went for a few beers while waiting for the girls to get back, but I was good and didn't drink alot in preperation for the next day.
And so came the scariest day so far I got up thinking that river boarding would be a breeze, o was I sooooo wrong. Apperently the company I went with has the hardest stretch of the river and the rapids are about grade 3 argh(they could have told me this before I booked). Once in to our wetsuits we got in the river and practiced our moves in a slow part of the river it was so hard and after 10 mins of swimming I was shattered. Then we set off I on the first set of rapids two people got sucked into whirl pools and split the group (whirl pools are normal on these trips). Then when the waves start coming over it's very scary and very very cold. Half way down the river it got worse when I got cramp in both legs and couldn't kick anymore so the guide had to take my fines off me and keep hold of me for the rest of the rapids, once of the quiet stretch of river i just floated down with no control at all. Then cam the fun bit, they had a jetski which they hooked you to and dragged you down the riverand then threw you off at the bottom, fantastic!!! Once out of the river and in the hot shower Iu noticed I had cut myself in a few places, it had been then cold in the river though that I had never noticed. That night went out for a few drinks with some of the Magic people I was that tired that it was an early night for me though, all this excersize is just not good for you.
Woke up the next day covered in bruises from the day before and aching a little from the adventure, so treated myself to a nice lie in. Later went up the cable car to over look queenstown and had another go at the luge which is great fun. Went out that night and I dont know if I have already mentioned it but I love New Zealand for lots of reasons but the most important one is that I keep getting asked for ID, it's brilliant!!!!
With all our crazy activity's done and me still not brave enough to do a bungee it was back on to the magic bus and off to Dunedin. Needed some rest so didn't go siteseeing just watched a bit of telly in our hostel. The hostel was strange it used to be a hospital and our room used to be the operating theatre!!!! Didn't see any ghosts thank god. From here we set off to Lake Tekapo on the way we stopped to look at the blue lake with mount cook in the background. It didn't look real the water was so blue it lloked like food colouring had been put in to it. That night had a fantastic pizza, lamb and mint sauce yummy! Then back to the bus and off to Christchurch, the bus was lacking in good music today so me and sam wowed everyone with some of our cheesy music and fantastic sit down dancing, it was amazing!!!! Ariving in Christchurch was like arriving in any small english city! We watched some street performers but other than that there was not much to do so we did some relaxing.
Arrived in Kaikoura and me and Spam went off whale watching. They are huge alot bigger than you imagine. We were lucky enough to see two swimiming around then diving down and one diving down. We also got an added bonus of dolphins coming to play at the side of our boat. The next day we hired bikes and cycled to the seal colony, we walked up on to the cliffes for a better look. Upon the top we bumped in to some other walkers who sang us a moari song which was amazing. We had lunch by the side of the the road with a lady cooking freshly caught fish on a barbi it was great and cheep which is always good.
And thats the south island done and we are back on our way to the ferry to the North island again.
L x x x
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