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So we were finally heading to Queenstown. Since I had arrived on the South Island all the talk had been about getting to the party and adventure capital of the country. We arrived late in the afternoon (even though it was only an hours away from Wanaka) after stopping at Puzzling World and the AJ Hackett centre at the site of the world’s first commercial bungy jump. After meeting up with people from Wanaka myself and the two James’s headed to Ferg Burger. The legendary burger shop is famous in the world of backpackers. I had heard about it from Naomi back home, the girl who served me at Dymocks in Sydney and nearly everyone I had met during my trip. The burgers there are truly amazing! On the first day I decided on simply the normal Ferg Burger with brie, on my second trip however I went for the Big Al! This is the monster of all the Ferg Burgers; 2x ¼ pounders, 2 eggs, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, onions and cheese. It was a challenge but it was incredible. Burger King used to be the Nirvana of my burger eating life; I will never look at it the same way again. That night I didn’t drink, partly because I couldn’t fit anything else in my stomach and partly because the next morning I was doing my Canyon Swing!
I woke up, then shook Amie up, and we headed to the Shotover Canyon. I had been fairly nervous about doing a bungy jump/canton swing (especially when compared to the skydive) but after winning the canyon swing prize and I knew I was definitely going to jump, the nerves had faded away. Climbing the canyon edge the excitement grew, even Amie’s hysterical nervous face couldn’t shake me. After a quick safety briefing we were taken up to the jump site, strapped up and chose what jump we were going to perform. I decided to do two jumps and was advised to jump backwards first because it meant overcoming your fear and actually taking the leap yourself. So I chose my song, Rage Against The Machine of course and stepped towards the jump masters to get prepared. Now those guys knew how to mess with your head. Constantly fidgeting with the harness and telling each other the bungy cords were out of date but should last. After 5 minutes of this it starts to play on your mind. After all this I was lead to the edge of the platform and turned around. I hung my heels over the 109m cliff and lent back for a photo. I was then told to lean back and jump backwards, keeping my hands behind my head and never to take my eyes off the jump site, this was where the fear started to kick in. Unlike the skydive you are by yourself, completely independent, just you and the drop. I was a bit nervous but I got on with it and prepared to jump. Now I had seen plenty of videos of jumps were the jump masters pull back the unsuspecting, terrified jumper at the last second before they drop so obviously I expected the same. So the countdown started: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, JUMP! I wasn’t pulled back like I expected, I simply fell towards the canyon floor and kept my eyes on the cabin as it faded into the sky. It felt so good speeding through the air, a completely different rush than the skydive. After a 60 metre freefall I hit the swing and was flung over the Shotover River, it was great. After me and after much persuasion, Amie finally ran off the edge and kept on running, her little arms and legs pumping at full speed down to the canyon depths. I then did my second jump, Gimp Boy Goes To Hollywood (just look at the photos) before we returned to Queenstown.
The day didn’t stop there, in the afternoon I got a tattoo. I was planning on getting some Maori design around my ankles but after some discussion I decided on a circle on my calf with encompassed some Maori art and the New Zealand fern leaf. The pain, like my other tattoo wasn’t too bad and it was completed within 40 minutes so it was all over before I knew it. I was extremely happy with the finished piece; Greg at White Tiger Tattoo did an excellent job. The next few days in QT were spent chilling and drinking before our Southland Road Trip.
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