South Island adventure: Queenstown!

Left: a view from the shuttle Dunedin to Queenstown, I don't know exactly where this is.
Below: Queenstown!

I loved Queenstown. It was very quaint and easy for a tourist such as myself to fall in love with. It's situated next to a beautiful lake at the bottom of snowy mountains on one side, green tree-covered mountains on the other. Queenstown is known for being a host of high-adventure activities and it definitely lives up to its expectations. That in mind, I had already decided I was going to go bungy jumping while there.

We arrived in Queenstown mid-afternoon on Monday. We checked into our room (we were in the "Sanctuary" all-girls room since that was all they had left, which meant we got our bathroom right outside the door, shampoo, a towel, and a free glass of bubbly to use at the bar next door) which was an 8-person room but we conveniently were alone for the two nights we stayed there. We picked up some brochures at the iSITE, then booked the Nevis bungy!! AJ Hackett was a really cool place, with computers to use, bean bag chairs to lounge on, lots of overpriced gear to buy, and really chill staff who laughed as they reassured us that no, we would not puke while falling or die. Then it was off to the grocery store for the first of many nights of pasta with sauce. After that, we went to the bar to get our free glass of bubbly and the other free drink offered before 9pm. I was just really excited because it was karaoke night!! And I have been wanting to sing karaoke since I've been here. I really wanted to sing "Don't Stop Believin" but it was offered. I ended up singing a duet of "Let it Be" with the other IES Gustie - who happened to be in the same hostel as us that night. Neither of us realized how much "letting it be" there is in that song, but the intoxicated people in the bar didn't seem to mind the repetition as they belted it out with us. Almost immediately after singing I headed to bed, as bungy was booked for the next morning!

The bungy. I think everyone (including me) was expecting me to be panicking the entire morning, but I think I was actually the most calm out of the group of us. After a very long bus ride from AJ Hackett to get to the bungy, we were harnessed up and heading out to the pod where we were to jump. Jumping was decided by weight, so I was one of the first people to get to the pod. I wasn't actually nervous until I was sitting in the chair and they were strapping my feet together. I'd say the scariest part was when I was inching toward the end of the platform, and I swear that my feet were already as far as they possibly could be without me walking off the platform, and them telling me to keep inching forward. Bungy jumping is really hard to describe. A lot of people swear when they jump - and though I didn't, I can definitely understand why. You just jump and free fall for what seems like nothing and forever until you start to feel the tensioning of the cord. Jumping was the craziest thing I have done in...well, a while to say the least. I'm trying to think of how to describe it besides awesome/exhilarating but I got nothing. It is one of those things that I think must be done to understand. 134m though. That's how far I jumped. I was able to pull the cord to release my feet so I didn't come up upside down. And then I got back on the platform, on a total adrenaline rush and feeling on top of the world, and decide that $69 is worth it to jump again. I had to wait a while to jump again, and I was actually much more nervous the second time. I think it might be because I knew what it felt like. However, I didn't pull the cord right to release my feet, and when I was dangling upside down over a rocky river I wasn't exactly going to try to pull the cord again and again because of my fear of somehow releasing myself. Which isn't even possible. So I spun upside down the whole way up, and ended up with a big head rush. My second jump wasn't as good as my first, but it was totally and 100% worth it. So. Freaking. Amazing. I'm not going to put up tons of pictures, but this should link you to my facebook album where I have all the pictures from the jump.

that little pod is where I jumped from :)

CAUSE I'M FREEEEEEEEEE, FREE FALLIN'

I swan dove off

how I felt right after my second bungy: bliss

After jumping and spending an adequate amount of time at AJ Hackett, we had some quiet time in the room and then went to Fergburger! Fergburger is apparantly a necessity while in Queenstown - and it was one massive burger. And I got chips too. So massive. Such a food baby. Then we got fudge and changed for going to this bar where they serve mixed drinks in teapots! I split one with Meagan and one with Maddi; they were delish. Then it was off to bed after such an exhausting day.

The next day, Wednesday, we picked up our rental car! It was a four-door, five-person Nissan Sunny so it was cozy with five people but we made it work. Maddi had bought a LOTR filming sites guidebook, so we headed out to Glenarchy to find where Isengard was filmed. With a few picturesque stops along the way, we found the field where Isengard took place and found some sheep too. The sheep moved further away from me when I baa-ed at them. Sadly. That day we also made a plan for the next few days, and drove to Te Anau to sleep for the night because Milford was Thursday!

I will leave you with a few pictures and then start a new post. So much to write about. So. Much.

group photo! Maddi, Beth, me, Meagan, Nicole
(those funny things on Maddi and Beth's heads are Sam and Frodo, Maddi's homemade hobbits)

look at this beautiful place!

Isengard!