134 m

As a couple of you know already from the leak from the presses, I threw myself off of a suspended pod 134 meters (440 feet) down to the Nevis River and was thrust back by the help of a bungy cord. I woke up yesterday and went with two friends to do the Nevis Highwire Bungy at 8:30 am. It is advertised as the 2nd highest in the world behind the Blukrans Bridge in South Africa at 216 m (but I think there actually are two others that are bigger as well per Wikipedia - The Macau Tower at 233 m and the Verzasca Dam in Switzerland at 220 m). Either way, it was maybe one of the best experiences of my life and by far the most intense 9 seconds of adrenaline. We (myself, Alex, and Jay, who goes to Michigan State...) were picked up by a shuttle and were very amped up and respectively listening to our pump-up music on the 45 minute, 4WD trip to the canyon that the Nevis River runs through - I was listening to Zeppelin mostly, but kicked it up to some rap right as our van pulled into the prep. center. We were quickly checked in, harnessed up, and away we went to a metal cage that slowly traverses the wires across the ravine and docks into the jumping pod. I was surprisingly calm the whole time, which was similar to my skydiving experience, and watched as several others went before me as it went from heaviest to lightest. I made sure not to look down, but was entertained by the shrieks and screams from the jumpers before me. Finally it was my turn and I was put into a chair with my back facing the ledge, hooked on to the elastic rubber band that would ultimately preserve my existence, smiled for the camera, and then taken to walk the plank. I scooted along with my legs together like a prisoner with the shackles, and this was the moment that my brain began to process what I was about to do and I became filled with a rush of excitement and nervousness. "3-1-2, go!" And off I went, perfect swan dive into the air and began my free fall. For the first second of the jump your brain does not really know what to do or how to process every sensation that you are feeling - the weightlessness, the air rushing past you, the vision of the ground far below you, and the understanding that you are falling hundreds of feet with just the security of a cord to whip you back before you meet the earth. After the initial second, it is a surreal experience that seems somewhat out-of-body as you continue to fall for the next 7 seconds at speeds of about 128 km/h (80 mph). Finally you feel the tension of the rope pulling you back and you are gently yanked back from your fall and tossed like a rag doll back up to the sky. I was actually laughing towards the end of the fall and when the cord engaged as I couldn't believe the rush I was experiencing. The cord bounced once more and I pulled the strap on my left leg and was rappelled into a vertical position and was wheeled back in by the pulley on the jump pod. When I got into the pod I was met by my two friends as well as other jumpers and people waiting and I just had a massive grin on my face and continued to laugh. It was quite the experience and one that I will never forget (Mom, I was obviously only going to tell you now what I was up to in Queenstown...). I also was able to upload the video of my jump on youtube for your viewing pleasure - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp1CzuGdC20


Although tough to follow an act like bungy jumping, I also made my way down to the Franz Joseph glacier before I arrived in Queenstown. I signed up for the full-day hike, which takes you close to the top of the glacier and you are walking along the ice for about 3 hours. The views of the glacier and the surrounding canyon walls, covered with rich forests and low-lying clouds, were pretty remarkable. The hike itself was a bit slow going as the guide continuously was picking his ax at the ground to make it have better traction for our crampons (sharp clamping gear hooked on to boots). But it was a really unique experience and cool to see the bright blue walls of the glacier as you hiked up and the freezing cold water rushing below some of the crevasses that were formed over thousands of years.




We continued on our drive on the west coast of the south island, which really is beautiful and has sweeping landscapes that change around each bend. Noteworthy stops were along the Haast Pass, which cuts through the Southern Alps and gives spectacular views of Mt. Cook (tallest in NZ at 12,000 feet), Mount Aspiring National Park, and several noteworthy rivers like the Haast and the Makarora). I mean, with this picture here, the photographer should just give up his day job and become a professional postcard creator or the views really are stunning enough that anyone can capture this landscape in its entirety. During these couple days of driving on our way down to Wanaka and Queenstown, there really were so many amazing sites to stop and take pictures. I hope you enjoy the few that I have posted here, but would obviously love to show you the others that I have taken that truly demonstrate how diverse the landscape is in this region. The other picture here is when we stopped at the Blue Pools, which is glacier water flowing through a river with the mountains in the background. We also stopped at an amazing fruit stand on the way in to Wanaka that had many varieties of plums, apples, peaches, nectarines, cherries, kiwi fruit, dried fruit, and maybe the best ice cream I've ever had. They put a bunch of fresh cookies and cream ice cream into a blender with recently picked mixed berries, blend it together, and give you this delicious treat in a cup or cone.





Wanaka is on...Lake Wanaka, and is about an hour or so from Queenstown. It is a really nice, relaxed version of Queenstown, and still has the great views of the mountains and lots of great restaurants, cafes, lakefront paths for tramping, etc. We finally pulled in to Queenstown two days ago in the late afternoon and went straight to the lake to cool ourselves down after the long trip on the A/C-deprived bus. The views in Queenstown are some of the best I've ever seen for a town. The Remarkable Mountains are the backdrop to Lake Wakatipu with forests all around and people doing all sorts of crazy adventure activities (bungy jumping, skydiving, jet boating, canyoning, parasailing, hangliding, etc.). This mountain range is also the only other true north-to-south range in the whole world other than the Smokey Mountains (always helps to pay attention to the driver here and there because sometimes he actually said something important). After bungy jumping, most of us spent the other time relaxing, doing some easy walking trails around the town, chilling by the lake, and getting ready for the next legs of our respective journeys.


I leave tomorrow morning for a 10-day hike that takes me around the bottom southwest corner of the south island, through the Fiordland National Park, the Caitlins, some amazing alpine tracks, the furthest south town of Invercargill and back around to Christchurch. Here is the summary of it for those of you that are curious: http://www.hikingnewzealand.com/hiking-tours-in-new-zealand.htm. So yeah, that's the scoop for now. I won't be able to really update at all until I get back, but until then I hope you are all well and I will talk to you all soon.





Justin