Queenstown

On arrival in Queenstown it was roasting hot which I later found out is very unusual for this time of year, none of us were complaining though as we headed down to the lake to soak up some rays and jump in the very cold water. Queenstown’s population is only 16,000 but it has a transient population of around 40,000.

The town has a good vibe and being situated right on Lake Wakatipu with stunning mountain views coupled to that the fact you can do just about all the outdoor activities you can think of means this little town has a lot going for it. One of those activities is of course bungy jumping, in fact Queenstown is the home of bungy with the first commercial bungy site being setup there, it is also home to the highest jump in the Southern Hemisphere (now that South Africa has closed down) called Nevis it stands at a vertigo inducing 134 meters suspended from a pod hanging by wires over a huge canyon this also happened to be the one I’d booked to do the following day along with Noelle and a Yank called Ian.

That evening was a large group night out which was good as it took my mind off the mental jump we had ahead of us. It was a great night with lots of Karaoke and free flowing alcohol courtesy of our driver guide Jimmy, most of the booze went in the direction of the girls though surprise, surprise. Got in at 3am and made a wise decision to drink 2 liters of water. I woke up feeling reasonable, I wish I could say the same about Noelle, she was a mess, luckily the jump pickup wasn’t until 12:20 with a 45min transfer she had time to compose herself, meanwhile myself and Ian stared nervously out of the window the whole of the journey.

Once we arrived we were harnessed up and transported 6 at a time by mini cable car across to the pod suspended high above the river below which looked tiny from up there. The do the jumps in weight order with heaviest first, luckily that day there were 2 heavier peeps so I was down to go third. I watched as they wasted no time getting the first person strapped in she looked nervous, yes I said she, she weighed 108kg, I thought she was gonna bottle it but no up she stepped and before I knew it she was gone, crap I thought my turn is coming fast!

I’m sat in the chair having the bungy attached to my feet with the instructor telling me which strap to pull to release my feet. You are harnessed at your waist and your feet so that when they winch you back up you are in a seated/lying position instead of dangling by your feet but to get into this position you have to release your feet via this strap, scary shit when you are hanging upside down flying through the air. You have to do the release at the height of the 2nd bounce as that’s the easiest time.

I shuffle to the edge of the platform and look out into the canyon and down at the floor, holy shit, that is a long, long way down…..3….2….1..Go the guy shouts, I jump, arms out swan dive style like I was told, it doesn’t last long though I’m flapping like a bird, like that’s gonna help. The ground arrives in no time then I feel the pull of the cord, phew it worked I’m safe springing skyward again, now I’m enjoying myself, I reach up release my feet and swing into a sitting position whoop whoop! Grinning ear to ear I arrive back at the pod, did you enjoy that asks the dude at the top, oh yeah I reply, wanna go again? Do I ,I shout, so I go again, this time head first arms by my side, this is awesome!!!!

Videos of both jumps are now on Facebook