Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Day here in New Zealand and the sun is shining. Wanaka is absolutely beautiful and an excellent place to rest and rewind after the hectic Christmas Eve we spent in Queenstown...

Christmas Eve morning, we both woke up all of a flutter, because this was the day we would be getting our Christmas presents to each other... A bungy jump over the Kawarau River in Queenstown. It's a 43m drop from bridge to swirling river, which might not sound like a lot, but when you're standing up on a platform, about to freefall over the edge, it's a long way down.
We got to the bridge about 9.30am and watched a couple of other people jump. There were absolutely hoards of Japanese tourists being herded off buses to come and watch the bungy jumping, so there was a fair audience there. Howie was first, and - after being nicknamed 'The Hoff' by the instructors - he leapt bravely from the precipise and got dunked in the river. Excellent. Then it was my turn. I was actually really excited and got up to the top with glee, stepping into the harness and being all strapped up with various ropes. It was only when the instructor told me to stand up that I started to feel a bit iffy... Wasn't actually sure I could do the jump at all. But, with some gentle persuading from the crew (ie. kicking my feet to the edge and standing behind me so I couldn't possible go anywhere but over the edge) I jumped.

What can I say, other than how completely immense bungy jumping is. You're genuinely free-falling for about 5 seconds, but those 5 seconds feel looooong... Then you bounce back up and have to free fall again. They collected us at the bottom in a little dinghy (which had trouble getting to me because I am too short for such things) and then the euphoria sets in. However everything that goes up must come down, as they say, and I started my 'comedown' from the massive adrenelin rush of the bungy right when we were in a crowded supermarket, elbowing grannies out of the way to get the last Christmas pudding.

We then drove to Wanaka and settled in our campervan site. It's right near the lake, with gorgeous mountain views and - best of all - a free jacuzzi spa and sauna. Needless to say, we made the most of that when we got there, after our exhilerating morning and long drive through the mountains (incidentally, a rather hairy drive, as the road twists round the mountainside, encompassing sheer drops and dodgy corners).

Now it's Christmas Day and we've been to church, sung some carols, had a big breakfast, opened presents, walked down by the lake and are about to start cooking Christmas dinner. Hoorah!

Overall, it's been a wonderful Christmas - Merry Christmas to everyone back at home.