Hey all, it's us again with another blog, quite a short one this time so don't panic.

31 January:

So it was our first full day in Queenstown today & there is a huge amount to do but we have very little time & cash to do it. We decided on a handful of things to keep us entertained.

First off we decided to make a booking for the Canyon Swing : http://www.canyonswing.co.nz/index.php at the reception of our Caravan Park. It' was quite pricey but all 4 of us were itching to do it.

Then we took a walk to the Gondolas & travelled to the top where there is a viewing deck, paragliding take offs & the luge. The views over Quenstown are superb from up there & makes you realise just how nice Queenstown is. It's only a small place but has a real buzz about it, with thousands of tourists coming & going every day.

We had already paid for 2 runs on the luge each so that's what we did next. We didn't quite expect it to be so fast & dangerous! The rivalry between us all had already started by the end of the first race after I flew past Ed on the last corner. In the second race Ed, Carly & I set off from the start in that order. Carly managed to overtake Ed halfway down but I couldnt find a gap to get past either of them as they were so close. Me & Ed had one more go to settle the score & after I got infront, he overtook me then I took him back. He decided then that instead of passing me he would simply crash into me & get his momentum going while I sit smashed against the wall! Needless to say Ed went on to win!

With the rivalry in full swing, we went to play crazy golf. It was the most awesome crazy golf ever, we never expected it. Obviously with my golfing background I caned everyone else by 15 shots!!!

Then it was time, time to take the plunge. If any of you clicked on the link above you will know what I mean. The Canyon Swing is a new style of bungy, where you wear a harness instead of being strapped at the legs. The beauty of this is that you experience a longer freefall, reach higher speeds & there's a variety of options when it comes to leaping off.

The guy that drove us up to the Canyon, Doug, a Scotsman made us all feel good that we chose this over a bungy & showed us the way down to the platform where we all harnessed up. Ed was first, then Sara, then Carly, then finally, vertigo suffering me!

Looking out over the edge was terrifying, the river below looked like a stream & the people look like ants when they are swinging below. Ed chose 'Gimp Boy Goes To Hollywood' for his first jump. Basically he hangs upside down over the edge, then they cut the rope when he least expects it! He was all arms & legs as soon as the drop started. Sara looked as though she had seen a ghost when she came back up, too scared even to scream on the way down. Carly managed to let out quite a scream after she was pushed off backwards sat in the 'Chair of Death'. I decided that I had to face my fear of heights & chose 'The Pin Drop', basically I jump off feet first, whilst looking at my feet. I thought my voice was loud while I was doing the jump, but watching the video back on ed's camera, I realised that the Canyon was echoing for quite sometime after. A few bad words may have been said as well!

We all did a 2nd jump & Ed a 3rd because he wanted to try 'The Pin Drop' as well. Overall, it was an immense experience, we were all buzzing for hours after.

On the evening we met up with one of Sara's friends from home for a few pints then hit the sack.

1 February:

Today we woke up at check out time, 10am. Couldn't believe how well we slept. Me & Carly headed into town to take a look around & wander around the gardens. It's all really pretty & the weather was gorgeous. Always helps. After a few hours we went back to the campground to get Ed & Sara before grabbing an all day breakfast.

We passed a Corvette Car Show on the way into town as well, nearly 100 hundred classic Corvettes parked side by side. They love their American classics over here.

This evening we took a drive up to Darrell's, a friend of my brother's who emmigrated over here just over a year ago. Was good to have a catch up & remind ourselves how lucky we are that were not sat in Bristol right now. However, 'a Blackthorn would go down a treat' was the mutual feeling in the room!