Dear Diary (10/12),

Left Wanaka for Queenstown. Stopped off at a place called Puzzle World which was full of illusions & err well puzzles. Was a combination of very funny & stomach turning, especially when feeling a bit off colour.

Before hitting Queenstown we stopped off at Kawarau Bridge (the 1st commercial bungy jump site) where I decided it would be fun to throw myself off a bridge 43m up, into a river)

I was not as nervous as I thought I would be & when asked if I wanted to be dunk into the water, I said yes up to my shoulders as that seemed fun. Well I knew I went in further than that but after watching my DVD of the jump I go into almost up to my ankles!! Not the same long lasting effect of a skydive but still an awesome feeling. Adrenaline kicks in big time even if it is shoert lived.

First night out in Queenstown & it set the scene for the next 5 nights!! Jager bombs at the hostel bar then at 11.30pm ish off to the World Bar for teapots of cocktails - what an awesome invention! Leave World Bar anytime between 3am-4am & off to Fergberger for the best burger in the whole wide world - & that's a fact!!

(11/12)

Woke up late, had a light bite to eat & then went off to my 2nd bungy jump - The Ledge, which is situated 440m above Queenstown although you only jump 47m. You have to take a gondola to the site where you get to see some amazing views of Queenstown, just a shame it was overcast & raining.

The best thing about this jump is that you only have a harness on which allows you to take a running jump. If there can be such a thing as a 'fun bungy' then this is it.

(12/2)

The big day - jump 3 of 3 (known as the 3thrillogt) - Nevis, a 134m hubgt jump over a 440ft valley!!

There were about 20 of our bus jumping today, so we met up for a quick bite to eat & a confidence boosting pint before heading off to our jump. It was a 40 min drive from base along small dirt tracks that overlooked sheer drops down cliffsides (took minds off jump anyway!).

You jump from a pop suspended in the air between the valley & once you get to the jump site you realise how high this bloody thing is.

You get to the pod by a form of cable car that holds 6 people at a time. The 1st person to jump couldn't do it as he was too scared, he was given a 2nd attempt but was told that would be it after he failed to jump again. You've got to feel gutted for him a bit after paying all that money & that everyone else did it!

The worse bit for me was sitting in the chair getting hooked up to the bungy. It's the first time I really thought about what I was about to do. The 1st second or so after you jump are of fear & what the hell am I doing, but after that the adrenalin kicks in for the remaining 7 seconds & it is an awesome feeling, all is quiet except for you screaming. As soon as I got back to the pod I wanted to do it again!

I have promised myself that I will do a skydive & a bungy every year, somewhere in the world.

The evening was same as previous except tonight, to celebrate our jumps, we created what is now know as 'Le Bungy Bomb' which consists of a shot of Chatreaus & a jager bomb. I added a pint of lager to this, but I seemed to be the only person who could neck all 3 in 1 go & as such I have the privilage of this being named the "Hegley Bomb' - one of my proudest moments!!

(13/12)

Despite another late, but great night, was up early as a girl on our bus wanted to do a bungy but was too frigentened to do on her own, so I said I'd do a tandem jump at Kawarau Bridge with her - being the bungy expert I am LOL.

Booked for 3pm, so went for lunch at Fergberger (did I mention it's the best burger place in the whole wide world?!). She was so nervous that she kept asking the bungy crew if what they were doing was correct & was it secure! We got to the jumping ledge & after a couple of minutes we were ready to go. We agreed to shout bungy once we jumped but this quickly turned into a scream, from both of us.

Equally as exciting & frigthening as doing it solo. She was very proud of herself for doing it & didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

The evening was the last night together for everyone on our & also some people from previous bus, so it was an extra special night, lots of jager bombs, le bungy bombs & attempts at hegley bombs (best I could do was 2 on the trot!!). The 3thrillogy is still elusive, for now anyway...!