Queenstown
10th March 2009
We continued South through Haast and the ongoing beautiful scenery of the Haast Pass. This meant us turning slightly in land away from the rugged coastline and climbing through the Mount Aspiring national park and the 563m high pass. The stretch of road between Fox and Haast is 120km with no towns, just hills and mountains all around.
Still battling with the weather we arrived at a small town called Wanaka (watch how you spell it!) and decided to make it a stop. Wanaka is a Ski or hiking (tramping in New Zealand) town that sits on the edge of Lake Wanaka. Once again we were hit by the stunning scenery. If I had taken a photo of every good view both at Wanaka and on the drive there, we would still be there now. I had a walk in to town and although the town had no real landmarks or historic buildings, it had a nice relaxed and friendly feel about it. Unfortunately Jemma was not feeling too well so she spent the day in the Spaceship and, apart from my brief walk, so did I. One thing I did do though is scope out a couple of areas that would make good sunrise photos. That night I set my alarm and was up at 6.00am and heading for the lake but by the time I got there I realised that the clouds had worked against me once again. I made the quick decision that it wasn't going to happen and went back to bed.
We both had a walk round town the next day and walked along the 2,000 yearly historical event tiles on the lake front. Just for information, in 1976 the Viking 1 probe landed on Mars and John Walker won gold at Montreal. Also, in 1980 the Wanaka Squash club was formed. After a coffee we headed off to Queenstown. We would have both liked to explore a little more and maybe go for a walk but we both thought it would be better to get to Queenstown so that Jemma could have a couple of days recovery time.
Queenstown continued the theme of spectacular scenery with the range called the Remarkables running parallel to Lake Wakatipu. Despite the low cloud once again we got teasing glimpses of the snow caps running along the lake. On a drive to Glenorchy we even got a few patches of blue sky and sun which made everything shine.
Queenstown is known as much for the scenery as being the adrenalin capital of New Zealand. If you want to get your heart racing this is the place to be, and this doesn't just mean the stress of trying to reverse your camper van into the impossibly small spaces on the packed sites. A few things you can try, if you feel the desire to, are; Bungy Jumping, Canyon Swinging, Rafting, white water sledging, flying, hang gliding, canyoning, mountain biking and in winter skiing and snowboarding. Not having nerves of steel or endless pockets I decided that as Queenstown and the Kawarau Bridge is the home of Bungy Jumping, it would be rude not to have a go.
I paid my money in town and after a drive around to look at the scenery arrived at the bridge about 45 mins before my due time. Maybe this was a bad idea, but we chose to spend a few minutes watching the other jumpers go. It all looks very simple. They tie you on to an oversized elastic band, count to three and you jump to a river around 45metres below. What could be easier? With nerves jangling a little (and Jemma practically a nervous wreck even though she wasn't doing it), I waited in line watching various people throw themselves towards the river below - some with apparently less worry than others judging by the few people who needed a couple of attempts.
Before I know it I am next but one, but the person before me decides not to jump just yet and I get strapped up and waddle to the front of the platform. I must say 45m or so looks a damn sight higher when you're looking down at it. After waving to my adoring crowd (Jemma with the camera) the man looked at me and said are you ready, I, very politely, explained that I had paid $150 for the privilege of jumping from a bridge and there was no way I was wasting the money by not jumping.
It was all over very quickly as you can imagine. After the initial 'it's bloody high' thoughts I did a sort of half jump half lean and was then plummeting towards a very blue (I even noticed that on the way down) river. Pretty much just as the realisation and rush of what you're doing catches up with you; you are slowing down and bouncing around upside down waiting to be fetched by the dinghy. The speed it takes to go from fear to the rush to the buzz from doing it is amazing. Yes I enjoyed it and yes I would do it again. The walk up the path back to the viewing area was a bit unusual due to the jelly legs I had now developed but Jemma was still nervous even after I had finished.
After deciding to spread the money (and the adrenaline) across a number of places we hit the road again towards Te Anau and on to Milford Sound.