Our first day in Queenstown and there and with so many activities and so little money we spend the first morning trawling through all the guidebooks and leaflets we had gathered to try to narrow down our options. It was another beautiful day so we decided there was no better time to checkout Queenstown from above via the Queenstown Gondolas. Similar to the ones in Rotorua they allow amazing views of the city and surrounding landscape. When we got to the top as expected the views were lovely as it was such a clear day you could literally see for miles. From the top AJ Hackett the founder of bungy jumping has one of his 3 jumps called the Ledge. It is the only bungy where you are attached at the waist instead of the feet allowing a running jump off the platform. We passed a good hour from the viewing platform watching people full of fear attempt to artistically launch themselves off the platform in various contorted positions much to the amusement of the crowd. Whilst we were tempted to give it a go we had our eye on the Ledges big brother (or at least Mike did and I knew I would go along for the ride)! After entertaining ourselves at the bungy we decided on a more budget friendly activity for the afternoon in the form of the Luge. Having been very unconfident on the Luge in Rotorua and then having the best time I was keen to give master Goldie a bit of competition. We had booked three runs on the luge tracks. In Queenstown they had 2 tracks the first of which being the scenic track that they unfortunately make you practice on first. It was still great fun there are just less opportunities to get up some speed. As our first run was not a race we both just enjoyed speeding round the track in our goofy helmets pulling all manner of ridiculous faces for the cameras. With the warm up out the way it was time to take to the advanced track and having finished about 10 seconds behind Mike in Rotorua it was fair to say I couldn't do much worse! The track was amazing, lots of steep drops to really get your speed up and I was on Mikes tail the whole way, not bad considering I let him go first! As usual I was the only one expressing any emotion whooping and screaming on every corner. I would say I feel sorry for mike as some husbands would maybe be embarrassed by their wives making such a show of themselves but he doesn't even bat an eyelid and just laughs along so I can make as much noise as I like! Before I know it we are battering past the finish line and I am 3 seconds behind however it is 7 seconds faster than my last attempt and I was right behind him the whole way down so I couldn't be happier! So it was back onto the ski lift back to the start for our final run on this amazing ride. There was no letting Mike go first this time we were off at the start neck and neck flying down all the hills at breakneck speed, ignoring all the signs to slow down as this was war and one thing I have discovered on this trip is that whilst I don't like to admit it I am really competitive!! As usual Mike is a little braver (reckless) than me on some of the corners so he still beats me however this time by only 2 seconds so we both leave the luge happy and we are definitely bringing that idea back to Scotland because you couldn't fail to absolutely love it! After a quiet night at camp the next day was yet another scorcher so we took the short walk into the town centre for a look around. The town has an amazing feel, the average age must be about 25 and everyone is so friendly and happy in where they are and what they are doing. The first 6 shops we passed were the booking offices for everything from skydive to bungy, rafting to jet boats. I challenge anyone to name an extreme activity that you cannot do in Queenstown. They even have extreme mini golf and I have no idea what that is but one thing I do know is that I fully intend to find out! After taking in the town and some of its funky clothes and gift shops we next headed to the harbour area and then on to Queenstown Gardens. The harbour area has a lovely feel with a craft market and lots of really nice bars and restaurants, being a sunny Saturday the beer gardens were littered with people relaxing and enjoying themselves, losing their weekend in the bottom of a wine bottle or three! After people watching our way around the harbour the path takes you straight into the gardens which run along the opposite side of the water. We started by taking in the lakeshore walkway which as its name would suggest runs around the lower portion of the lake. The surrounding views are stunning as whilst you are in one of the larger towns in the south island there are times when you are completely surrounded by snow capped mountains and you have to remind yourself where you are! The gardens are really well maintained and are full of people playing frisby golf. It's an 18 hole course like mini golf however you play with a frisby and you have to hit predetermined targets then land your frisby in the metal baskets (another Queenstown original). After taking in most of what the gardens have to offer we stumble upon the tennis club that is hosting a doubles competition so with the sun still shining we make ourselves comfortable and watch a few of the games with some being more entertaining than others! Before we know it we have been basking in the sun for about 2 hours and its time to make our way back to the town for an ice cream or as the kiwis call it a gelato?!! Being the good children that we are our Saturday night was not spent in the pub glass of wine in hand. Our money was better spent on 24 hours of internet to allow us to call home to our parents to check in and update them on what mischief we had been getting up to!Sunday morning and the sun was yet again glorious however there was no sunbathing for us as we had lots of work to do uploading our Lake Wanaka stories onto the blog and believe it or not it took us a staggering 5 hours to upload all the photos, videos and diary entries. I think this was our first time questioning the blog as by the end we were both thoroughly fed up with the temperamental website and a dodgy internet connection! As with all chores however when it was over we soon forgot how annoying it had been and headed into town to take in some of the areas we had missed the previous day. It was too nice to spend the afternoon at the indoor extreme mini golf but having a good nose for golf we stumbled across an outdoor course and melted away the stresses of the morning sinking a few putts. I am also pleased to report that at last Mrs G was victorious leaving the tally so far at 2-1 for Mike. After the golf Mike could delay no longer it was time to book his bungy! Since arriving in New Zealand he had been adament that we were not leaving this wonderful country until he had conquered the biggest bungy jump in the world. It comes as no surprise that Queenstown is the host of this terrifying jump aptly named NEVIS. Having already conquered my fear of heights with a bungy in Taupo and a skydive in Wanaka I was happy to go along to this one as a spectator! The jump is housed in a canyon about an hours drive from Queenstown and the final section of the road is private so you have to book all jumpers and spectators onto their private bus. By the time the girl had taken all of Mikes details for the booking he looked terrified and an unusual shade of pale so I whisked him off to one of the many bars for a medicinal drink to calm his nerves. It was also Happy Hour so we had all the excuses we needed and also it would be rude to turn down a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc for 2 quid! The pickup for the jump was at 10.30am so we arrived at the office around 10 for check in. This is where you sign the usual disclaimer/responsibility waiver/AJ Hackett get out of jail free card! At this point I was feeling pretty pleased with myself I had a great sleep the night before with none of the usual panic associated with jumping. I had paid my $50 the previous day and was happy to have spectator stamped on my hand. So when the girl asked if I wanted to option to change my mind and jump at the last minute? I can only assume at this point that I was temporarily abducted by aliens as my mind was saying fu*k no I want to watch everyone's pain but my mouth was saying "yea ok that sounds like a great idea" So before you can say 3-2-1 BUNGY I am jumping on those scales and signing my life away! Whilst Michael had the usual sweaty palms on the bus ride out to the canyon I was still convinced that I wasn't jumping and felt quite calm. The statistics alone on the Nevis jump are enough to stop you sleeping for a very long time. Its 134m high or 440ft not that that makes it sound any less terrifying and to give you an idea it is 3 times higher than the jump we did in Taupo! Once you leave the platform you freefall for a heart stopping 8.5 seconds gaining speed the entire time until your pulled back from certain death by the elastic band holding your feet together! The bus ride alone is scary as the last 5 minutes you bounce your way up the side of a rocky mountain with a sheer cliff drop at your side. Then once at the top you get your first glimpse of Nevis. You will see from our photos that it basically consists of a pod suspended on two cables, in a ravine 450ft above the Nevis river. As if the experience needs to be any more terrifying you access the jump pod via a tiny cable car that rocks and sways in the wind on the way out. The first thing the jumpers have to do is get into their harness so I make myself comfortable on one of the couches as having seen the jump I decide its too high and I would rather watch. Once everyone is harnessed up they bring a harness over to me and I kindly inform them that I am just watching from the side to which they inform me that all spectators go out to the pod with the jumpers and therefore require a harness too. Once we are in our harnesses we have to be weighed and because I had signed the waiver to maybe jump I had to be weighed again too and rather humiliatingly they write your weight on your hand in bright red pen! We then make our way out to the pod via the aforementioned terror car which they very kindly harness you into incase the car comes off the runners! Once safely in the pod they gather all the tickets and put them in order of your weight with the heaviest person jumping first and then working down the list from there. Its not a great start to the day however when the biggest guy gets harnessed up, gets to the edge, looks down, chickens out and cant jump. Who can blame him for losing his bottle as the only reason I can look down is that I am not jumping! We are so high up that you almost cant see the river below and if there were people down there I don't think you would be able to see them. I can only describe it as being like you are at the top of a mountain looking down to where you have just climbed from, it is so high! So the next biggest guy takes to the platform and he manages to jump and you see him falling for the first 4 seconds and then he disappears into the ravine and the only way to see him is on the TV inside the pod! Eventually his jump is over and he is winched back in looking much more relieved than everyone else in the pod! There were about another 5 jumpers before it was Michaels turn. Now if he was half as nervous as he looked I can safely say that is as nervous as he has ever been! He didn't even say goodbye before he went to the chair to have his cord connected. The chair you have to sit in is hideous it is like an old wobbly version of a dentist chair with holders for your feet. It is right at the edge of the platform to truly terrify you as it wobbles around when you sit in it. Once his cord is attached he then shuffles to the edge of the platform at which point I am snapping away with the camera trying to catch his attention for a photo but he is in the zone and doesn't notice me at all. Once at the edge of the platform I had wanted to get a video of him jumping however I was so nervous and he jumped so quickly that I couldn't start the camera in time and by the time I got it going he was gone and I mean really gone when I looked over the edge I couldn't see him. One thing was for sure I could hear him shouting the whole way down it was hilarious. He had been gone only about a minute when the winch brought him back onto the platform looking very relieved if a little shaky around the knees. He was high as a kite with all the adrenaline pumping round his system and what an achievement, the tallest bungy in the world, DONE! I was starting to get a bit jealous as everyone who was jumping was so happy and I was so proud of Michael and everyone who had jumped, apart from the first guy nobody had chickened out. Up until this point it had all been boys jumping however the boys were getting smaller so I knew the girls turn couldn't be far away. I knew as soon as he ripped the last jumpers ticket away that I was next as my ticket had a big red TO on it which obviously was a code for still deciding. If I was going to jump it had to be now and sods bloody law all the girls were anorexic making me the first girl to do it. I had been getting stick from the some of the staff and the other jumpers that I should jump and that I would regret it if I didn't take the chance and a big part of me had to agree so with the mentality of you only live once when they asked if I was jumping I said YES and made my way to the dentist chair. It was really nice as all the other girls and some of the boys were giving me encouraging smiles and reassuring me I could do it and that really helped. Once the cord was attached my strategy was simple get to the edge, don't look down, don't hesitate and just do a big superman dive! I don't think I have ever been so scared in my life, this was beyond nerves I was truly petrified, much more so than on the previous jump. At least in Taupo I was attached to Mike so I just had to hold on but this was 134m and I had to do it by my self. The man helped me out of the chair and I had his arm gripped so tightly because my knees were so shaky I thought I might fall over. I rather elegantly waddled my way to the edge of the platform and everyone was cheering telling me I could do it and I could see Mike out of the corner of my eye willing me on. So I held my breath didn't look down and took the leap of faith into the unknown. If you have watched the previous bungy video you will be familiar with the death scream so you know exactly the noise I made. The first couple of seconds are definitely the worst where your body and belly realise you are falling really quickly and cant work out what happening. Then when everything catches up with you it is a real buzz, the fall is 8.5 seconds so you get about 5 seconds of conscious falling with the river coming up to meet you. It is the closest to death I think you will ever feel without dying and I hope that's the closest I ever get. With the last bungy it was all over so quickly but with this one it seems to last a lifetime. Once at the bottom you can feel the cord catching you and slowing you down before you spring back in the air until you almost feel you are back up where you started! Then you get to fall all over again and this time you know what to expect so you can just enjoy it and that's exactly what I did. On the third bounce they advise you to pull a release cord on your legs so that you can swing round on you chest harness and be in a sitting position to get winched back to the pod. I was adament that the cord would evade me and I would have the humiliation of being winched back upside down the whole way but with the adrenaline pumping around my body by the third bounce I could have uprooted a small tree with the stength I used to release my legs. Once in a sitting position you are totally alone in the middle of the ravine with the pod miles above you, its just you, the view and the joy at what you have just achieved and that minute in the harness on my way back to the top was one of the proudest I have ever had! As soon as I swung round and realised it was over I let out the biggest, loudest cheer and not one sole could hear me! Once I got back to the top I was greeted by Mike and the cheesiest grin I have ever seen and the other jumpers were all cheering me for having conquered my obvious fear. Once your back on solid ground the shock really hits you, I was literally shaking all over, my breathing was really laboured, I couldn't stop laughing and I could hardly stand up. Just as all the girls had supported me I waited until they had all jumped before it was time to get back in the cable car and make for solid ground. By this point we were just desperate to see our photos and more importantly our DVD (I need proof for this one or nobody would ever believe me)! All too soon it was time to board the bus but not before we collected our free t-shirt which I had no idea we got and I have to say if I had known there was a free t-shirt in it I would have signed up to jump instantly! Once back in town there was only one place we were going and that was to the pub for a celebratory drink or 4 as it had been an amazing day and feeling proud of yourself and of each other has to be one of the nicest feelings in the world!The next morning, our last day in Queenstown and we were rough but still high from the previous day. The weather had finally turned and when its raining outside there is only one thing for it EXTREME MINI GOLF!! It was fortunately only a short stumble from camp to the golf and being indoors it was the perfect rainy day activity. As soon as we arrived at the golf I knew I was going to love it!! All the holes are mechanical with themes including the airport, the castle, the ski resort, the gondolas and at every hole there were moving parts at the ski resort when your ball goes into the tunnel it comes out and goes up the ski lift before hurtling down the slopes onto the green. Its fantastic and I could bore you all for hours with all the other cool things that happened at this mini golf but it would bore you to death! Safe to say it was like nothing I have seen before and I don't imagine there are too many of them around, mores the pity! It was one of the funniest 90 minutes and definitely the best mini golf in New Zealand and maybe even the WORLD! Even though I got beat again I blame my poor form on being overcome at how truly amazing the course was causing me to buckle under the pressure but even getting beat couldn't dampen my delight. After lunch back at the campervan we decided to put our 2 for 1 voucher for bowling to good use so we headed out of town to Strike Bowl for some more friendly competition. We couldn't have timed it worse with a huge office day out taking up all the lanes so rather than waste the afternoon waiting about it was time for plan B. We dropped the van back at the campsite and headed to the cinema. It was $10 Tuesday so we still got a bargain and the film called Eagle Eye wasn't half bad either although I am sure Mike could have done without me asking every 5 minutes what was happening! We had thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Queenstown although its not really a place to stay if you don't want to spend any money so before we got roped into another extreme activity it was time to move on for some more relaxed pastimes.