Queenstown: Home of Bungy

After our Glacier adventure we drove to the adrenaline pumping Queenstown. This town is known all over NZ for its crazy activities such as bungy jumping, luge, skiing, hang gliding, paragliding, skydiving, jet boating, quad biking(ATV’s), its zip lines, and mountain biking. Bungy jumping was invented in New Zealand so there was no way I wasn’t doing it without leaving. And it was so convenient that Queenstown has the highest bungy jump in all of NZ at 134 meters or roughly 146 yards. That’s a vertical drop of a football field and a half and a free fall of 8 seconds! As with every insane activity that you do, whether it is riding a rollercoaster, white water rafting, sky diving, or just biking down a steep hill there is always a moment that hits you the hardest. It could be the car ride there or right as soon as the plane door opens, but either way you feel those butterflies at some point. With this bungy it was the biggest hit ever. Tyler and I were pretty relaxed for most of the car ride, but as the bus slowly drove over this mountain top our mouths dropped. We peered down into this gigantic valley where the Nevis River lay 150 meters or higher from the large gondola hanging from a couple of steel wires. We were both extremely nervous from that point on, but there were other participants that were way more terrified. After putting on our gear we headed out for the gondola. Inside there was a space only accessible by the bungy staff and another by the jumpers. Glass windows surrounded the inside so you could get a full view, plus there was a window on the floor so you could look down at the bottom of the valley and watch the jumpers as they plummeted toward the ground. Tyler was jumping first and I watch him hop into the chair where they strapped his feet together to where he waddled to the edge of the plank. With one great roar he jumped out from the gondola into the canyon. Pretty much all that ran through my head was “Oh my god! Oh my god! oh my god!” I waited for them to pull him up from the valley below. When I could see him through the floor window I could see his face was one big smile. I knew then that I had to do it. When my name was called I sat in that chair, got all my feet strapped together and waddled over to the planks edge as well. They placed me so close to the edge that my toes were just hanging over. I gazed down into the deep valley below me. With one loud scream I dove toward the rolling rapids of the river below. It was the greatest feeling ever! I can’t even explain how amazing it feels to free fall from 134 meters. I was so excited that I couldn’t stop screaming and pumping my fists as I was hanging upside down. Also what surprised me is how smooth the drop was. There was no whip lash or dizziness or anything. Just smooth as butter! If I could have jumped again right then and there, I definitely would have. Along with sky diving, bungy jumping is beyond any feeling you will ever experience. Fully unexplainable and should be done by everyone!