Day 31: GO BIG OR GO HOME!

Today began like every other day, but it would end atop the days of epic adventure. I woke up around 8:30am (12 1/2 hours of glorious rest), took a shower and headed down to McDonald's to get some breakfast. (Oh by the way rain turns to snow on top of these mountains...) I sat down in the food court area to eat my hotcakes and orange juice while I called and talked with Brittany. We had our devo over the phone and shortly after hanging up, it was time for the epic journey to commence.

At 10:00am, 8 of the 11 folks in the group walked across the street to sign our consent to bungy jump from the highest possible place in New Zealand - The Nevis. Situated between two towering mountains, The Nevis is 134 meters tall, or 440 feet. Thankfully The Nevis has had 0 accidents and so for a good price we were weighed and locked in for a jump later in the morning. We waited around for the bus that would take us out to the jump site, which seemed to take hours. Everyone kept having small mental freak-outs about how they would react once they were buckled in ready to jump. The bus pulled up eventually and we all piled in. The anticipation and apprehension was so intense you could almost taste it, and when the song "Highway to Hell" began to play everyone got hyped. A few minutes down the road we pulled off to pick up some more people who had jumped from a 40 meter bridge.  This bridge happens to be the birthplace of bungy jumping, so I decided to take a picture. Keep in mind our jump is more than 3 times this tall:

You have the option of being dunked partially or fully into the river below.

The drive lasted about 30 minutes or so, but once "Eye of the Tiger" came over the loud speakers we were feeling right at home as we sang along pretending to be inside Jordan Hare. We finally made it to the jump site, which could only be accessed via a small windy road that needed 4-wheel drive to navigate. The site had a nice building though and everything was very professional. (The jump alone is enough to worry about!)  Each of us were re-weighed (We might have pooped!) The purpose of the weighing was mostly to determine which size of bungy rope you would need and also to determine jumping order. After the weigh in we stepped into our bungy suits and the crew fastened everything securely. (At least I hope they did!) We took a walk outside and got our first full look at The Nevis:

Yeah, we jump from that pod suspended on cables in the middle. Access is via cable car.

We took in the view for a moment before heading off in the cable car to the pod where we would each jump one-by-one. Despite all of the freaking out everyone did prior to today (I remained fairly calm, surprisingly), everyone was excited and nobody even hesitated to jump. My turn eventually came and I don't know that I can adequately describe the feeling. Basically, more than the great height, I was  worried that I would fall off the small step before I had the chance to jump. I managed to not fall (only barely when the guy dropped the bunjy rope and I accidentally looked down while standing on the tiny ledge.), and I jumped right in time with 3-2-1- JUMP! I found myself headed directly for the ground, but instead of being afraid, everything turned quite peaceful (I couldn't believe it!). I actually had to remember to scream, so I yelled "WAR EAGLE!!" over and over, but only God and the mountains could hear me. All the pressure and adrenaline went to my head as I had about a 6 second free-fall and it was absolutely phenomenal. The "ground rush" as it is called was spectacular (The ground seemed to jump closer every split second) and before I knew it the bungy cords were pulling on my harness and I came to a stop and bobbed back up. Here is a look at the jump!

After the second "bob," we had been instructed to pull at the red tab around our left leg so that our legs would be free and we could be raised back up to the pod in a seated position. This task was not supposed to be difficult, but it took me several pulls before my feet were freed. Hanging upside down and trying to pull out a lever (one of only 2 points that connect you to the bunjy) over 100 meters in the air was perhaps the most frightening part of the jump. I was already being pulled up by the wench before I managed to undo the clasp and return to a seated position. Back in the pod everyone was pumped up and we all enjoyed savoring the intense adrenaline rush. Each of us had a slightly different experience, but everyone loved it!

After a short cable car ride back to land we went in the shop site to view our photos and dvd. I purchased both (pictures are shown above), and they also gave everyone a complimentary t-shirt. The shop had computers where we were able to upload our pictures to Facebook (This is when and how my mom found out. I figured this was the best time to let her know...) Fairly soon the bus was ready to head back to Queenstown and we all hopped on still buzzing with adrenaline. The ride back though seemed to mellow everyone out. When we got back to town I was pretty tired, but we all went and ate at Fergburger (I had another great burger).

After lunch we spent some time walking around town and ended up in the gardens. We wanted to go ice skating, but the venue was closed for remodeling, so we decided to take a nice walk around the edge of the lake. After our walk we needed a rest and so we posted up in a small cafe next to the lake. I ordered a chai tea latte and it was excellent! I'm not an expert, but if you like your chai sweet (I do!), then this place is perfect.

After resting in the cafe, most everyone went back to the hostel to take a nap and get ready for the evening. I didn't want to miss any daylight, so I went out in search of another adventure. I basically took off down a street in the direction of some homes that are set on the mountainside. I wanted to check out the views that the folks who own the places get to enjoy. It took about 15 minutes to climb up the streets, but once I was there I found the view to be fairly decent, not great though. I looked around me for a minute and spotted a sign that said "Queenstown Hill Walking Trail" with an arrow pointing to a small path that led up the mountain. It was around 5:30pm (Plenty of daylight left!), so I decided to venture up the mountain. I ended up walking the steep grade uphill for about an hour before I came to a couple of summits. (Several small hills - aka mountains - had peaks within a 10 minute walking distance of each other.)  These views were every bit as epic as my morning adventure. Here are some pictures I took of Queenstown and the surrounding mountains from the top of Queenstown Hill:

After I took the time to set up several photos (Thank you to whoever invented the timer on cameras.), I began to get chilly as the sun began to get caught behind clouds and sink below the top of the mountains. (I was also at a much higher altitude.) I began my descent down the mountain, which quickly turned into an uncontrollable jog. The mountain is great for climbing up, but getting down is just as big of a feat! I eventually found my way down unharmed and made it back in time to catch some Subway for dinner. I met up with the group after dinner and we enjoyed walking around and enjoyed our last night in Queenstown.

Eventually I headed back to the hostel, but before bed, I went ahead and packed my bags so that I would be ready to leave as soon as I woke up in the morning. Exhausted from a highly entertaining and adrenaline-filled day, I fell asleep around midnight. Tomorrow looks promising, too, as we will be heading to Christchurch!