Sweet As…New Zealand: Days 3&4

After waking up, what felt like way too early, on Sunday, April 10^th, we refilled the water, dumped the waste water, met and fed a nice little duck we named Ronald, we headed out for Queenstown to test our limits at bungy jumping.

After a long, very rocky drive, we stopped at a nice little rest top, filled up on fuel and I got behind the wheel to spare the others from Amy’s not-so-subtle/safe driving. Having done my fair share of driving through the backwoods of Stonington and other parts of Illinois, as well as trips to Eminence, Missouri for canoeing, and my past experience with the family Suburban, the RV was hardly any different. I handled those New Zealand curves like it was my job, allowing the others to regain consciousness from all the whiplash they received after the first leg of the journey. Having been my birthday, I thought it was pretty sweet to be road tripping through the South Island with my window down and the tourism radio on. We arrived in Queenstown midday, and after a nice birthday celebration with a Hannah Montana singing card, a new stick of Burt’s Bees chap stick, and a match as a candle, we decided to have a walk around the town before heading to the greatest part of our trip.

Queenstown is a precious little village that looks like it should be in a movie. It is full of little shops and cafés and is right along the water’s edge. Throughout its streets, people walk around, sit outside and drink coffee, set up their easels and paint beautiful, scenic pictures, and play their instruments for people’s change. The weather was absolutely wonderful and the scenes were amazing. After hitting up some shops, we headed to A.J. Hackett bungy and arc swing. Signing some forms saying I knew the dangers, getting my weight and boarding the van, I was off to bungy jump the 3^rd highest bungy in the world, Nevis bungy. We headed to the back roads of Queenstown, put the van in 4-wheel drive, and high tailed it up a rocky mountain to the check in station.

Going to the bathroom to get rid of my nervous bladder, I strapped on a harness, reweighed in and headed off on the cable car to the bungy platform. Having the second biggest donk in our group, I was second to jump to my almost fate, relying solely on the elastic cords attached to my ankle. I sat in the birthing chair (some said it felt like the dentist, others like the gynecologist), and let the guy secure my bungy cord. Telling him it was my birthday, he shook my hand for a congratulations and I wobbled my way to the plank.

Looking out at the valley and river below me, I heard the countdown and leaped into a perfect dive. This was the most amazing feeling in the entire world! Free falling for 8-10 seconds. Pure bliss. A weightless feeling of nothing but looking down and being completely excited. That time felt like forever, and as I approached the end of it, I began to get nervous. Right before the cord caught and stretched to pull me back up, my life flashed before my eyes and I began to panic. Then, I felt the tension and bounced back up at least 50 meters. Plummeting back down and bouncing back up, and then failing to pull the rip cord, I rose back up to the jumping station upside down, only to be congratulated by my mates and the rest of the crew. I then watched everyone else in my group jump, went back to the station, bought the DVD to prove my jump and for all to see (Just ask!), and called my mom and dad. Thanks for not answering…on my birthday!

We then returned to Queenstown and headed off to our next campsite of the night for hot showers, grilled cheese, and some much needed sleep.

Monday the 11^th also came very early. With a lot of miles to cover and very little time to do it, we did not have a whole lot of time to stop and truly enjoy the towns of New Zealand due to our jam packed schedule. After some more reckless driving by Amy, we arrived in Milford Sound. Here, we went on a ferry tour to see many waterfalls, beautiful yet freezing cold, 300m deep water, and rock formations equipped with live seals. On the boat trip, I began to feel a little woozy, but was able to shake it off with some fresh air and fresh water mist from the massive waterfalls. Despite the day being cold and rainy, we got to see some lovely sights, and had we gone farther would have been able to see Antarctica. Lucky for us, that did not happen.

We then drove back to Te Anu and went on a glow worm cave tour. After a boat ride under the night sky through more beautiful mountains, we arrived at the cave and got to walk through seeing rushing water, amazing rock formations, and thousands of glow worms. Due to their bright lights, they almost looked like fake, glow in the dark paint all over the cave ceiling. We then headed back to the main land, and decided to cook some real food in our RV. We had NZ style Ramen and hot dogs (none for me of course!), and finished the night off by playing on a sweet as New Zealand playground. Hello, childhood! How have you been?

With a long way to our next destination, Amy decided to drive throughout the night while the rest of us partook in some adult like activities in the back. We played Old Maid and Uno, while listening to some country music and singing songs of American pride. After finishing off 2 handles of duty free alcohol (only the good stuff!) in about an hour, we were all in a pretty decent state at this point. We then met the Canaver’s, prayed the rosary and passed out to the lulling jerks of Amy’s driving. I wish I remembered a whole lot more of Monday night’s escapades, but celebrating my 20^th birthday, being in New Zealand, and Amy’s poor driving skills, things became blurry rather quickly. As Monday came to a close, the final two days of our trip were soon to follow.

Until Then,

Wilson