It’s Official

I’m moving to Queenstown. Tomorrow. It’s short notice and I actually wouldn’t mind staying in Auckland for a few more days (now that I officially know that I’m leaving). But there’s an apartment that I might want to take and am afraid that they’ll give it away if I wait too long. But more about that later. Before we get to that, my first few days in

Queenstown: The Adrenaline Capital of the World

It’s a pretty bold statement for any city to lay claim to the title of any “[insert adjective/noun/grammar thingy here] capital of the world,” but Queenstown may be justified in theirs. Here’s a brief sampling of some of the activities available in Queenstown (in the summer): skydiving, bungy jumping (3 sites), hang gliding, parasailing, paragliding and a street luge track. They decided that the standard activities weren’t enough so decided to go ahead and invent their own activities.

The canyon swing is like bungy jumping, but a lot gentler. Start at one side of a canyon, 109 meters above the river rushing below. Your harness is hooked to a wire that is stretched across the canyon, effectively forming a huge…swing. Gather the courage to jump off the platform and realize that unlike your standard playground swing, your rope is not taut. After screaming and freefalling for about 60 meters, the ropes are stretched to their full length and you arc out over the river, swinging back and forth in an arc that’s about 200 meters long. The swing comes to a stop after about a minute and you get to enjoy the view, suspended in the canyon, about 10 meters above the waters below. One of the really fun part about this activity is the wide variety of ways you can leave the platform. Unlike bungee jumping, you can leave the platform in almost any manner and still be safe. Here I’m releasing backwards…just kinda leaned back and pushed off. I know I look like I’m relaxing, but I’m actually screaming:


But it was so much fun that I had to do it again. The second time I did a style they lovingly refer to as “Gimp Boy Goes to Hollywood.” They hung me upside down and made me wrap my feet around the rope and extend my arms, so I’m staring at the canyon floor. “Do you want a countdown?” they ask. “Three, two…” POP they release the pin and before I know it I’m hurtling through the air. Whew. Scary.

And then there’s river surfing. Queenstown is inland, a few hours away from any decent surfing (of the typical kind). So they went ahead and invented river surfing, or sledging. I haven’t done it yet, but the idea behind it is pretty crazy. Get on a boogie board, strap on a helmet and a wetsuit, and fly down a river on it. No problem, if you’re going down Corte Madera Creek. But the rivers in Queenstown have lots of whitewater, their fair share of class III and above rapids. Let the craziness begin. I can’t wait.

I also got the chance to go bungy jumping. Never really thought I’d have so much fun just…falling…but it was great. I was pretty nervous during the bus ride out to the jump site, but once I walked out on the bridge, I was just stoked to go. I jumped off the Kawarau bridge, the site of the first commercial bungy setup in the world. The jump is 43 meters, and the view from the jump pod is simply stunning. Setup over a river, jumpers get to see this:


And then they look like this:

I was SO amped after jumping. Heart thumping, I pretty much sprinted up the steps back to the jump office and immediately signed up to jump at the other two sites in Queenstown. There’s the ledge, where you take a gondola up this HUGE hill to a site that overlooks all of Queenstown. That one’s 47 meters. And then there’s the Nevis. At 134 meters tall, it gives the jumper about 8 and a half seconds of free fall. No surprise that it’s one of the biggest jumps in the world. I’m going to do it. I’ve made myself a promise. Now it’s just a question of when.

Queenstown as a City

reminds me a lot of Tahoe. Gorgeous lakeside resort town with access to amazing ski fields during the winter – it’s pretty easy to make the comparison. Check out my pictures link on the left for more pictures. It’s just smaller, with a permanent population of about 8500. But since there’s so much stuff to do, it’s a super popular tourist destination. Even if you’re not into scaring yourself so much that people start using words like “sheet” and “ghost” to describe you (people get really PALE at bungy sites), there’s more natural beauty around that I can even begin to comprehend or describe. Airplane tours, boat tours of the lake, hiking, river tours on powerboats, vineyard tours – there’s really something for everybody there. Which is why I’m moving there. I’m hoping to get a job with the bungy company. Or maybe the skydiving company. Or the canyon swing company. Or anywhere I can do stuff every day that really makes my heart scream like it did during that first jump.