NOTE: The action photos presented here (ie. the Bungy photos) are not of me. I took them with my camera but the ones of me were all printed out and given to me on paper. Once I get home and scan them in I'll be able to replace them and prove that I did it myself. But I really really did do it, honest!
Well today we all got the beautiful weather that we were all promised here in Queenstown (take a look at the picture to the left and compare it with the last photographs of the same view). Apparently it's going to be like this for the rest of the time I'm here (until December 2nd) so that's quite alright with me! Since the good weather brings out all the adrenaline junkies (myself included) the adventure sports of the day were springing into action all around the place. My own suicidal act of choice was Bungy Jumping. To be exact it was three different Bungy Jumps. You see I simply couldn't make up my mind which one I wanted to do and I figured, what the hell, let's do all three.First things first, we were whisked off to the Kawarau Bridge to do the first jump, probably the most well known since it was the first commercial Bungy Jump to be introduced to the world by the thrillseker to put all others to shame: A J Hackett. Although he didn't come up with the idea, (it's actually an old rite of passage ritual used in Vanuatu) he was the first to present it to the world and say "come on up and give it a go!"
The Kawarau bridge bungy may not be epic by modern jump standards but it's still a good place to try your first time. Poised over the Kawarau river you basically throw yourself off and then once you've stopped bouncing they lower you into a small rubber dinghy that comes out to get you and take you to the shore. After doing it I immediately wanted to do it again, after all it was over so quickly! But I knew that my next stop would be far more spectacular, that last one was child's play in comparison!Next stop: the Nevis Gorge. A Bungy Jump off a cable-car stretched between the two sides of a massive canyon and poised over another river way off down below. This one though was far higher than the tiny little Kawarau bridge, 440 feet to be totally exact. Apparently the freefall is supposed to last 8.5 seconds but it sure went by quicker than that! But I'm getting ahead of myself. We arrived at the place and took a few moments to admire the view and let it sink in just what we were letting ourselves in for! After getting kitted up we were whisked off to the jump pod in a tiny little wobbly cable-car to await our descent towards the ground so far below. Spectators were also allowed to come out to the jump pod but I can guarantee that anyone with even the tiniest sliver of vertigo wouldn't even make it this far!
The cable-car and jump pod had plenty of big holes in the ground to look down and survey the extent of the height we were about to hurl ourselves down from. Reaching the jump pod I was told I was going to go first which was just fine by me. Without hesitation I got kitted up and positioned myself over the edge. without a moments pause I hurled myself off, my brain instinctively telling me that "this is it you bloody idiot, you're going to die" before the sense of euphoria kicked in and I laughed manically as I hurtled earthwards before bouncing back up thanks to my trusty elastic cord. This time they used a winch to grab me and pull me back up to the jump pod, frankly I prefer it this way because I can really take in spectacular view. Just like the last jump though it was once again over too soon. I really wanted to go again but I figured that I still had one more jump to do. Taking the cable-car back I returned to stable ground and picked up my photos and DVD. On to the next, and final jump.The next Bungy site was at a place that I was already familiar with: the Skyline complex looking over Queenstown, reachable via the cable-car up the side of the mountain. So far I've been here every day I've been in Queenstown (thanks to my season cable-car pass) but this time the weather provided me of yet another variation of the always spectacular view over Queenstown. With some time to go before my jump I treated myself to a few more runs on the fantastic luge track before reporting to my final destination: the Ledge Bungy.
Now the Ledge Bungy is positioned in a place that really does provide one of the best views of the land. Right next to the cable-cars which are perpetually running back and forth, the panoramic view of Queenstown is a sight to behold and really sells this particular Bungy. Since I had already done the Nevis jump I figured that this would be a step down in terms of excitement so I asked them if there was anything I could do to make it more fun. I was told of a move called "The Matrix" which involves taking a running jump off the edge and then turning round in midair and pointing both guns (ie. my fingers!) at the platform and firing. A pity I couldn't make it more authentic by using real guns but they probably take a dim view to Bungy Jumpers blowing the brains out of their jump crew, assuming I actually hit any of them of course I've never fired a gun, though I'd frankly like to but I think I'm starting to digress a little though so back to Planet Earth in 3 2 1...Once they hoisted me back up to the platform I was given some good and bad news. The bad news: the cameraman buggered up the shot and I my photos didn't come out properly. The good: I was going to get a free jump! This time I simply hurled myself out trying to wave at the camera in midair but I kinda messed it up a bit and my the time the camera went off my freeze-framed pose looked half life I was trying to play air guitar in mid-air and like I had just reattached my arms and realised that they were on wrong! You'll have to check back in a few weeks for those though since, as I said, my pictures are print-outs only.
So there you have it! A day of three Bungy Jumps (with a fourth one thrown in for free!). My insane lust for tempting fate with insane death defying feats had been satiated for the time being and I returned to my Hostel to ponder what I should eat tonight. I've got some curry sauce and chicken in my fridge but someone recommended several restaurants in the area, oh the agony of choice!
More foolhardy antics tomorrow folks, I'm going...well just wait and see. It'll be awesome I promise!
Looking down from the Nevis jump pod!
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