Well, it’s been some week! Queenstown has been busy and full of exciting things that I’m sure I’ll probably never do again. Just a warning: this post is like crazy long…lots to talk about!
At the end of my last post I mentioned that I absolutely hated mountain biking. So the story goes – on Thursday we hired some bikes and got all our gear after the man assuring me that the course would be fine for a beginner. I was expecting just the standard bike and helmet but when he wheeled it out I was faced with one of those bikes that you can’t sit down on, practically a motorcycle helmet, entire shin and knee pads and arm and elbow pads. This didn’t do a lot for my worry. We bought our gondola pass and headed up to the top of the mountain where the tracks start. The view on the way up was pretty amazing and our bikes attached on to the outside of our gondola. We chose the easiest track to start with and within 20 seconds I knew this wasn’t gonna be my thing! The tracks are very narrow and there is just sheer drops off cliffs and into forests if you fall off. There are pro bikers whizzing past going scarily fast. The bikes speed up like maniacs and there are potholes everywhere! The whole thing is a combination of steep slopes and sharp corners that gradually incline like a velodrome. Even Steve admitted he didn’t expect it to be like this! Really it wasn’t suitable for beginners in the slightest and I practically cried my way down that God awful track for 45 minutes haha. Steve enjoyed it which was good and headed on up the gondola for another few turns. Knowing it would be a waste of my life to even attempt it again I headed back to the bike shop and threw it back at the man who told me “oh come on, it’s not that hard.” He got very close to getting a slap at that point. Not wanting to waste my unlimited gondola pass that I’d bought for the bike I headed back up minus the devil bike. They have a luge like in Rotorua that I tried out (feeling like a bit of a pro this time!) but it was a lot shorter and not quite as good. I then decided to just go on a walking route that they have, down through the forest back to the start of the gondola. This was really nice, so quiet and the scenery was beautiful. It got pretty tricky half way down when the pathway kind of disappeared and I was attempting to crawl on the floor to stop myself rolling down the hill headfirst! After a few hours I met Steven at the bottom and we headed into town and grabbed a hot chocolate (Queenstown is v. cold). We then walked around the botanic gardens and had an explore of the area.
On Friday it was finally time for my birthday present from Mum and Dad! At 8am we headed to our meeting point to go canyoning. I was pretty nervous of the cold (it was like 5 degrees and we were about to go to the bottom of a canyon covered in shade and jump into freezing cold water) but turns out wetsuits are amazing things! We had special socks and shoes too which meant I was actually warm the whole time! Apart from my hands, they could have carved rocks – don’t think they’ve ever been so cold! So we drove to our starting point where we walked for 10 mins through the trees to the edge of a small cliff. Here our instructor attached our ropes and we began by ziplining across the canyon. On the other end we had to abseil down, which is a lot scarier on actual rocks than on a climbing wall! We waded through the canyon, doing 6 metre jumps off the cliffs, diving into waterfalls and sliding over rocks. It was quite nice in that there were only six of us in our group so we didn’t have to wait around at each bit for too long. Some bits were actually pretty scary, a lot of the time I didn’t feel like I could jump far enough out to avoid the rocks jutting out the side! After some more swimming and falling over we reached the end where the outside temperature actually started to feel warm in comparison to my hands! I really loved canyoning and would definitely do it again.
On Saturday we had a nice lie in and started off the day by going to the food market in the botanical gardens – it’s an annual event so we thought it would be pretty busy. Bit disappointing really – they charged us entry then it was rubbish! If I go to a food festival I at least expect some free food samples! None! There was a good reggae band playing though and we did buy some lunch that was pretty good. In the afternoon I dragged Steve along to something I’d been looking into for ages…Just 10 minutes outside Queenstown there are private hot pools which you can hire and with a push of a button the wall retracts into the ceiling! Leaving you with the most amazing views right in front. It was an incredible experience, so relaxing and Ste loved it too in the end. I would definitely recommend it!! That evening we didn’t have much to do so we went to the cinema and saw Insurgent which was good.
Sunday it was time for another early start and another birthday present this time from my Grandad and James & Layla. White water rafting! We changed into our wetsuits (no socks this time 😔 = very very very cold feet) and caught a bus about 40 mins away to our starting point. The roads were some of the dodgiest I’ve ever seen, even competing with India! Our guide told us that if you rent a car in Nz you’re actually banned from driving on this one road because it’s so dangerous! Sheer drops on one side, very narrow and turns so tight you had to close your eyes. We arrived in one piece at our starting point and split into our rafts, you have to sit right on the edge and wedge your feet under the bits that look like seats in the middle (that you’re not actually allowed to sit on) in order for you to stay in and not fall in the water! I was the only girl in a raft of 8 boys – at first this was a bit tricky because the guide kept telling me I wasn’t keeping up but after a while I realised that if I’m so weak anyway I may as well chill for a bit when I get tired and no one will notice 😂 hahaha. To be honest the river was very tame, and the majority of the time we were gently rowing. There were some really good bits though where we went through rapids, had to duck into the raft and hold on for dear life! We went through caves too which was cool and it was something I’d definitely like to try again. After all that, we thought we deserved another FergBurger! This time I was defeated though and couldn’t quite finish it!
On Monday we had booked in our scariest activities of all – bungee jumping and the canyon swing! The Nevis bungee that we did was the highest in the whole of Australasia and the 4th biggest in the world! The canyon swing WAS the biggest in the world! All morning I was really nervous and Steve seemed fine. We got the coach up to the bungee point which was about 40 minutes from Queenstown. From here we got weighed numerous times and our harnesses attached. Our little group had our safety briefing, got given our instructions and we were off! Because the jump is so high, it is actually only a platform suspended between two mountains. This meant we had to get in a tiny high wire carriage way above the canyon to even get there. Slowly I started getting more and more excited and Ste started looking more and more terrified! In my head I wanted to go first to get it over with but once we got to the platform we were sorted by weight and so I had to go second to last. I watched a few people go, the fear on their faces changing to big cheesy grins as they got pulled back up. Then it was Steve’s go, no hesitating he jumped off straight away and loved it. We got told we shouldn’t just fall but leap ourselves fully out. Soon it was my turn, you have to sit in a dentist like chair while they strap your feet together, that’s when the terror really starts to build as you’re right next to the person bungeeing before you. Watching them fall and hearing them scream! I waddled to the platform with my feet tied together and you have to stand on the very very edge before you can jump. I was scared I’d just stumble off before it was ready! I knew I’d have to go straight away otherwise I’d think too much about it and wass out! The guys up there wind you up too, putting your harnesses and straps on saying “ehhhh…that SHOULD be ok, maybe.” But after a 3,2,1 countdown I jumped no problem. Nothing can describe that feeling! Falling that far when something should be catching you! My heart was in my throat it was the most scary and amazing feeling ever! On your second bounce up you have to really tug at a strap near your leg which frees your feet and turns you upright again. This took a few goes and I got a bit worried because a guy a couple of goes before me couldn’t do it and got hoisted the whole way up upside down like a right idiot! Anyway, I came back up smiling and caught all the action on my gopro too. But that wasn’t it over…we now had the canyon swing! This wasn’t nearly as popular but was still good fun and still got me terrified all over again even after that adrenaline rush! It is a 300 metre giant swing over the canyon with 70m of freefall. Steve and I did a tandem and decided, being the looneys that we are, to do it backwards. So we’re all strapped in and hanging over the edge of the platform with just mountains below us. A different kind of fear because you’re not in control of the falling this time. So the operator guy is just chatting to us casually, asking if we’re comfortable and boom in the middle of his sentence he presses the button in his pocket and were falling crazy fast. Good tactic but made honestly scared the crap out of us! The fall is so fast that you spin upside down while flying backwards and swinging towards the rock face on the other side. It was so fun! The bungee was definitely my favourite but after that amount of fear and adrenaline I was pretty knackered!
On Tuesday we decided to take a day trip to Milford Sound. A fiord outside of Queenstown, the only one in the world you can drive into. It is on everyone’s list here to do in Queenstown and the views were supposed to be amazing. Only downside was the 9 hour round trip there! Once we got through the first coach ride with a rather annoying driver who would not shut up about “the good old days” for nearly 5 hours we had a 2 hour cruise around Milford sound. Unfortunately, the weather was shocking – this was good as we could see lots of new waterfalls that had come about with the rain but the cruise was not the best. We could barely see anything with the cloud and could only go outside for 30 seconds without being blown off the boat. It was still a good sight to (vaguely) see though and I think I would complain more if the drive was on a motorway, but the scenery the whole way was stunning.
Wednesday we spent most of the day getting sorted for the next leg of our trip and attempting to pack. We’ve also booked quite a few bits for Australia which is really exciting. A trip on Fraser Island, a sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands, surf lessons, breakfast with koalas, diving in the Great Barrier Reef – all sorts!
So, there we go! Well done if you managed to read all of this haha I know it was a long one! On to Paihia and the Bay of Islands next, update you soon!
Abby
Abby Goes Travelling! 