GO BIG or Go Home

69 kilograms. This number is scrawled in red on my left hand as I shuffle forward with bound feet. Hopefully they got this contraption dialed in for my weight I mutter to myself as I head towards the so-called "meat platform," a 10 inch metal diving board hovering 440 feet above the canyon. The huge metal structure sways swightly as I look towards the far mountain side. Pick a target. Don't look down. Well, maybe just one peek. Nondescript techno music blares in the background, but from what I remember, I don't even hear it anymore. I scoot forward, toes on the edge. "Okay wacko jacko, big leap and look out there. 3, 2, 1..." At this point its fight or flight. I choose fight which also means I am now in flight. The people above now only see a speck as I hurtle at 80 some miles per hour from the perfectly good platform dangling at the center of Nevis Canyon. This one had us chattering excitedly for days afterwards.

The Nevis bungy jump was the finale of our adrenaline extravaganza because like good tourists, we fell for the package deal because three bungy jumps must be better than one. We started out on the Kawarau bridge, the first commercial bungy site in the world. I stepped onto the platform peered over the edge at the green water below and thought to myself, "there is no way," When you look down from something you are supposed to jump off of, you suddenly realize that such a distance is very, very far. At this point your mind tells you that you can't do it. But you step out to the platform, the carefree man behind you counts down as a crowd of 40 or so tourists stands on a viewing platform to your left, and without fully knowing what you are doing, you jump. I tensed my legs and went airborne. Dan and I both requested a water dunk up to our shoulders and Jonathan wanted just to get his hands wet. So luck would have it that Jonathan came up soaked to his shoulders while Dan and I had a few wet fingertips. Just for reference, the previously described Nevis Bungy is over three times higher than the Kawarau Bridge.

Later that evening, we proceeded to the next bungy. The Ledge. This one juts out over Queenstown and looks down on trees and rocks, which certainly is less comforting than a nice deep river. With a waist harness and a running start, squirrel dives, front and back flips, and any other shenanigans were possible. We took full advantage of this, as well as the unlimited jumps, and ended our day with 4-5 bungies under our belt. The next day was the Nevis, one of the highest bungy freefalls in the world, so in two days we descended, in a very fast and airborne fashion, around a 1000 vertical feet.

And why were we jumping on off of so many different platforms in the span of two days? Well, this was Queenstown after all, the promised land, and a place routinely called the adventure capital of the world. This mountain town sits next to lake Wakapitu, with outdoor stores, tourist traps (we were happy victims) offering any and all adrenaline pursuits in exchange for your money, and hostels packed with youthful hooligans such as ourselves. In addition to the pricier activities, Queenstown is a gateway into Fiordland and Mount Aspiring National Parks. We spent two weeks backpacking the surrounding wilderness as I will describe in the next post when I stop surfing facebook and begin writing some more. At least I'm honest.