The next day I had nothing to do so I caught up on some sleep and walked around town. That night we all ate at our hotel’s restaurant, Peppar’s, and then proceeded to go out to the Minus 5 Ice Bar. The ice bar was amazing, mainly because everything was made out of ice, including the glasses. The only problem is that it was a little cold, around -7.5 Celcius (roughly 18.5 F). I felt right home being in the cold, especially since we got some jackets. The Ozzie’s were funny about it though. Initially the reaction was “oh, it’s not so cold!” then by the end “IT’S REALLY COLD!” I will admit, holding a glass made of ice for half an hour does get pretty numbing.
The following day I woke up early and walked around Queenstown some more.
I got back to my room and was EXHAUSTED so I laid down for a nap, then woke up hours later realizing that my alarm had broken. I was really lucky and happened to wake up at the perfect time for my excursion and rushed into town to do the Queenstown Canyon Swing. Now, although the name is fairly self-explanatory, I’ll explain it… They take you to a canyon which has a giant wire running across the gap. There is a platform perpendicular to this wire, which has a bunch of cables running out attached to the main wire. You go out onto said platform attached to the cables and jump, fall 60 meters and then go into a HUGE arc at the bottom. It’s quite exhilarating. My first jump was something called “The Pin Drop” where you stand up next to the edge, looking into the canyon, and jump off the ledge straight, just like a pin. The guys that run the place are fantastic, and harass you before hand. Example : I was standing up there ready to go. I turn to the guy and ask “So, can I jump now?” He replies “No.” So, I wait a little bit, staring at what looks like imminent doom. After a little while I ask again “So, can I jump now?” The operator replies “I wouldn’t if I were you.” So I stood there for a little longer, turned to the two guys and said “I’m sure you get this a lot, but I hate you” and then jumped. The free fall happens so fast that by the time you realize what’s going on, you’re already in the swing motion, which is REALLY fun. So, I came back up and prepped for my second jump, which is named “The Chair of Doom.” The chair of doom works like this… You sit in 3 lawn chairs that have been taped together, sit on the edge of the cliff and then rock off into your freefall. I got up there, sat down, pushed off, did a flip and a half and then got into my swing. It was awesome and highly recommended for anybody that’s going out to Queenstown.
After the Canyon Swing, went back into town and relaxed at the hotel eating $10 pizzas (about $5 US). That night everybody primarily relaxed, didn’t go out, get a chance to rest up for the final days of the trip.
The last day in Queenstown we all went to the Kawarau (pronounced Cow-Roaw) Bridge to do the Kawarau Bungy jump. The Kawarau jump is the original bungy, established in 1988. I went last but got to witness one of the most hilarious, yet dangerous, things ever… One of the guys on the trip, Brian (Chicago, US), gets up to do his bungy, is all ready and prepped and is standing on the ledge to jump. You hear “5… 4… 3… 2… 1… JUMP!” Brian looks like he is about to jump, then assumes the fetal position, turns around, grabs the bungy cord and is pushed off the ledge by the guide all at the same time. He does kind of a crazy barrel roll but ended up just fine. When I get up to the jump, I’m all ready and pumped. I jump off just fine, perfect swan dive formation. Then, after about half a second decide “wow… This was an AWFUL idea” and try to stand up while in mid-air, making a Batman pose (like when he flies). You drop about 43 meters so the jump only takes a second to finish but it was fun nonetheless and I would recommend that everybody that gets the opportunity to try it.
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