Queenstown lies on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, on the edge of the Southern Alps. This town is the adventure capital of New Zealand. When I looked online for things to do in our free time, they all seemed apt for uber-fit 25 year olds! The town buzzes with people, and to my eye they all look young. Mind you, when you reach my age, just about everybody looks young!
This is a year-round destination: skiing in The Remarkables (the local mountains) in winter; hiking, biking and water sports in the summer; paragliding, luging (well, not exactly) and bungy-jumping all year round.
We stopped for a view of Lake Wakatipu on our journey to Queenstown. Has New Zealand no end to beautiful places to be?
One of our colleagues snapped this photo of Shirley and me. Thank you Cheri.
On the road to Queenstown we passed the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge built in 1880 to facilitate travel to the interior goldfields. It was replaced by a modern auto-carrying bridge in 1963.
Nowadays the bridge is home to the AJ Hackett bungy jumping company. Jumping is free for those over 75 – thank God I’m not old enough, I love a bargain but I think I would have a heart attack if I jumped. Originally jumping was free for anyone who would do it nude. When everyone thought that was a good idea Hackett discovered nude jumping wasn’t such a great business model.
Bungy jumping had its origins as a Māori right of passage. The young man would tie a vine around his ankle and jump off a cliff. The closer the young man came to reaching the ground below, the more masculine he was. If he were not good at math, as Caitlin noted, he might have a short adulthood!
We watched a young man bungy jumping off the Kawarau Gorge Bridge. I have circled him faintly in the photos below where he is difficult to spot, to help you follow his trajectory. Once he finishes swinging a boat picks him up below.
On the heel of that exciting viewing – or should I say on the ankle – I visited the Lake District Hospital in Queenstown to have my sprained ankle pronounced well on its way to getting better by a qualified medical practitioner. Unfortunately I didn’t pay the doctor enough and that’s not what she said. The ankle is broken and I am now in one of those ungainly moon boots clomping around on crutches. Most unfortunately, it means I cannot stay with the tour and will be going home tomorrow. I wanted Shirley to stay for the remainder of the tour, but she is a devoted sister and is coming home with me.
I am very sad at this turn of events, but the parts of New Zealand I have experienced tell me I must return. Fingers crossed!
Leave a Reply