New Zealand and Australia 2016

Today is a really big day for me because it marks my last day at the age of twenty three. I can honestly say that twenty three was the best year of my life so far and I can only hope that twenty four will be able to keep up!

Anyways!

Woke up around 830 and Emilie had kindly gone to the store and bought cereal and milk for us to enjoy. When we finished up breakfast we headed out on out first adventure of the day: luging (essentially go carting down a mountain without an engine haha). We took the gondola up the mountain and got a great view of the city. The luge track didn't technically open until 10 so we were one of the first people on the track once it did. To be honest the luge was slightly underwhelming but it was good because I had good company with me! Emilie and i refused to purchase the photos, but I did snap a picture of the screen so I do have a choppy keepsake haha.

Afterwards we went back to the hostel to try and nap because both of us were quite exhausted and we both needed a nap. I only slept about 10 minutes before housekeeping woke me up and luckily Emilie didn't have any better luck in her room so we both decided to just go get lunch.

We went to a place called Devil Burger which I believe rivals ferg burger (which is a famous joint here in Queenstown). It was quite a sizable burger and Emilie shared her fries with me so I was stuffed.

Around one I met up with Emma and we walked to the next adventure of the day... SKYDIVING! Mom's probably freaking out right about now, but I'm writing this so obviously I survived! 😊 Anyways we arrived and checked in. They walked us through a brief safety demonstration before we were driven out to the drop site. It was a nice little area right beside the remarkables (Queenstown's mountain range). Emma and I were in the later group so we had to wait a little while. We played lawn size chess and then decided to write things on our hands for the dive.

Shortly after that we were called in and it was time to suit up. I met my tandem partner who was Mario from Portugal. He got me all suited up and prepared and walked me through a few rules and such. Afterwards we all crammed ourselves onto the little plane.

As we began to ascend it really hit me that I was about to skydive. The plane ride itself was beautiful and quite a roller coaster for the stomach. Once we hit 15,000 feet the door opened and bodies began leaving the plane two at a time. Emma was the first person out and she screamed haha I was the second one out and this guy from China named Nemo that I had met was the very last one.

The feeling was crazy. My ears we're screaming but the view went unchallenged with anything I'd ever seen. We began above the clouds and quickly broke through them. The mountains and lake seemed to merge into one. It was amazing. Eventually Mario pulled the parachute and it felt like we came to a complete halt. My ears did not enjoy this part. But soon enough he handed me the reins and off we descended. He took them back for a while which was cool and we did some neat arial tricks. Soon enough we hit the ground and I had officially completed my first ever skydive!

I cleared my ears out and then got a nice photo with Mario. I talked more to Nemo and he explained he was actually on his honey moon which I thought was really cute. Emma and I both kinda felt rough afterwards so we decided to have a nap and then regroup later.

When I awoke I felt quite rested and I was ready for the rest of my day! Emilie had written up a few post cards as a happy birthday present which was quite unexpected and sweet. After I got showered up we went out for a nice dinner. Neither of us were really in the mood for it but we ended up in a loud English pub. The food was far from phenomenal but it was alright. Later we both needed grounding so we sat on a bench and took a few deep breaths by the sea. I chose to close my eyes and in doing so experienced the most intense "people watching" moment I'd ever had. In the few minutes I had my eyes closed I heard so many conversations held by women and men and toddlers and birds. It was just such an amazing moment for me. I think that's how I'm going to "people watch" from now on.

Afterwards we had plans to go out with others from the hostel for a wild night but I changed my mind and we decided to go for a quiet drink instead. I wasn't in a particularly good mood, but with Emilie's help I was able to pick myself back up and come back to life. We sat along the shoreline of the lake and chatted for quite some time and just took it all in. Queenstown has quite a LOUD vibe to it, which I've already realized isn't really my thing, but I'm going to try and find the beauty in it in the next two days while I'm here.

Before bed Emilie wished me an official happy birthday and that was that. I don't really have plans for tomorrow, so we'll see what happens!

-Terrence outLæs mere