Queenstown

Day 13
After getting breakfast, I walked to my morning activity, the fox zipline and a canyon swing. At 8:30am we got into the van and were driven to the canyon and were given harnesses for zip lining. I went ziplining in Rotorua but this one was on another level. The first one was 597 feet high and you had to run off a platform and fall 16 feet into the canyon before the zipline catches you. When it was my turn, I got on the platform and my knees were shaking, I was so scared. I took a deep breath and the guys counted me down and I just ran off, just completely turned my mind off. The fall was over before I knew it, and the zipline had a lot of give to it so the whole way you were having little drops, which was scary. Once I got to the other side I felt so accomplished and was proud of myself for doing it. There was a second zipline that we could race someone else on, and then we went over to the main attraction, the canyon swing. This swing is famous because there are over 70 different ways that you can leave the platform, you can be spider kicked off, flip, go down a slide, ride a tricycle and the list goes on. They even have one called the Bin Laden where your hands are tied behind your back and they put a trash can over you. You can also choose to jump with someone else, which is what I did (the opinions for ways to jump are limited with 2 people). I went with Marnie (who was hungover because it was her birthday) and we chose the cutaway, where they suspended you over the canyon in a sitting position and released you from the attachment. After they released us we were falling 360 feet into the canyon; it felt like my stomach went into my throat. It was the most amazing adrenaline rush I have ever experienced and it was over way too quickly. Once the initial drop was over, we swung back and forth. We were hanging over a river with cliffs surrounding us and as we hung there chatting we saw a baby goat climbing on the rocks. We hung there for about a minute of 2 before they brought us back up. I almost cancelled the activity the day before because I was scared and didn’t realize exactly what I had signed up for, and I am so glad I didn’t. It was the most incredible feeling and thing I have ever done in my life. Once everyone went we got back into the van and were driven back into town. I went with Jordan, Isabel, Mikayla, Paige, Jess and Kim up the gondola where we had dinner to go luge riding. You had to take a ski lift up from the restaurant where there were 2 different tracks that we went down. The luge tracks had the most breathtaking views of the lake and mountains and were surprisingly fun. We grabbed lunch and a beer afterwards and then I went back to the hostel to throw in a load of laundry and relax for a little bit. I went and met Dan to pay him for all my activities and then we had an included dinner at the hostel which was mac and cheese, fries and pizza (not good). Jess, Kim and I decided to take it easy so we went to cookie time which was a cookie bar in town. I got hot chocolate that came with a small chocolate chip cookie and whip cream, it was amazing! We did some walking in and out of souvenir shops and then went back to the hostel to hang out for a little bit.

Day 14
Today was an early morning, I had breakfast at 7am and walked down the street to get picked up for my activity, known as funyaks (it’s an inflatable boat that is a mixture of a raft and a canoe). The trip started at Glenorchy, which is about an hour drive from Queenstown. Once we arrived we were given wetsuits, fleeces and jackets (it was pretty chilly out) to put on and then got onto a jet boat that took us up Dart River to where the funyaks were all set up. Once in the funyaks we paddled down the river into Mt Aspiring National Park which is an inaccessible location by other means so it is untouched. The views were spectacular. I was in a funyak with Gina and Jess and we were so bad at steering (it was actually really difficult but it was hilarious trying to do it) the funyak that we had to be attached to the guide. After paddling down the river for some time we stopped at our lunch location. We took a small hike to look through the large cliffs into the water below and when we returned lunch was all set up. It was a very good buffet with fresh fruit, meats, cheese, vegetables and condiments to make sandwiches. They even had a couple of different options for desert. After eating, a couple of us decided to go swimming in the glacier water and it was FREEZING! The water was so beautiful and blue though. We got back in our funyaks and made our way back down the river where there was a bus waiting to pick us up. After we got the funyaks out of the water and helped to deflate them we got on the bus and made our way back to the base in Glenorchy. After giving all the gear back to the staff we went inside and waited about 30 minutes for the bus to pick us up to bring us back to Queenstown. Once back at the hostel we packed a little and then Jess, Kim and I headed out for dinner and drinks in town. We got ice cream and then went back to the hostel to pack because we were all leaving the trip the following day. One of the girls on my trip from LA agreed to bring my suitcase back with her so I didn’t have to spend the money to ship it and I plan to stop there at the end of my trip to pick it up.Read more