Be a swan, not an ostrich

Today I had my very first bungy jump with the AJ Hackett Bungy Co. in NZ. Apparently AJ Hackett was the first to invent the bungy in the 1970's. God knows what was going through his mind when he decided to jump from a great height suspended by just an elastic, but it seems to have worked because not only did he survive he also went on to run a very successful business out of Queenstown, NZ. At 134meters (440 feet) the Nevis is the highest jump in New Zealand and one of the highest in the world. Supposedly the highest is located in Capetown, South Africa, another one in Hong Kong and another in Switzerland. I don't know how those bungy jumps are set up but the Nevis is done from a cable car suspended between two hills, which makes it a bit more nerve wracking.

Here is our cable car, as viewed from the hill.

My classy bungy outfit and the Nevis viewing platform in the background.

This is the view from our lift over to the cable car. Now is when I started getting nervous.

Tom took pictures of my jump. The guys running the operation were great. Not only did they talk to you while you got geared up, but they also gave hints such as look at the hill ahead of you not down before you jump. This guy in the picture above was pointing out things and talking. He also counted down to three, otherwise I may not have jumped at all. It actually looks like I was leaning away from the edge here, which is likely.

That little dot is me from the glass floor on the cable car.

Here we are on our trip back from the cable car, happy to have survived! Well except possible Kim, who still looks a bit scared.

We're now in Queenstown. The south island reminds me a lot of Canada, I think I mentioned that before. On our way to Queenstown we stopped for lunch at Arrowtown where the below photos were taken. As you can see NZ has autumn colours as well, and this town had a very Nova Scotian feel to it. I've also noticed that, unlike Australia, drivers actually stop when it appears you want to cross the street.

This is the main street in Arrowtown, and a picture of the hillsides behind that one street.

Queenstown itself is nestled between hills, and located along a lake. A lot of the buildings are made of wood and there are a lot of sports/outdoor living-type shops. I haven't been to any ski resort towns, but this is what I would have imagined one being like. For a main city it's incredibly small, and I wish I had more time to spend here. Maybe on another trip??