Queenstown

After Wanaka, it was on to Queenstown. Leaving Wanaka, the bus driver stopped at Mt. Iron for everyone to hike up it. I didn't realize this was the plan, and I had already hiked it, but I decided what the heck, I'll do it again (in flip flops, with my backpack heavy--full of electronics and books, and my water bottle nearly empty). Luckily it was not a long hike, but my appearance and lack of prep was pretty laughable. 

After the hike, we made a quick stop at a local produce stand. Food is expensive here-- markets are one of the few places you can score cheap food. I bought a huge bag of mixed fruits and tried some new fruits. (Pear and apple combo, and cherry and peach combo...both very delicious). 

The drive to Queenstown was beautiful--through a canyon paralleling the milky blue Kawarau river. The bus stopped at one point on the river-- the Kawarau bridge. This was the site of the first commercial bungy jump back in 1988, and the company is named for the Kiwi founder of the sport, A.J. Hackett. We went into the center there and watched a film on the history of the sport. Quite interesting. From there we got to watch some people actually do the bungy jump. It was a beautiful location, but I was too nervous (and cheap) to commit. Or so I thought...

This is the view from where the bungy takes place. 

Around mid afternoon we arrived at Queenstown. It was a beautiful day-- sun shining, blue skies. The town is just perfect...set into the hillside, overlooking the beautiful Lake Wakatipu, with the Remarkable Mountain Range surrounding.  (They are quite remarkable)

I spent the afternoon reading at this spot by the lake :) I finally finished my epic WW2 book!

Queenstown is referred to as "the adventure capital of the world." Just driving into the city, it was easy to see that this title was well deserved. From the surrounding ski fields for wintertime sports, to the huge lake offering so many different types of activities(parasailing, water skiing, shark boating, kayaking, and other activities I don't even know the proper name for) to the mountains (hiking, mountain biking, zip lining, bungy jumping, skydiving, paragliding, luging), and the river (jet boating, canyoning, white water rafting, tubing) the city was activity loaded and adrenaline packed!

The first day I decided to go for a hike- the Queenstown Hill hike. While not overly long, the challenging climb was rewarded with amazing 360 views of the town, lake, and mountain ranges. 

On the way down, I met some friends from an earlier bus whom I hadn't seen in weeks. We've all decided NZ is like one small town-it's impossible to go any where without seeing a familiar face. 

That night I went out with a bunch of friends (most of whom were leaving the next day to head back north). My schedule allowed for a few more days in town, so I switched hostels to a different hostel where every room had wonderful lake and mountain view. Even from the shower, I was in awe. 

View from the hostel lounge. 

The next day I took a bus trip to Milford Sound. Milford Sound is one of the "must sees" in New Zealand. It is difficult to a access, and therefore a tour is necessary. 

It started off as a dreary and rainy morning. I actually wasn't too upset, as I heard that the more rain, the more waterfalls appear in the sound. It took about 4.5 hours to get to the Sound. Along the way we stopped for a few nice photo opportunities and short walks.

This was from a short walk called Mirror Lakes. 

The road there-- the Milford Sound Road, was stunning --down into a canyon with steep cliffs and waterfalls everywhere. At one point we went through a long, one-way, narrow, very scary tunnel. Once through the tunnel, the skies cleared, and almost magically, the sun came up. Our driver warned us it was going to be a wet day, so he was even quite surprised. Due to the sunshine, our actual cruise of Milford Sound was amazing.

Because of the earlier rain, the waterfalls were every where on the cruise , and thanks to the sun, we could sit on the top deck, get nice photos, and see rainbows. It was one of the most amazing places I have ever been to!

The trip home was long, and after a 13 hour day I was exhausted. 

The next day it rained in the morning, so I spent a good bit of the day catching up on life and processing the beauty of the past few days. 

The next day my friend Wieke was in town and she found us a great, last-minute deal to do a ledge swing. While not the classic, head-first bungy drop, the swing is where you are hoisted out over a cliff and then you release yourself for a free fall of 47 meters before swinging out over the town of Queenstown. (Here's a video link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6-BWJTZUu54)

A few days back (at the river) I was still apprehensive about the whole thing. I knew it would be cool to do something extreme in the adventure capital of the  world, but I kept letting nerves and my budget get in the way. 

When Wieke found this amazing deal on a last minute booking site, I knew I had to go! 

In order to get to the swing, you could either pay to ride up the gondola or hike. We opted for the hike. First to save money, and second to work (sweat) out our fears. The whole hike up was actually quite funny. We could hear so many screams. From the zip liners above, to the mountain bikers, to the lugers at the top, it's a mountain of extreme activities

View from the top of the mountain. (The building is a restaurant)

View out to the bungy platform. 

Getting lowered out. 

Ready to go. 

The actual jump wasn't that bad. I was extremely nervous, but in the end it was really awesome. 

Pulling the trigger. 

Free falling. 

This is where you fly up. I wish this picture was caught at a better moment and wasn't so zoomed in. The view behind/in front of  me was amazing! 

After, they crank you up to the top again. This was actually the scariest part. I grabbed the first stable thing I could find! 

2 million and 2!

We got free trucker hats. 

Afterwards, Wieke said her head hurt. I'm pretty prone to headaches, so I was nervous this would happen to me, but I seemed fine. After hiking to the bottom, though, my head starting killing me. 

That night we opted to try out the infamous Queenstown eatery, Ferg Burger. I'd been hearing about this place since my first day in NZ. 

Most of you know, I don't really like meat-- especially burgers. Well, after conquering the jump earlier in the day and lots of hiking, I was feeling adventurous and hungry! So I went for it, and waited in the perpetual line (for 55 minutes!) for a burger. It was amazing!! I don't know if it was because I was starving, or it just really was that good. The burger was huge, but what I liked was that the patty was quite thin (prime, local beef) and that the rest of the sandwich was all the amazing salad and sauce toppings. 

After our burgers, my head was hurting so bad I had to go to bed, ASAP. The next morning it was still in pain. It was not like the normal migraines I get. Instead the whole left side of my head felt like it had been stabbed. 

Wieke and I had planned to do an 8 hour hike up and over the mountain we hiked the day before. While my head still hurt, I thought I could walk it off. About 3 hours in, I realized it wasn't going to happen. I was in so much pain, and the whole left side of my body was tightening up. (Especially my chest and neck, which was quote scary). We decided to turn around. I'd never felt this way. I was both scared and frustrated. 

After getting down, Wieke convinced me to go to the PT. After talking to the staff, and realizing I could get an appointment for quite cheap, I went. 

The PT was awesome and he said I had some whiplash. (And the pain in my neck and chest were all inter related). He worked out a bunch of spots of my neck and head and taped my shoulders to relieve the tension. 

He also told me to not do anything for a few days. He said my body needed to recover. 

I'm now on day two of rest, and I'm finally starting to feel better. Of course if anyone could get a silly "injury", it would be me. I'm just thankful it was minor, and a few days of relaxing, while challenging, has been good for me.  

Tomorrow I'm off to a 4 day backpack trip. Hoping I'm all healed up.