Bungy Jumping Craziness in Queenstown

We went to see the Bungy jumpers at Kawarau Bridge, the original AJ Hackett (he invented bungy) jump. The very first day I saw mental people jumping off the 43 metre high bridge, I knew that it was my destiny to do it too because the day before I tried to convince my parents to let me go Sky Diving but it didn’t work! I had to be 10yrs old and 35kgs, and luckily when they weighed me I was 36kg’s! After lots of discussions, my Mum & Dad reluctantly agreed and it was booked. Ollie was relieved that he was too young!  The next day Andrew, Amy, Fintan, Florence and Laila kindly came to watch me jump.  Dad was underneath me taking pictures.

As I was standing on the jumping platform with everyone watching, I leapt off doing an incredible dive that was way better than of the any other adults. But half way down I forgot that I was strapped on and got really nervous. The best bit though was springing up and down on the bungy rope. Then I had to grab onto a white pole that the men on the raft below me were holding and pulled me onto a boat. I sprinted up a long staircase to meet all the guys to tell them about how much fun my crazy experience was!   My Mum cried after I did it with relief, and I got some great cheers from the crowd as I was the youngest one that afternoon.  Brilliant!!  Cameron.

Apart from being New Zealand’s centre for high adrenaline activities, there are also some more relaxing ways to spend a morning in Queenstown. We went on the TSS Earnslaw, a beautiful old steamer that has been running on the lake since 1915. We visited Walter Peak Farm and went on a farm tour, where I got to feed some Red Deer (an English breed) and even a baby Highland Cow. Next we went for some scones (not as good as Grandpa’s), and I had a chocolate brownie too. After that we went to see the Border Collies showing off their herding skills and a man sheared a sheep. I was astonished when he said that shearing a whole coat of wool only earned him a couple of dollars.

In the evening we went to the Minus 5 Ice Bar which was awesome!! With lots of ice sculptures carved with chainsaws and pickaxes. We also got some drinks (cocktails), and even the cups were made of ice and my drink had a really fruity twang to it! My Mum & Amy were dancing the Macarana with us and some other people in the bar. After that we had a burger from the famous Ferburger joint, where my Dad and Andrew waited in the queue for about 40 minutes to get our burgers (thank you for the recommendation Christophe!) but they were delicious. By Oliver

The vibe in Queenstown is energetic and quirky, we watched the running of flocks of rams and ewes through the town centre being herded by sheep-dogs running across their backs and Ben got caught up helping with some street entertainment (he’s got one of those faces!).  We also watched some of the other ‘sports’ on offer here, the popular Shotover Jet, the new ‘Shark’ half boat- half jet cockpit that Ollie fancied doing and what I think is called Flyboarding.

The Shark – does crazy leaps into the air!

Even the weather is a little crazy here, we drove in through heavy rain, woke up to snow on the mountains and ended up boiling in the afternoon sun. This was a good time to head up the Gondola to the lookout over Queenstown and the Lakes and for Ben & Cameron to do some rides down the Luge track– a bit like fast go-carting down the side of a mountain – not for me or Ollie! Ben tried his hardest to convince me to do a tandem Paraglide (not exactly sure why??), which I declined, I am obviously the least reckless in this family. We also managed to fit in a trip to Arrowtown, an old goldmining town where they have managed to preserve over 100 of the original buildings – more my cup of tea –  quaint and quite atmospheric too.

Sadly, we also said goodbye to the Dishmans here too, although we hope to have a beer with them in Sydney before they head off to SE Asia and we head up to Brisbane to see our family.  They have been great fun, brilliant friends for the boys and we will miss them!  Adele