Posts tagged Sky dive
Adrenaline can be addictive
I am an adrenaline junkie. There is no other way to put it. I can’t get enough of the stuff. This is why I loved Queenstown. There is so much to do here to push you body to the edge and come back shaking like a leaf. Before I had even got there, just outside the main city, we pulled into the Kawarau bridge bungy centre…
Adrenaline rush #1:
The Backwards Bungy
The Karawau bridge bungy is 43 metres high, so I figured it wouldn’t be much on Macau (the highest in the world) or the Nevis (at 134 metres). So when I asked what might be the best thing to do to get the best rush, I was told to do the ‘pendulum’ where they would hang me over the edge of the bridge, facing upwards, and release me whenever they felt like it. To them, this meant hang me there for 20 seconds while saying ‘Ok, now…. no…. now….. oh sorry…. now’ and then telling me to give some guy a high five. Half way to his hand, they let me go. Excellent!!
Adrenaline rush #2:
The next morning, it was an early start to get out to the NZone sky diving centre. NZone are among the only people who do skydives at 15 000 feet at both Queenstown and Rotorua. The skydive at Queenstown, however, gives you incredible views over the Remarkables (the mountain range in Queenstown) as you fall out of the plane. The most nerve racking thing about a skydive is the flight up there. I’m not so good on planes as it is, and flying up in a plane smaller than the bedroom I slept in the night before is slightly unnerving. It seems to go on forever, and then very quickly, your legs are hanging over the edge of the door to the plane, and there is nothing in front of you. All the way down I couldn’t close my mouth. Firstly because of the speed at which the air was hitting my face, and secondly because I couldn’t stop screaming like a girl and swearing constantly. Once the parachute opens, you get to drift nicely down to the bottom, enjoying the incredible views over Queenstown and the surrounding mountains. I have to do this again!
Taken at around 12,000 feet above Queenstown!
Adrenaline rush #3:
Bungy at 134 metres
I had about half an hour to wait once I got back into town before I was onto the AJ Hackett bungy bus to head over to the Nevis bungy and Nevis Arc. Once again, it’s the slow journey to the jump that is the most nerve racking part, and as you come over the crest of the hill, you see the enormous gorge you’re about to throw yourself into. This is what I love about bungy jumping. Don’t get me wrong, skydiving was incredible, but until I get to throw myself out of that plane, it isn’t really going to compare!
The Nevis bungy starts from a steel box that is hanging between two cliff faces. The only way to get there is via a tiny cable car, which has a cross hatched bottom to it, so that you can look straight down to the floor, about 200 metres below you. You sit in that box for about 15 minutes watching so many other people throw themselves off the platform. Then you sit in the ‘Dentist Chair’ and get strapped in. It all happens pretty fast after that. All I can tell you is that the Nevis is the best bungee I have ever done. Macau, even though it is the biggest in the world, has nothing on it, as at the Nevis you are actually free falling, at Macau there are stabilisers that slow you down. I was once again, shaking uncontrollably, it felt great!
Adrenaline rush #4:
The biggest swing in the world
The biggest swing in the world is right next to the Nevis bungy. You can opt to sit in the harness in whichever way you want, and you can go either as a tandem or by yourself. I know a couple who went down in the ’69′ position, the video looked brilliant! I decided to go down upside down and backwards, why not. The guys who strap you in hold the remote control for the release, and pretty much all the time they will give you no warning as to when you are going. In fact they will probably ask you a question and let you go as you start to answer. More rush I guess!
Adrenaline rush #5:
For the last part of this ridiculous day, I went up the cable car in Queenstown to The Ledge, which rest at 400 metres over Queenstown. You can get some incredible views as you throw yourself off strapped in not by your feet, but at you waist. This means you can do whatever you want (within reason of course) as you jump off. Personally I went for the run up and front flip. On video it actually looks as though it was pretty painful, but it it was, I was so wired at this point I didn’t notice. It was bloody incredible!!
Another day another dollar!