The Nevis Highwire Bungy Jump

Nevis HighWire in Queenstown, New Zealand

(That tiny shack hanging is the jump Platform)

So I have finally completed all the tests of gravity and man made thrills that I wanted to on my trip. I have done everything from being 120ft under the surface of the ocean, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane at 120000ft, and now to add to the list is plummeting 450ft with nothing but a over sized rubber band between me and the ground.

Today started off like all other days with me waking up, making coffee, and pondering what I should do when I decided it was as good as day as any to yet again put my life in the hands of the Kiwis and go Bungy Jumping. The very intelligent sport of Bungy was invented in New Zealand by a guy named AJ Hackett who used to just drive around until he found something to jump off of, get his cord out of the trunk of the car, tie it up, and jump. This was all kinda just for personal enjoyment until he jumped off the Eiffel tower and became internationally known and famous. New Zealand is now home to the very first commercial bungy that was ever operated and also the second highest bungy in the world that is 440ft and called the Nevis Highwire.

Seeing as this is one of those have to do activities in New Zealand I had to choose between jumping off the original or go for the glory and jump of the highest and naturally I choose the highest (got to get your moneys worth right)

Although today's weather wasn't exactly picture perfect, it was pouring!! I made it out to the Nevis River Valley and found out exactly what I was in for. The jump platform is suspended from cables 440ft above the river and you have to take a rickety little cable car to get to where you make the plunge. So after I was all harnessed in and had taken the cable car to the jump platform is right about when you start to think, "I cant believe I actually paid money to do this".

I have to admit, although its a hard comparison, that I think it is a little more nerve racking than skydiving for the fact that you physically have to jump by yourself without having an instructor or anybody easing you out. Once you get out to the platform there is so much going on with getting your ankles strapped, instructions of how to jump, and getting connected to the glorified rubber band that honestly, before you have a chance to get scared, your standing on the edge and all you hear is 3....2.....1.....BUNGY!!!!!!

After that moment is what you pay for as your diving over 400ft towards the ground. The feeling of free fall is the most the exhilarating feeling and with this bungy you get to enjoy that experience for around 10 seconds. After that you get a couple bounces and then they slowly winch you back up to the platform and unhook you to let you stand on your incredible weak and shaking knees. That's money well spent in my opinion.

HOLY WHAT A RUSH!!!

"I Hope There Tight!!"

OH BOY!! 3....2....1....


BUNGY!!!

And Who Said I Didnt Go To Post-Secondary

Day Climb in the Ahuriri Valley

Finally after around a week of hiking and eating nothing but dry food I am back into civilization. I left Christchurch with Rich, a Scottish guy that I met, and we set out in search of some areas to do some tramping (hiking in Canadian terms). So after managing to pile all of our gear into his car and picking up some supplies we made our way to Mount Cook Village. Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand and is also home to the Tasman Glacier which is the largest in the Southern hemisphere. We spent a few days here just laying around the hostel and waiting for the weather to clear so we could hike up to the alpine to a hut for the night. Unfortunately mother nature never aloud us to do that but our last day there we took the alternative and hiked to the ball point shelter which is about 11 kms up the Tasman Glacier. We stayed up there for only one night with no heat, electricity, or really anything of any kind. I am really happy I decided to buy a warmer sleeping bag when I arrived here cause its was below freezing up there!!
The next day we packed up our gear, walked off the glacier and headed to the Ahuriri Valley for a couple other trails and huts to stay in, but once again we were met with bad weather and nothing but rain. We stayed in the Base Camp Hut which compared to our previous night was comparable to staying at the Hilton. We had a table, chairs, a wood stove and enough wood to last us for days and also allow us to dry off our clothes after walking in the rain cause that's all that seems to be following us. We spent our days doing day hikes but always kept our base at the main hut so we didn't have to carry our gear through the not so great weather, and spent our nights sitting in the dim light of our head torches playing cards for hours on end waiting for it to get late enough to not feel guilty for going to bed.

From the Ahuriri Valley we arrived in Wanaka and finally got a hot shower and fresh food, ahh the things you take for granted on a daily basis. As of right now I haven't done a whole lot in Wanaka just read, relax, and went on some wonders around the town. It a picturesque little town built on Lake Wanaka and reminds me alot of Banff with being surrounded by mountains and the ski town buzz through town. A couple more days here relaxing and then off to Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand, where the fun will really begin. I think I may throw myself off a bridge at the Nevis Bungy which is roughly 450ft and the second highest on the planet. But time will tell and Ill be sure to update again when I have some more exciting things to tell.

Home Sweet Home on the Tasman Glacier, Ball Point Shelter

Sunrise Over The Tasman Glacier

The Most Deadly Mountain in New Zealand "Mount Cook"

"Good Times!!" Ahuriri Valley

Hitching A Ride

"Just A Little Problem"

My journey of hitchhiking the north island has now come to an end. I traveled from Auckland to Christchurch with nothing but the bag on my back and the open road. For the most part it is very easy to get around and it amazed me that with the incredible amount of people traveling this country with there own cars, or rentals, that not one single backpacker or traveller picked me up it was always local people, so here's a shout out to the Kiwi's! As for me if or when I decided to buy a vehicle I have decided to make it my duty to pick up any poor traveller standing on the side of the highway.
My journey from Taupo first led me to Napier, this is where I learnt that you don't always get picked up by the people you expect. For the 300 kms of windy road through the mountains i was riding in a BMW with a doctor. After arriving in town not only did he bring me out of his way but he drove me around town for about a half an hour giving me a tour then dropped me off on the doorstep to the prison which would become home for me for the next couple days. This may have been the most interesting place I have ever slept. The prison is now a backpackers hotel but it was in full operation just ten years ago and everything in there including the paint and beds are original. So in the day you eat where the prisoners ate, hang out in the exercise yard, and smoke in the hanging gallows (that's a little weird). I amused most of my time wondering around and reading all of the carvings into the walls of all the ex inmates. Napier is a very interesting town because about 80 years ago a massive earthquake completely demolished the town so now all of the buildings are all about the same age and everything was built with a certain theme, so with that and the huge black sand beach (ya that's right black sand) it is built on it makes this little town very picturesque.
From here my travels brought me through Hastings and Palmy slowly making my way down to the capital of the country Wellington. Wellington is a very artsy place where you could spend days upon days just wondering around looking at museums, art galleries, or just watching one of the many street performer acts going on all day around the city. I spent about three nights here then decided I needed to get out of the city and head south to get to where the real action is.
So after a torturous 3 hour ferry that turned into a 10 hour ordeal, thats a whole other story, I was officially in the south and halfway across the country. Then I spent a couple nights in Picton hiking around the Queen Charlotte Sound and hanging out around the first open fire I have seen in months at night.
That brings you up to date with my travels thus far. I am currently in Christchurch after hitching the best 350 km ride of my life with a lawyer who even brought me out to lunch (again not the people you expect) and I am off to who knows where in a unknown period of time. Its a strange feeling to wake up and think should I go east or west or maybe north or south and have no set destination just you, your backpack, and the open road.

The Napier Prison Gates

Street Performers in Downtown Wellington

View From My Hike Of The "Queen Charlotte Sounds"

The Tongariro Crossing

While staying in Taupo I decided that after doing nothing that involved physical activity for quite some time it was about time I get out and have a bit of exercise and see some of the scenic landscapes of New Zealand. I decided to do a hike that is the most famous one day hike in New Zealand, and is on the top ten list for being one of the most popular in the world. The hike is called the, "Tongariro Crossing" which consists on 18.5 km of mountains, lakes, and volcanoes.

The start of the track is about an hour and half drive from Lake Taupo in the Tongariro National Park. So after waking up at 5:00am, having a quick nap on the bus, I was lacing up my Converse kicks and getting ready to set out for the day. The walk starts out as a nice and level stroll along a pathway crossing back and forth over rivers and streams until you reach what is called, "The Devils Staircase", which is a steep naturally formed staircase of sorts, that brings you past Mt Doom and to the summit of Mt Tongariro. You can take a side trip and summit Mt Doom which I really want to do but seeing as my choice in footwear wasnt the ideal equiptment I will have to leave that for another day. While climbing up the wind was blowing very hard and lots of fog and clouds came in which in turn gave me little hope of seeing anything besides white for the rest of the day. Luckily right after I reached, "Red Crater" which was formed by a huge eruption, the fog started to burn off and the sun began to shine through.

The three pictures I have below are all taken from the summit of Mount Tongariro which is roughly 6000 ft. This is where all the filming took place for Mt Doom in, "Lord Of The Rings." Everything in that area was formed by either earthquakes or volcanic activite and makes it amazing to look at. "Mt Doom" is the most active volcanoe in this area and erupted last around 5 years ago, and you can still see and climb up the lava flow on the side of the mountain.

The rest of the hike brings you down from the summit, by the Emerald and Blue Lakes, then decends through the alpine, below the tree line, then finally at a parking lot where the bus picks you back up again.

The hike is classified to take around 8 hours but seeing as it is so popular, and I didnt like walking it in single file with a posse of people, I scooted ahead and was up and down in around 4.5 hours but I can tell you one thing I am definatetely still feeling that decision in my legs, apparently doing nothing but laying on the beach for a last few months finally got to me.

Climbing Up To The Summit of Mount Tongariro

Red Crater and Mt Ngauruhoe (Better Known as Mount Doom)

The Emerald Lakes

Beautiful Blue Lake From Mount Tongariro

Skydive Lake Taupo, New Zealand

Today I had the most amazing experience of my life. After waking up and staring at the classifieds in search for a job I decided it would be way more fun to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft at 12000 ft! Its amazing how suck a good idea can turn pretty nerve racking after you book your spot and pay for it. Lake Taupo is the skydiving capital of the world and home to one of the highest tandem free falls a person can do and it is also the cheapest place in the world to do it. The basic sky dive from 12000 ft costed $219 but seeing as I have so much extra money lying around from all the work I have been doing . . . I decided to go for a little extra and spring for Limousine transport to and from th airport (extra$1).

After being picked up from the Limo and pulling up to the airport I began to get a little butterfly's but after I met my instructor and got strapped into the harness it got a whole lot worse. Its strange, you would think that the instructors would say anything they could to make you feel more comfortable but its actually the exact opposite. All of the guys are joking about having the new rookies packing there shoots, and how it is the pilots first flight which was kinda entertaining especially to watch the couple other people in our group who were obviously terrified. So after I was fitted for all my gear we were packed into a plane and speeding down the runway. I was the last person in the plane which meant I got the honor of sitting beside the door and being the first to get out, GREAT! . The flight up to altitude was gorgeous, it was a clear and sunny day so you could see both coast of the country, two oceans, three volcanoes, and there was the odd cloud which proved that yup, I am in fact going to jump from a airplane higher than the clouds. Once we were at altitude and the plane leveled off, my instructor opened the door and we swung sideways so our legs were outside and this is the only time I was truly nervous. The good thing is that you don't really have much choice at this point to weather you jump or not because they basically throw you out. I have to say that the two seconds as we were first tipping out of the plane is the most unexplainable thing in the world, as of course my instructor had to put a little style into it and send us back flipping a couple times before leveling out and enjoying our 45 seconds! of free fall. The whole ordeal takes about 7 minutes from the time you leave the plane till you are safely landed and I can promise thats a 7 minutes of my life I will never forget. I can definitely say that this is the most unforgettable experience and the most andreniline I have had so far in my trip. Now I just have to concur the 137 meter bungy jump in Queenstown to be able to say I have done it all in New Zealand.

"Lets Rock and Roll"


Sara and I After the Jump

On The Road Again

My New Mode Of Transportation

Once again I am on the road to nowhere. I working in Taranga for around a week but after making no money at all and barely being able to make enough to just cover being there I decided it was time to move on. Picking kiwis was far from the most enjoyable job I have ever had but the problem with it was you cant pick them unless they are dry. So every morning I would wake up at 6:30, pack a lunch, and jump in the van to go to work. After arriving at work we would lay around and wait for the sun to come out and dry the fruit (its fall therefore there is alot of dew) so by the time we got to work it was usually around 12:30 then by 5:00 we were done so for being at work for almost 12 hours, by the time I got home again, I was only getting paid for about 4 of them. Anyway it wasn't what I was looking for to say the least. While in Taranga I did manage to do a few fun things though like climb Mount Maunganui , which has an amazing view on the city, beach, and ocean and I also got to go surfing for the first time in my life.

The main beach in Taranga doesn't have the amazing pipeline waves that you always see people surfing on TV but for me it was just fine. On one of the rain days we had off of work me, Sara, and a guy we met from Holland hitchhiked from our hostel to the beach, rented wetsuits and boards, and went out for a couple hours and just messed around on the beginner style surf for

the afternoon. Good Times!

Surfing in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand

As for now I am in Taupo after spending a quick night in Rotorua. Taupo is a fairly small town built on the side of Lake Taupo (hense the name). I am pretty much in the center of the north island and it is pretty much an adventure gateway to volcanoes, skydiving, bungy jumping, and anything else that can give you a good shot of adrenaline. It is also, for all you movie buffs, one of the main areas where "Lord of The Rings" was filmed. Its is also one of the most volcanically active areas left in the world so everywhere you go there are natural hot pools and lakes, bubbling mud pits, and geysers and steam vents shooting from the ground.

One of the Hot Lakes in Rotarua's Town Center (Over 100 degrees)

As for now I am unsure about my plans but I am going to look for work here and the next couple days and hope to be able to call it home for a month or so while the bank account recuperates but we will see what happens. Wish me luck!