Somewhere along the way in my planning of our New Zealand trip, I decided it might be fun to try skydiving. I'm not sure how this came about; I think it started as more of a joke. I knew I had to bungy jump while we were there, and we planned to do the canyoning and jetboat ride, so plenty of exciting activities were already on the itinerary, but I kept coming back to the idea.
Zack is screaming affirmations at himself to pump himself up!
Zack had already been skydiving in the United States, but it wasn't an exciting location (to avoid offending readers from a certain state, I won't say where!). He was willing to do it again in New Zealand, and I figured if I didn't do it there, I probably wouldn't do it anywhere else.
This was before the ear pain set in!
I always thought skydiving was out of the question for me, because of my numerous ear infections as a child and a few burst eardrums as an adult. I was most scared of the pain that would probably come with the pressure change during the freefall, and I've always avoided scuba diving for the same reason (pressure changes).
Zack perfected his Maori face!
I decided to give it a whirl, and I booked us to skydive on January 1. What better way to bring in the new year? Unfortunately, the rainy weather didn't agree with our plans, and we had to put it off for a few days. But on Friday, January 4, we did it!
My knuckles say "I love NZ, 2013."
We jumped with Skydive Paradise, whose location is near Glenorchy. That meant that we got awesome views of mountains, water, and even some Lord of the Rings filming sites. After a fifteen minute scenic flight, we were at our jump height of 12,000 feet. By the way, the third person on our plane was a 70-something year old grandmother who got a 15,000 foot jump as a birthday present from her grandchildren! Anyway, skydiving was actually less scary than bungy jumping, because the guy on your back is in charge, and you don't really have to do anything. The most frightening moment was probably when your legs are dangling out of the plane right before your instructor leans out and you start falling.
We were above a layer of clouds when we jumped. Zack went first, and it was kind of alarming to see him sitting in the plane one minute and then totally gone the next. I found it difficult to breathe during the freefall. And yes, one of my ears hurt. A lot. But once the parachute was pulled, I was able to equalize the pressure with some yawns and plugging my nose and blowing out. Then I could enjoy the amazing views. Wow; it was incredible! My instructor did some spins, and I just looked around and soaked it all up. I landed smoothly on my feet and waited for Zack to reach ground too (somehow I beat him down).
Skydiving was definitely one of the most amazing things I've ever done in my life, and I'd recommend everyone do it just once. I don't think I'd do it again, partly because of the ear pain, and mostly because I don't think I could have nearly as awesome of an experience as I did in New Zealand, but it was so, so cool. It was my favorite thing we did on this trip for sure (swimming with the dolphins would be second). I've included our videos below, but if you only have time or the interest level to watch one, Zack's is better. I'm in his anyway, and he makes fun faces! If you are even remotely considering skydiving at some point in your life, DO IT!!! I promise you won't regret it; I don't! Update: Shout out to my parents and aunt and uncle who did this exact same skydive today (Feb. 5). They are living it up in New Zealand!
After our afternoon Shotover Jet boat ride, we spent Thursday evening atop the Skyline gondola in Queenstown. After the gondola ride, we started out by seeing the Kiwi Haka show, which was an entertaining (though a bit cheesy) performance that showcased Maori singing and dancing. It was full of audience participation; here I am learning how to work the poi balls. Below is a video of Zack learning to do the Haka, which is the traditional Maori war dance done by the All Blacks rugby team before each game. It was here that Zack also perfected the Maori face that graced so many of our future pictures on this trip.
After the show, we enjoyed the views of Queenstown and rode the luge at the top two times, which was surprisingly fun and fast.
See the rainbows?
After our luge rides, we enjoyed the amazing buffet. There were so many choices, including tons of fresh seafood and yummy desserts. We considered this to be our traditional Christmas dinner, and we pigged out as the sun went down.
Going to the top of the gondola is a must-do in Queenstown. The show, luge rides, and buffet dinner added to the fun of the evening, and it was a New Zealand night to remember.
After our exciting swing ride and bungy jump, we headed back into Queenstown and ate a late lunch at Fergburger. This place is a must-visit, and the wait for food is over an hour. But it's worth it; the burgers are awesome! You don't usually get big, juicy burgers on this side of the world, but Fergburger is the real deal. Yum.
Later that night, we started our New Year's Eve festivities with drinks by the campfire at our caravan park. We met some fun folks, including some people from Michigan! When it got closer to midnight, we walked into town, where we were able to see the short fireworks show over the lake.
Then we hung out in town for awhile and danced to the live outdoor music. The band played fun songs, and we had a good time despite the cold, rainy weather. After a couple of late-night slices of pizza, we headed back to our campervan and enjoyed our first sleep of 2013.
Another must-do in Queenstown (which we did a few days later) is the Shotover Jet. This crazy boat ride zips through the canyon, doing fast spins and going ridiculously close to the rocks on the side. It's like a roller coaster ride, and it's tons of fun. If you ever end up there, look for a picture of our friends Kristy and Nigel on the wall inside the building. Kristy was the 3 millionth passenger! Anyway, Queenstown is full of great stuff; more to come on our time there in future posts.
The last day of 2012 was probably one of the most exciting of the whole year. We were in Queenstown, New Zealand (the same place where we had gone snowboarding in August), and we purchased a combo deal to do the Nevis swing and the Kawarau bungy jump in one day.
Nevis Swing
First up was the Nevis swing, which is the highest swing in the world. I actually wasn't scared about doing it at all, as we thought it would be just a fast, smooth swing over the canyon. I did start to get a little nervous when they hooked us in and we had to sit down in our leg straps, as I thought there would be a bench or bar of some sort to sit on. When they released us, I was shocked. There was a 70 meter drop! I guess I hadn't done my research; I thought the swing would be a nice morning "warm-up" before our bungy jump in the afternoon, but it was quite a thrill!
This was our view looking down in the canyon from the top of the swing before they let us go. I've included the video (they actually let me hold our camera as we rode) below, but I'd just like to point out that the blood-curdling scream you hear belongs to Zack, not me. I'm the one laughing like a maniac. What a rush!
Next we were off to do the Kawarau Bridge bungy jump. This is the location of the world's first commercial bungy jumping operation, so we were doing the original, real deal! This picture shows our view from the bridge near the jumping platform. Yes, the water is actually that color.
Zack and I had pumped ourselves up for this 43 meter bungy jump for a long time, even practicing our countdown and how/when we would jump (after 3 or on 3?!). I was glad that the Kawarau site lets you jump in tandem, because I sure didn't want to do it all on my own. Zack had bungeed before, years ago in California before I knew him, but he has been scared of heights ever since he took them up on their offer of a second and third jump for only a few dollars more and did a backward jump that messed with his head. I had a minor meltdown before we went to get strapped in, but then I had to be the brave one and force us to take the plunge when we got up to the platform.
The build-up was much scarier than the actual jump; it was over so quickly. I remember thinking that I didn't have a choice when it was time to leave the platform, because if I didn't do it right away, I would freak myself out and stay up there forever. And since Zack was attached to me, he had to come along when I went!
I definitely remember seeing the awesome blue water as we jumped. You can make requests about not touching, touching, or getting dunked in the water below, and the workers try to calculate it correctly based on your weights. They got it right, and we both got to touch the water like we wanted (I wasn't up for getting dunked!). The other main thing I remember was all of the blood rushing to my head as we were hanging there after the jump. It kind of gave me a headache!
So now I can cross bungy jumping off my bucket list. I'm totally glad I did it, but I'm not sure I would do it again, unless it was at a really awesome site like this. It was kind of one of those "been there-done that" sort of activities, but I'd definitely recommend that everyone do it at least once. Our bungy jumping video is below (Zack edited it a bit and added a fun song). I'd say we ended the year of 2012 with some excitement, right?!
We left New Zealand on Sunday, August 20th in the afternoon. Since we had the whole morning to spend in Queenstown, we played a round of frisbee golf with our friends. There's a fun course right down by the lake (Lake Wakatipu) in the city.
I was absolutely terrible at the game, but it was still a good time. Being near the lake made for some interesting frisbee chases down the hill! Adam and Todd ended up tying for the win in the end.
While the boys figured out who won, we girls took silly pictures.
We flew out of Queenstown later that day, sad that our short weekend was over, but happy that we'll be back in December to properly explore the South Island of New Zealand!
On our third full day in New Zealand, we didn't feel like making the trip to another ski resort for sub-par snowboarding, so we all piled in the rental van and went to nearby Arrowtown. This is an old gold mining town, and it's very charming and cute. We started the day with a scenic hike. I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but New Zealand reminded us SO much of Colorado. From the moment we stepped off the plane, we felt that way. Even the air we were breathing felt the same. Anyway, there are many similarities in landscape with our home state.
Below is a picture of our whole American group near the top of the hill on our hike. That random dog in the picture belongs to the person who we asked to take our photo!
Adam, Alena, Emily, Kate, me, Zack, and Todd (and a random dog!)
Zack let his facial hair grow during our Thailand trip, which somehow turned into a mustache. It's gone now (thank goodness), but in New Zealand, it was in its full glory. Here are the guys posing for a "mustache shot."
After our hike, we explored the main street of Arrowtown. Zack and I enjoyed some souvenir shopping and fudge tasting; then we ducked into a country music show to hear some tunes. We were the youngest ones in there by about 30 years and we got a few strange looks, but it was fun to listen to some of the local talent. We finished off our visit to Arrowtown with some delicious hot chocolate and drove back to Queenstown to make a homemade spaghetti dinner. Yum!
On Saturday, we snowboarded at The Remarkables, which is a resort close to Queenstown. It was smaller than Cardrona, but the weather and conditions were about the same.
Zack and I did hike up a little part of the mountain, hoping for some fresh powder, but we had no luck. The view was good though!
We spent more time at the terrain park on this day, trying to master (small) jumps and rails. This is definitely not our specialty, but it was fun to give it a whirl. Adam has a GoPro camera, so he was able to capture some videos of us in action! Well, Zack in action-me just being ridiculous.
Zack and I flew into Queenstown on Thursday, August 16. We explored the cute little town that evening and planned to meet up with our friends the next day at Cardrona Ski Resort. They had flown in on Wednesday and were staying in Wanaka, which is an even smaller town about an hour away from Queenstown. Anyway, we got up early on Friday morning and watched the sun rise over the mountains as we drove toward Cardrona...
New Zealand definitely has lots of sheep. Here is one group we passed by early that morning...
We drove up and up the mountain road...
We finally reached the resort and saw some snow!
We met up with Todd and Alena and Adam and Emily and their friend Kate (who lives in Wanaka but is from Denver too). Kate took this picture of the six American expats...
Now, to be honest, our expectations for snowboarding in New Zealand were quite high. We thought it would be just as good as, or actually better, than it is in Colorado. That assumption was completely incorrect. Cardrona is one of the bigger resorts, and it is TINY compared to the ones we're used to boarding. It seemed to have nearly all man-made snow, and the conditions were sort of slushy. But that didn't stop us from having fun! After almost two years, it was a blast to be on a snowboard again, and the weather was sunny and perfect. The views from the resort were incredible, and we had a great time cruising down the slopes with our friends.
Zack and I moved to Australia with no intention of ever snowboarding while we were here, so even though I had just gotten a new snowboard and outfit the year before we left, it's all back in the United States. To get by on this trip, my outfit and gear was a combination of borrowed, rented, and purchased op shop items! Zack, on the other hand, has had the same coat and pants for many years, so we could justify buying new stuff for him when we found a sale at a store called Auski in Melbourne. The funny thing is, he chose this combination of a blue coat and orange pants on his own, but everyone on the mountain seemed to have the same color combo! I captured one of his twins in the picture above right.
Tomorrow, I'll post about our day spent snowboarding at The Remarkables, but here's one last picture from the top of Cardrona...
Check out that view...the one behind the cute guy! P.S. I have no idea what the mustache was about.
We were above a layer of clouds when we jumped. Zack went first, and it was kind of alarming to see him sitting in the plane one minute and then totally gone the next. I found it difficult to breathe during the freefall. And yes, one of my ears hurt. A lot. But once the parachute was pulled, I was able to equalize the pressure with some yawns and plugging my nose and blowing out. Then I could enjoy the amazing views. Wow; it was incredible! My instructor did some spins, and I just looked around and soaked it all up. I landed smoothly on my feet and waited for Zack to reach ground too (somehow I beat him down).
Skydiving was definitely one of the most amazing things I've ever done in my life, and I'd recommend everyone do it just once. I don't think I'd do it again, partly because of the ear pain, and mostly because I don't think I could have nearly as awesome of an experience as I did in New Zealand, but it was so, so cool. It was my favorite thing we did on this trip for sure (swimming with the dolphins would be second). I've included our videos below, but if you only have time or the interest level to watch one, Zack's is better. I'm in his anyway, and he makes fun faces! If you are even remotely considering skydiving at some point in your life, DO IT!!! I promise you won't regret it; I don't! Update: Shout out to my parents and aunt and uncle who did this exact same skydive today (Feb. 5). They are living it up in New Zealand!
