Today was another cloudy day that ended up being the best last day I could ask for. Although sky diving was canceled (making that four failed attempts for the whole trip), I booked a hand gliding trip in the early afternoon to see the sites from above. My two travelling buds, Michel and Patrick and I spent the morning relaxing, having tea (like true Europeans :) and walking around the market. Michel and I then headed to hang glid which started with a beautiful drive along the water. The weather was so dreary in the morning but was quickly clearing up to become a gorgeous day.
Hang gliding was super fun with breathtaking views! You are attached with a guide via something sort of like a straight jacket to the large kite like flying device. We are then attached to an extremely small plane with what looks like a very inadequate rope. The plane pulls up our hang glider and guides us around in the sky before we detach. The views were absolutely incredible!!! The clear water, and beautiful mountains made for an exceptional experience. While detached from the plane, the guide takes some turns and drops which feels like a roller coaster ride. The weird part was, I felt totally secure although we were just flying around attached to something that looked like a big kite!
At the end of the fight, the guide somehow perfectly landed us on the ground with seemingly no bumps at all. I'm so happy we were able to fit in this awesome adventure!
Next I went directly to the Canyon Swing where I met up with a few other friends. This is like a bungy jump except you are attached by your waist in what I consider a much more effective harness. All of us were excited for the jump and talking about how we would go. There are over 70 ways to jump off this ledge-people jump in sports equipment, blind folded, doing flips, sitting in a chair etc (even naked!). One by one before each jump you could tell the demeanor of the jumper drastically changed. Once you entered the area to jump everyone was terrified!! The guys who work the Canyon Swing are notorious for scaring people way more then they already are. For example, they pretended to push me off twice right when I walked into the area for the jump. Also, they will scream "WAITTT" right as you jump. The famous example is a guy who wanted to sit backwards in the chair blindfolded for his jump- the guides kept telling him to sit back in the chair until he just fell into the air. Like anyone needs a little extra to get them scared at a time like this!
Just like most of the scary things I've done in this trip, I was not nervous what so ever before the event. I was, however, absolutely terrified the few moments leading up to the jump. I had planned on diving out so when I went in the platform the guys told me to lean out for a picture. Once I was leaning I thought I was going to loose it. After a few terrifying seconds of the guides pretending to drop me and me begging just to jump already I was finally off. I can't say I remember the free fall but as soon as you fall into the swing I felt much more secure. As you swing around the Canyon, the scene is really pretty, but it's tough to focus when you're shaking! When I was pulled up I told the guys I was still terrified and would not be jumping again (a few brave people take a second jump) and then pretended to drop me again right as I was standing back up in the platform!
Overall it was definitely the most exhilarating part of my trip. It reminded me of cliff jumping in Italy except this jump was over 200m the hope was to NOT hit the water.
After we all went for fish and chips and I had to say my goodbyes :( I was so sad to be leaving Queenstown, my new friends, and my trip overall! I made promises to take a trip to Europe next summer- something that is already in the works in my head. I will have tour guides in London, Ireland, Amsterdam, and Germany!!
In the morning I left very early to make it to Christchurch with enough time to see the city before my flight in the afternoon. Although I was prepped by many other travellers about what the city would be like, it's still shocking to see in person. Two years now after the big earthquake and most of the city us still in shambles. Roads are closed, buildings are destroyed and the whole pace looks nearly abandoned. The devestation was overwhelming to say the least. The rainy weather and early Sunday morning time frame probably didn't help the situation but regardless, it was a very sad site to see.
I made it to my flight hours early and hopped on an earlier flight to Auckland. At least I'm starting out my departure with the correct flight!
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