Adrenaline Junkie

Hi my name is Caitlin, I am an Adrenaline Junkie, and New Zealand is made for people like me. Although bungee jumping is derived from an ancient tribal ceremony (but then they used long reeds and attached them to their wieners, not their feet!), the way we know bungee jumping today was INVENTED in New Zealand back in the 80's. When I went skydiving in the USA there were two places close by, and by close by I mean about 2 hours away. In New Zealand you never have to drive far to skydive, there is a place to do it in every town. These islands offer white water rafting, jet boating, sledging (going down a river with a little floating device), para sailing, hang gliding, paragliding, zorbing (a huge ball half filled with water that you roll down a hill), helihiking, extreme karts, and soooooo much more AND I'm addicted to all of it. I can finally understand why my cousin Brendan has spent so many years out west mountain biking and snowboarding, fending off "real jobs" - I could make a career out of doing crazy stuff!!
After leaving Makarora we headed briefly to Wanaka, a small town right on the water surrounded by huge snow capped mountains (but that seems to be the way all the towns are here!) On the way from Wanaka to Queenstown we stopped at the first ever created AJ Hackett Bungee Jump at The Kawarau Bridge, 43 meters above a river. I wasn't going to jump because I wanted to spend my money on The Nevis a bungee jump in Queenstown that towers above the rest at 134 Meters, BUT after watching the "get pumped up promotional video" I couldn't say no. So instead of buying just the Nevis I bought The Thrilology (a 3-pack for the Kawarau Bridge, The Nevis and The Nevis Arc Swing) for a mere $450 New Zealand Dollars (about $375 American Dollars.) The wait time was 5 minutes, I got my feet all strapped in and headed out to the ledge. After posing for pictures they said "ok jump", so I did! My swan dive was so far out that I didn't touch the water at the bottom like I was supposed to, and I jumped so quickly that my videographer missed the first part of my jump!! Besides the overwhelming feeling that your eyeballs might pop right out of your head, the feeling is amazing. I jump The Nevis on February 8th - I can't wait!
Even though everyone described Queenstown as a tourist trap, I loved it. First off they have a place called Fergberger, known for the largest and most delicious burgers in New Zealand and I can't vouch for that!! Secondly, they have a beautiful lake surrounded by a running path and rocky beaches, so I got in a long run and a couple of swims. Lastly, they have an amazing night life with tons of bars and people out having fun. I stayed there one full day and then we headed south, took a ferry out into The Milford Sound (which is just plain gorgeous), and then back to our accommodation for the evening, a place called Gunns Camp. The metal huts that make up Gunns Camp were constructed back in the 1930's for the workers building the only tunnel to the sound, and although they have some historical significance, sleeping in them was another story. At first a sight for sore eyes, they turned out to be pretty comfortable (probably because I stole the only double bed in the whole place.) The only thing I could have done without were the millions of sand flies (they look like gnats but BITE) and the power going out at 10:00pm. After our meal of "bangers and mash" (sausage and mashed potatoes), I made our bus driver Metro get us all smores. The most hysterical thing I have seen so far on this trip are a bunch of foreigners trying to make smores and asking us Americans the perfect way to do it. I, of course, have my own style that comes from sheer lack of patience (I let my marshmallow burn, then melt my chocolate with the burning mallow), which most people didn't adopt. Even though we had to make them on biscuits (cookies) instead of graham crackers they were a hit here in New Zealand. Glad to know I can carry the tradition overseas!!