B's Big Brave Bungy

Another early start this morning, getting up, ready and packed once more. We hopped on the bus and began our journey – the final leg of the tour, to Queenstown, where people would be going their separate ways, so it marked what was going to be another sad point at which I knew I was soon going to have to say goodbye to those who I had become quite close to over the last few days. It’s odd, because although you only travel with people for a relatively short time, it is such an intense experience that it feels like you have known one another for so much longer.

The drive to Queenstown was again picturesque, as we continued through the Mount Aspiring National Park. We passed the seashore and admired the stacked stones on the beach – apparently it is a tradition to stack stones on the roadside, signifying good luck for travellers and so now there are piles of stones as far as the eye can see, some decorated with messages and pictures. It actually looked quite beautiful.

A little way inland we came to Lake Hawea which was a pretty big lake (35km long and over 400m deep!), but it was a bit overcast, so not particularly interesting to look at. Next we came to Lake Wanaka (45km long and over 300m deep) and again, it was a little overcast so the views of the mountains were not so clear, despite my increasing jadedness towards water-related scenery, I could appreciate how stunning the view would be if the weather was better. As we drove around it, I witnessed my first cow-related road block! This made the lake far more entertaining, as the bus was surrounded by cows, all walking along to wherever they were heading, being herded by some sheep dogs. We just had to wait as there were just so many of them and apparently lots of them were pregnant, which meant they could not and should not move too quickly.

Eventually, once we’d broken through the cow barrier, we made it to the Skydiving centre, where we dropped off those who would be leaping from a plane, then we delivered some other people who wanted to go to Puzzleworld. The remainder of us went to the town of Wanaka – a popular holiday destination due to the beauty of the surroundings. Rebecca and I had a quick wander around the shops and then bought coffee and a cake, which we enjoyed whilst sitting next to the lake and having a really nice girlie chat in the sun! After we had finished our coffees, we walked along by the water’s edge and came across some unusual sculptures. We decided that Wanaka was actually the most interesting place we’d been to in a while – I think that this might have been because it was the first place with some form of civilisation!

Back on the bus, we collected the Puzzleworld people then went back to the Skydive centre, just in time to see Ian jumping out of the plane! We watched him freefall and then float down with the canopy of the parachute – it looked really cool from directly below and Ian was awestruck when he landed. When he and the others were ready, we continued on our way.

The next stop was at a big fruit shop, where we hopped off for a stretch of the legs and a wander around the shop. It sold all sorts of fruit and veg, as well as honey and ice cream. Most people bought some ice cream but I knew that it was probably best I didn’t. I headed back to the bus with Rebecca whilst the others made their purchases and found Daisy waiting there with his ice cream. I asked if I could sit in the driver’s seat and he said I could. WOW! It was so exciting, so different from being sat behind the wheel of my Smart car. I felt overwhelmed with size and power. The bus has not always been a bus, it is a converted lorry, so it was like sitting in the cab of a massive truck, with a huge steering wheel and big pedals. Daisy and Rebecca laughed at how excited I was. I then pushed a little further and asked if I could start the engine; bemused, Daisy agreed. WOW! The sound of the massive engine firing up was awesome; it sounded monstrous. I pressed the clutch pedal and it went ‘tschhhhhh’ in an oh-so-satisfying way, the brake pedal made the same sound and then I pushed on the accelerator and the engine revved. It was great! By now, people were getting back on the bus and some were looking at me slightly dubiously, others were whooping and telling me to drive! I think this episode may have helped fuel certain people’s belief that I worked for Stray, so that was funny too. As much as every bone in my body was telling me to take the hand brake off and pull the bus forward just a few feet, I knew I shouldn’t for many reasons, so managed to resist and reluctantly climbed back out and into my usual seat next to Rebecca.

As we continued our drive, I tried to keep from my mind our next destination – the Kawarau Suspension Bridge. The reason for my uncertainty was because the Kawarau Suspension Bridge is famous for one thing – being the home of AJ Hackett Bungy; the world’s first commercial bungy operation. I was going to be participating in another iconic, Kiwi, death-defying activity and I was not at all convinced it was a good idea!

By the time we arrived at the bridge, I was shaking like a leaf. We were taken into a cinema where they showed us a short film about the history of AJ Hackett Bungy; how two Kiwi guys were inspired by the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club and a ritual of people in Vanuatu which involved jumping from heights whilst attached to some form of cord. These guys then experimented and developed their own attachment system and set about jumping off all sorts of different things in all sorts of different places around the world, including the illegal scaling of and jumping from the Eiffel Tower which led to AJ’s arrest. In 1988 they got permission to use the Kawarau Suspension Bridge, originally built in the 1880s but fallen into disrepair, as a commercial bungy jumping operation – from a height of 43m. The people of Queenstown initially thought that the idea was ridiculous and would not take off, but they were wrong in a big way. Since the inception of AJ Hackett Bungy at the suspension bridge, they now have other set ups from which to jump. The film was really interesting but only served to remind me as to what I was about to do. My anxiety was justified thus; although my skydive was from a significantly higher point, I had not made the decision to jump out of the plane; I was merely attached to someone else who took that decision, so I was actually thrown out of the plane, with bungy I would have to make that decision myself and go against the natural instinct of not throwing yourself from tall things. I was going to have to break my mum’s mantra of ‘Don’t Go Near The Edge’ once more. This scared me a lot.

By the time we had watched the film and had our induction talk, the Bungy Operators had gone on their break, which meant I had to wait until they came back. I went and had a quick look at the bridge and the drop; not a good idea. Nicole decided to do the bungy too and so we both were really nervous; Rebecca and Sarah were really sweet and tried to calm me down. The tension continued to rise and I floated about feeling more and more shaky but resigned to myself to the fact that I was going to do it. Mind over matter.

It was time. I made my way with much trepidation over to bridge with Nicole and somehow managed to get pushed to the front. It is at this point that the whole experience becomes a bit of a blur, like a hazy dream. There were two Bungy Operators there and I recall them asking me if I wanted to be dipped into the water, but I have no idea what I said in response. All I do remember is climbing under some scaffold pipes and being told to sit on the floor. In front of me on the floor was a folded up blue towel, one of the guys then started wrapping the towel around my legs. I remember saying “That’s a towel?” and the guy agreed that it was; this alarmed me – I had a towel wrapped around my legs; it did not feel particularly scientific. I questioned the towel issue again and the guy told me it was a ‘special towel’. I was not convinced. He then started wrapping a bungy cord around the towel and between my ankles. I just kept looking at the entanglement of elastic and towel and contemplating whether it was what I was expecting; it was not.

The guy helped me stand up and because my legs were now tied together with a towel and some elastic, he helped me to shuffle forwards, like I was a penguin walking a plank on a pirate ship. At this point, I could see down. Down was a long way. At the bottom of down was the water. I then became aware of noise; lots of noise. I looked left and saw faces; lots of faces. It seemed that because these guys had been on a break when we’d arrived, it had meant that the numbers of spectators, who had stopped at the centre to watch some stupid people jump off a bridge, had been given the opportunity to build up. So now I realised people were watching. No pressure then. I could make out a few of the faces – people from the bus and could hear people calling my name. I could see lots of faces I did not know, including lots of tourists of an Oriental persuasion; all with cameras poised. OMActualG.

I refocused and the guy was saying to look at the camera, I vaguely looked in the direction he had pointed towards. He was then saying something which I took to be some form of instructions, but I was not focussing enough to actually take it in. I felt like I didn’t know what was happening and so tried to ask what I was supposed to do, but only confused myself and him further, by asking “Which way do I fall?”, when what I was really trying to ask was what direction I should jump, but whatever his answer was, I didn’t hear it. Next thing I knew he was counting down “3, 2, 1..” and I did not move, instead looking back over my shoulder. I knew that I was going to jump, but I needed it to be on my terms, so I tried to tell him that I was not going to be able to do this on his count; he told me I needed to. I had my hand behind my back, holding onto the guy; he shook me off and tried counting down again, but again I ignored his numbers; they were insignificant to me, and reached behind me again. Once more he slid my hand off and got me to put my arms out in front of me; this time I knew I needed to jump, so counted in my head at the same time as him, that way it felt like it was on my count and on my terms.

When it came to the point of jumping, I recall a sensation of “I’m jumping and it’s too late to do anything about it” and hearing lots of cheering. The fall itself was quick and the jerk back up from the rope was unexpected and like a signal to me that it was over. The subsequent bouncing up and down made me feel like a rag doll being thrown around, so I just let me body go limp and be flung about, feeling almost relaxed. I felt the towel slip a bit which scared me, but I figured I couldn’t be too high now, so it didn’t matter. The spinning left me feeling quite dizzy and when I heard voices calling to me, I snapped out of my daze and tried to see where they were coming from; I couldn’t. They were telling me to ‘grab the pole’, but I could see no pole. Eventually I spun around and caught sight, upside down of a boat and a long piece of plastic, so tried to grab it, but was feeling rather disorientated. After what felt like exerting exorbitant amounts of energy, my hands caught hold of the pole and I could feel myself being reeled in like a fish. I couldn’t feel my legs and I remember telling these upside down people that, so they lowered me into the boat and I subsequently flopped on the floor of the boat, giving a vague wave to the people above, so they knew I was alive, whilst an English voice spoke to me and fiddled with the not-so-technical get-up entwining my legs, loosening it. Then I managed to come to enough to slide up and into a sitting position whilst they brought the boat to the water’s edge, summoning up some energy to clamber out and onto the land, still with legs like jelly.

Suddenly the adrenaline rush hit me like a big wet fish in the face and I felt elated, especially looking up at the bridge from below, where I could see Nicole standing on the edge. I whooped and cheered for her as she took the plunge and watched as she disappeared up to her middle in the water, then emerged soaked and laughing! When she had been hauled in and had gotten out of the boat we were both beside ourselves with excitement and she was freezing as she was soaked! It occurred to me that I hadn’t gotten wet and I thought back to when they had asked me about it on the bridge – I think they must have taken my non-specific answer and obvious anxiety over the whole experience as a good indicator that perhaps dunking me in the water might have been one step too far, a decision that I am indebted to them for.

We bounded up the stairs and met Jimmy who gave Nic a huge hug and then took off his jumper so she could try and warm up. A family of people watching rushed over and congratulated me, as did several other people I didn’t know, then I came to the rest of the bus gang who gave Nicole and I a big cheer! I felt as high as a kite on the adrenaline! Rebecca and Sarah rushed over and were telling me how cool it looked and I became even more aware of just how many random people had been watching, as I continued to get lots of ‘thumbs up’ from passers-by!

I was ushered into the centre where I was shown the film of the jump and amazed myself watching it back! The sensation felt like an age but on video it looked so fast. After that, I floated around the centre, talking to people from the bus and trying to ‘come down’ from the excitement, but it was hard – I was pretty wired! We watched some more people jumping and then Matt decided at the last minute that he wanted to do it too, so we had to wait whilst he got sorted out. Daisy wanted to get moving, so gave me the bus key and asked Rebecca and I to go ahead, ushering some people as we went, and open the bus. We did just that.

Once back in the car park, we located the bus and I revelled in unlocking the main door and allowing Camilla and Philip in, then I went round to the driver’s door and climbed up the little steps and into the driver’s seat, opening the front passenger door and letting Rebecca up into the seat next to me. It felt awesome. I then decided that it looked like we had some time on our hands as there was no one yet coming over, so I started the engine (again, another really satisfying roar of machinery) and gave a confident little wave to the man who was standing in front of the bus we were parked next to – I figured that the best thing to do was seem confident and that way no one would question whether or not I was supposed to be doing what I was doing! I then sorted out the music, put my playlist from Daisy’s ipod on and put the volume up real loud and we had a bit of a party on the bus, singing along! Something caught my eye – the microphone. Ooooh! I grabbed the microphone and took on my Stray driver ‘Panther’ persona, giving my passengers the spiel that I have been using many a time during this whole trip, it goes a little something like this; “Over there to the right, you can see a formation of rocks and trees, these were featured in LOTR. Over there to the left, you can see some trees which also featured in LOTR. You see that thing there? That was in LOTR. And so was, this, that, that over there, that and that”. Camilla and Phillip thought this was hilarious, so I continued my commentary, pointing at lots of other random things and claiming they were in LOTR. Thinking back on it, I guess the adrenaline rush must have made me go a bit peculiar! I also continued making the pedals go ‘tschhhhhh’ and revving the engine – oh the power; it felt good!

Gradually people started wandering back to the bus, so I enjoyed pressing the ‘door open’ and ‘door closed’ buttons, again these created ‘tschhhhhh’ noises with the hydraulics on the door, which was very gratifying indeed. We laughed so hard and as more people re-embarked, they too joined the bus party! Eventually Daisy came into view, walking across the car park, shaking his head and laughing as he saw what was going on. He got on the board through the passenger door, sat down in what had been my seat and told me to go ahead and drive as he could do with a break! As incredibly tempting as that offer was, I decided I had better not, as there were lots of cars and buses in the carpark which could potentially be crashed into, so I grudgingly climbed back out of his seat and rejoined the bus throng. I decided there and then that I have a new mission in life – I need to drive a big lorry or bus at least once, even if only for a few feet – as long as it goes ‘tschhhhhh’ I will be happy!

Our final drive into Queenstown was very short and along the way, Daisy made an announcement over the microphone about Queenstown’s only skyscraper, which would be coming into view around a corner – I cheered – but sadly around the corner there was nothing but a big hole in the ground. Apparently someone had intended on building a big (well big for NZ standards) skyscraper but had run out of money whilst still in the process of digging out the foundations, so there it remained as just a big hole in the ground. Daisy found my disappointment hilarious – for the past few days I have been going on and on about being slightly sick of beautiful views and water-related scenery and instead needing to see a tall building, so he had enjoyed playing with my emotions for a couple of minutes!

Thankfully though, it turned out that Queenstown was actually quite a civilised place and whilst they did not have any skyscrapers, they did have buildings with more than one storey, so that was something. Daisy gave us a quick tour of the town in the bus, so we could see where everything was and then we were dropped off at the hostel. We all checked in and Rebecca and I found our room; it turned out that we were sharing with TJ, the German guy (no one knew his name), the Frenchies (two French women whose names we also did not know) and two randoms who were already there (from the Kiwi Experience bus – boo!). Rebecca, Sarah and I went for a quick wander into town, where the girls booked to go horse riding tomorrow, then we went back to the hostel and chatted in our room.

Before disembarking the bus, we’d formulated a bus gang plan for the evening, as this would be our final night together (well, some people would be around tomorrow, but this was deemed the end of the tour), so Rebecca, TJ and I sat around in our room chatting and getting ready, with a couple of beers. Kev came along and joined us then Rebecca and I headed off to the Thirsty Ram where we’d meet the others from the bus gang – leaving TJ and Kev to follow on later.

We started the evening with a couple of drinks and then we were joined by some more of the bus gang. Everyone was in the party spirit and we ordered some pizza for dinner and it was delicious. A few drinks later and people decided to move to the World Bar so gradually people started dispersing. Daisy convinced Rebecca and I that the World Bar would not be in full swing yet, so we stopped off on the way at Buffalo. Rebecca and I loved it in there as they were playing some really good music and they had a big open fire, but not like a fire in a fire place; it was raised up to table level and was nice and warm (it was freezing outside and I was still disobediently not wearing a coat or clothing appropriate for such a cold climate!).

After a couple of drinks in there, we headed to World Bar, where we saw the famous teapots all hanging up. This particular bar is known for serving cocktails in teapots. We loved the idea as it seemed very British, so Rebecca and I shared a pot of Long Island Iced Tea; it was rather funny pouring it out! We found the rest of the gang and settled down, laughing, drinking and reminiscing! The music in the bar was horrific – impossible to dance to and ridiculously loud, Rebecca had mentioned to the others that we’d been to Buffalo and so the general consensus became that we should make our way there instead. This turned out to be a really good idea, as there was a far better party atmosphere in Buffalo and everyone was able to sing and dance along to the cheesy music they were playing.

Before we knew it, the bar was closing and it was 3am. Some of the group were a bit worse for wear, so Rebecca and I put on our Scouting/teacher hats and shepherded people out and down the road. As we suspected, everyone wanted food so we went to the iconic Fergburger, where the gang all ordered burgers. Rebecca and I decided that we weren’t hungry and would not eat a giant burger for the sake of it, but that instead we’d have Fergburger for dinner tomorrow. Once everyone had eaten, we continued our herding and ushered everyone back to the hostel; everyone made it back ok, then Rebecca, Sarah, Daisy and I decided that we’d go for one last drink at a little bar we’d passed on the way back, it was a really cute place, very chic and there was only the four of us and the barman there, so I think he was pleased to have some customers!. We celebrated the end of an amazingly fun tour and very entertaining night out with a delicious drink called a ‘Money Shot’ – tasting just like banoffee pie in drink form – we had a few as it was so good, then headed back to the hostel and hitting the hay!