Q-Town

Hello,

Its seems like so much has happened since Wanaka...probably because a lot has happened. First, there was amazing success with my first hitching experience from Wanaka to Queenstown. I waited at a grassy field with two snowboarders who were looking to go to cardrona. One of them was a girl from seattle who back home made coffee and went snowboarding and in wanaka, she makes coffee and goes snowboarding. For some reason i think that is really cool. We had a good half an hour talking and laughing about everything. Eventually I was picked up by a nice couple that were also going to the ski fields. It was a tough choice riding with them because if i never got a ride, i always had the bus; but if i went to the ski fields i would be committed to hitching the whole way. So i went with them (it was the more adventurous route).

I got dropped off at the road and they continued on to the ski fields. Since finishing school i've got a goal to read one book a month, and even though i'm traveling, the goal still stands. Right now i'm reading a hilarious book by sue townsend called the growing pains of adrian mole. Its supposed to be for kids, so i think it fits me fine. Anyway, i just held up a cardboard sign that said "Q-TOWN" and had my book behind it. It was a nice time standing in the sunlight with fields and mountains all around. About 15-20 pages later a travel van stopped with the raddest couple from scotland: Louise and Ewan. I jumped into the back of their van and headed off for queenstown: listening to great music and talking about the most random things. They even stopped so i could take pictures!
Louise and Ewan and their van. they had no back seats so that they could pass inspection (the seat belts were broken, which equals a no pass. but if there are no seats, its all good). so i just laid in the back, used my bag as a pillow, at stared at the sky.

Ok, so new zealand isn't that big of a place in general. The south island is even smaller (people wise) and most people traveling the south go either down the west or east coast and then up the other side. Queenstown is one of the only cities where nearly everyone spends extended time since there are so many things to do. This turns it into a by chance gathering place for everyone. After checking into my hostel i ran into louise and ewan again so we went to a pub to hang out. After a montieth's and a tui we parted ways, which left me alone for about 5 minutes, until i ran into Pauline and Laura. From there we hung out all night long, running into about 20 or so familiar faces along the way. It really was crazy. Everyone knows everyone else on the travel route.

Jumper junkie: once you jump off one thing, your hooked. Remember how I said Hayley was thinking about doing a bungy jump (but she only wanted to do it with someone)? Well, she arrived in q-town on thursday night. By saturday afternoon she had already jumped 4 times and saved the Nevis for last. Sunday morning i booked the Nevis jump at the same jump time as hayley and at 2:00pm we were heading for the nevis river jump. 134 meters doesn't mean much to me, so i wasn't really thinking that much about it. But when we got there and i saw that 134 meters means 440 feet, it is friggin huge! I guess to put it in building terms, its like jumping off of a 44 level building (well, actually i'm not sure, is a level 10 feet or 12 feet? anyway its a really big fall). You take this little tiny gondola to a big one that is made more of glass than steel. Heaviest jumps first, which put me near the end (stupid metabolism). You get strapped while you sit in a chair that looks more like a dentist chair, and then you baby step to a ledge (since you feet are tied together). They count down from five and then you jump. It was one of the most intense feelings i have felt--way harder than sky diving.

And thats when i became a jumper junkie. Five minutes after the bus dropped us off, i was signing up for a different jump at 7:00 that night with a guy named darryyl from ireland. It was only a 43 meter jump but you could do a forward flip off of it, which of course is what i went for. Still a crazy feeling, but nothing like the Nevis.
the second jump of the day. this one went much too fast.

I've left queenstown now, since it was way too much money, and now i'm relaxing at arrowtown about 20 minutes away.

I hope everyone is doing ok. My mom got a puppy! Its a bosten terrier and currently it is nameless. My vote is on Google, but I think I have been banned from naming animals ever since Wonder Butt. I'm a little bummed because it will be almost a year old before i see it for the first time.

Have a good day.

your friend
chad