Queenstown is the adrenaline capital of the world, with Bungys to Skydives, to Canyon swinging, to white water, you can do it all. We wanted to go rafting but due to the lack of rain in February it would have been more of a gentle float down the river.
So instead we set off to find something not quite as scary as attaching a rubber band to our feet but more thrilling than the local swimming pool (granted after swimming there, there is a good chance of getting some kind of infection). We set off from our ‘Top 10′ to go catch the Sky Gondala to the top of the mountain, to get a look down on the town.
Up there we found ‘The Luge’… basically, you sit on a tray with handle bars and skid down the track carved into the mountain, just one little curb between your tray and the 500 metre drop into the town, who needs bungy jumps?
We bought our tickets for 3 rides each and set off on the ski lift, helmets on, to the top. First ride down we knew 3 wasn’t enough as we skidded, squealed, bounced into the air, shot through tunnels and swerved, desperately trying to get the hang of the breaks.
Once our goes were over we left the mountain unscathed, wanting more. So… the next day with our campsite neighbours in tow, we went back for more, buying the maximum 5 go ticket before even getting up there.
I didn’t leave unscathed this time, getting a little over excited on the final turns i came off head over heels ripping the skin off my wrist and knee… for photos go to the usual place.
Other places about here to note are Puzzle World in Wanaka! (cheers James) which was brilliant!
Having little sleep that night, like a kid on christmas eve. I woke up many times asking Becky ‘Is it time to go yet?’
We made our way to the meeting point in town to get kitted up with gortex jackets, boots, hats and gloves, and crampons, and catch the bus up to the terminal of the glacier, actually although it looked like we’d been dropped off right there, it took us another hour to walk to the head, once there, we donned on our crampons and listened carefully to what our guide, Sam, had to say.
The ice glacier moves, at the terminal (where it stops) about a metre a day, even faster further up where the valley closes in. Everyday new streams and holes appear, so the guides never have a clear idea of the route for the day.
As we climbed up on the ice we started to get our footing and felt (at least i did) surprisingly stable. We spent the next few hours wandring about the natural icy maze, stopping every now and again for Sam to wander up a little gully before turning back, annoucing ‘This way guys’ and walking in the other direction. Or cutting steps into the ice for us to climb, keen for someone else to want to try so he would get a rest.
We finally, after what seemed like hours of going up and down, sat down for lunch, on our rucksacks so we didn’t get numb bums, and ate our ‘one square meal’ (if you ever see them, dont try them) before turning up twards a large crevasse and finally trying to make our way back down the way we came up, some of the steps cut into the ice already gone!
Again, as with lots of our trips, i’m not going to try to describe how amazing it was, so look at the photos!
We’re off to Wanaka now to go find a river to raft down!
Thats 365 (ish) nights of use! Bought in 2000. Its first birthday was spent on a beach during a kayaking tour of Abel Tasman National Park.
Its been up mountains, sat on wind blown scenery, dug in on beaches during wintry offshore winds, crammed with too many people during near death experiences (thats 5! you try it), and just had a fab time during the calm of family camp sites.
Its been sewn, patched, resealed, re-elasticized, cleaned by many immigration departments, poles broken and fixed. But other than maintenance due to excessive use (and Becky)… still going strong.
So thank you Terra Nova for sheltering us from the elements, here is to another year!
