ridiculous amounts of fun in NZ

wow - wow - wow

it has been a while from me and all i can really say is wow. we have done it all here.

these past couple weeks have been absolutely insane. We're currently back in Queenstown and about to head out tonight after a Fergburger (most amazing hamburgers in the world probably). This won't be the longest of posts but I hope to tell you a bit about what we've been up to recently and also let you all know we're still alive.

We are still alive. We may not be clean at all and we may smell like a skunk left on the highway too long... but we are alive. The reason we smell so bad is that we've been hiking and doing insane things and living in a campervan and we've only showered for 4 minutes in the past 2 weeks (or 3 weeks for me and slightly less for Erin). Don't worry, we've been in the water plenty enough so I'm cleanish.

Alright so the activities we did in queenstown that rocked my and our socks completely off.

First - The highlight of our trip thus far undoubtedly - The Shotover Canyon Swing. Look it up on youtube or something because it is truly out of this world. I have never started spontaneously laughing for no particular reason that I can remember until this time. It was the biggest adrenalin rush and following the adrenalin is loads of happiness for whatever reason. Alright, so here's the setup. They take you out in a van and your guide tells you jokes and generally gets you super excited and nervous for what lies ahead. I think we all had some sort of expectation for what was going to happen and as you drive out there your expectation builds and builds. Then you get there and walk out towards the platform thing. They strap a harness thing onto you and tighten everything up... all the while making comments like "well this isn't exactly the perfect fit, but it should maybe work, i think". You know they're joking but at the same time - they never break character so the whole time there is this doubt building in your head. Plus they are all 22 years old or something and joking around with each other the whole time. "You put the right harness on him right? No i think we gave him hers... whatever." Anyway so they build it up and all this. WAIT! stop there.

I gotta describe what the actual 'swing' is all about. Essentially you are connected to a rope that is connected to a point in the center of a 200 meter deep canyon. The rope you are connected to is 120 meters long. When you actually do jump... you freefall for about 3.5 seconds and then the rope "catches" you by accelerating you through a 120 meter arc. You swing for a bit and kind of slow down at the bottom and then they pull you back up. It is so gnarly. It's like bungee jumping but better because you freefall for just as long but instead of the bungees slowing you down the rope accelerates you as you keep flying through the bottom of the arc. Insanity. Oh, and the best part is you can jump/fall/be pushed off any way you want. I chose 'gimp boy goes to hollywood' and backwards while erin opted for the 'pin drop' and 'elvis cutaway' and taylor went for 'pin drop' and 'the chair'. Gimp boy had me rigged upside down over the canyon with my back arched and staring straight down at the ground/rocks/water/death 200m below.

Just before they let me go... the guy said something along the lines of alright we'll give you a countdown. 5... 4... 3 and I was gone. Hurdling face first towards the ground. It was the most amazing rush I've ever felt. And then as soon as the rope caught me and swung me through the bottom, i started laughing hysterically. It is just that much fun. I had to do it again and they screwed with me so much the second time about going backward. They let me almost fall and pulled me back all of the sudden yelling "No Not Yet!" I almost peed myself. Then they tell me to watch out for this one particular cliff edge and as I'm jumping backwards they wince and make faces like I'm going to die. Watching the platform fall away above me was an equally insane, but completely different experience. I loved it. Erin and Taylor will have to tell you about their experiences but suffice to say - they loved it.

That was all before noon on one day! In the afternoon we went river boarding/surfing. It was really sweet too. Rafting down a class 3+ rapid-filled river with a super thick wetsuit and a boogie board and fins. It was hard work getting in all the right places and not drowning and all that, but the guides were really good at what they did. At the end they drag you around on the back of a jetski and theres a rope swing and a huge waterslide. So much fun. I thought i was going to die, however, as I was slowly freezing to death. A warm (free) shower at the end with no soap was all I needed to fix that up.

New Zealand is fun.

Other things we've done are... glacier hiking at the Franz Josef Glacier. It was pretty sweet. Overpriced and a little long by the end, but still an unreal experience hiking all over an active glacier the size of a mountain. Nothing but ice as far as the eye can see... and we did it in t shirts bc it was a hot day out! Be excited for great pics. Also we hiked the Abel Tasman. It was sweet. Erin's toe basically fell off. Well she had a blister so big and then it just peeled off, so it looked like her entire toe fell off. All in all the trip took three days. The first day was gorgeous - amazing weather and a long day's worth of hiking. The second day was pouring rain all day and we were wet and cold. The third was nice again and pretty short, which was a good thing because Erin had to basically gimp it out the rest of the way. All-in-all it was about 25 miles in 3 days (we weren't able to do the whole thing because the water-taxi wouldn't take us up to the end) and a super-duper neat-o experience.

All we eat is baked beans and creamed rice bsacially [flatulence is an all-too frequent event... just ask Erin - she has never been so glad for a stuffed nose in her life]. No - we're doing great here don't you worry.

What else? well i only have 3 minutes... but we've also done a wine tour in the Marlborough Sounds (probably produces the best sav blanc in the world) and other fun things i can't remember right now.

I miss everyone that reads this (and probably some people that don't, but I guess I can't tell them that on here). We're having a blast and miss you lindy! Erin and I are stoked to get to come see you.

- Jesse "incredible land speed" Meredith