Rafting in Queenstown

Queenstown, NZ

Queestown is rightly called “the adrenaline capital of the world”. There is just about every type of activity here involving, air, water, and land in some death-defying combination. They have: 4x4 trips, dirt bike trips, horse treking, fishing, 4 types of bungee (invented here)—inlcuding the largest bungy in the world: something like 500 feet, skydiving, hanggliding, whitewater rafting, zorbing (?), alpine luge, and lots more.

I have just completed an alpine luge, which was a fun little ride on a resin sled with a lever between your legs to control the speed. As with most of these things, I was way too big to be riding it and had a little trouble controlling it (much to the shock and dismay of the Japanese family I almost took out).

Tomorrow I am going whitewater rafting on a level 5 rapids. Cheryl, wisely, is going wine and cheese tasting.

We only have a few more stops in NZ: Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, Hanmer Springs, and then we are back to Christchurch for our flight to Melbourne, Australia.

New Zealand is starting to grow on me. I especially like the West Coast of the South Island. There is a stunning and rugged beauty here. Two days ago we went to Fiordland national park on a cruise next to giant cliffs (up to 1500 vertical feet) that dwarfed the boat and all its inhabitants. The light there was a dusky blue. And yes, lots of Lord of the Rings was filmed there, so you’ve probably seen these mountains too. Queenstown, although a well-oiled machine designed to strip tourists of their money, is set on a deep blue lake with 15,000 foot mountains poking around it on all sides—somewhat similar to Lake Tahoe. I think a few more days here will make me like it even more—just in time to leave!