The THRILLOGY!

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  Queenstown, New Zealand
Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Andrea: So today we completed the THRILLOGY....the three coolest bungy jumps in New Zealand. Yes, I did say THREE bungy jumps! The Thrillogy was a package deal - and somehow Jose convinced me it was cheaper to do three! It was well worth it in the end though. We started out getting picked up by the bus at 9am to drive to the Kawarau Bridge. This is where A.J. Hackett first created the bungy jump - it is the Birthplace of all bungy jumping as we know it (or so they told us). Jose was super excited for this one, as it was the only jump where you could touch the water. As soon as we got to the Bridge and made our way through the welcome building (their tourism spots around here are well equipped - cafes, shops, etc. - kind of feels like Disney World everywhere you go!), Jose sent me up to jump while he went to take pictures. It all happened so quickly - I was weighed, walked up to the bridge, the girl tied a towel and some ropes around my legs...and BAM - all of a sudden I was at the edge of the plank!

01 - Mountains outside of Queenstown

! I didn't even get to see anyone go - or see how we got down, which was mildly concerning. Anyway, it being 9am - I just went for it. I tried to jump high - but it turned into more of a bunny hop - and I was too frightened to scream! It was AMAZING! The water below was the most beautiful shade of emerald green and was perfectly clear. The freefall to the bottom was quick (this is definitely not the highest bungy), but definitely gave me a good head rush. After a few bounces, I started getting a little nervous - as the towel around my legs felt a little shaky. Lucky for me, the raft below soon appeared, and they tossed me a big pole to grab onto as they lowered me headfirst into the raft. My legs were shaking like crazy as I tried to remove the harness, but I felt pretty good. After about a million stairs, Jose tossed me the camera and got up to the bridge. All he had talked about for the last few days was touching the water - he was SOO excited! I prepared the camera and waited for him to jump - although in true Jose fashion, he took FOREVER to get to the edge, as he seemed to be talking to everyone!! 5,4,3,2,1 - and he did the biggest, most impressive swan dive off the plank. I waited in anticipation to see how much they would dunk him in the water...unfortunately - the bungy guys missed! Jose totally missed the water! As he began to climb back up, I could see the disappointment in his face....we talked with the coordinators a bit, and they explained that because it was so early in the morning (the ropes weren't fully stretched) and because Jose jumped SO far out...they couldn't guarantee the water

02

. Of course - Jose had to go again - once he gets his mind set on something, there is no talking him out of it. So back I went to the viewing station - and they moved Jose to the front, as our bus was about to arrive. This time, his jump was still quite impressive - but they got him wet up to his elbows...just as requested. Mind you, it was probably about 55 degrees outside - that water must have been freezing!!! Anyway, Jose returned to the top with a BIG smile this time - we grabbed our T-shirts and certificates and went to wait for the bus to the next bungy.

While we were waiting, we were talking with some people our age. One of them had his nose all cut up and stitches - so of course we asked - only to learn that they had been on a Kiwi bus (a backpacker/tourist bus system all throughout New Zealand) which had gone over the edge of one of the roads near the Franz Joseph Glacier (where we had just left)! Apparently it was a pretty big deal - luckily, the bus didn't flip over, and most of the injuries were minor. Boy am I glad we went with the campervan - Jose may drive a little fast, but I trust him more than some bus driver! At least Jose listens!!!

Anyway, we hopped on the bus with these tourbus survivors and made our way to the NEVIS....the Nevis is the second highest bungy jump in the world

03 - Marked up and ready for the Thrillogy!!

. I think technically it is called the Nevis Highwire - as the place where you jump from is this tiny little station hung on high wires between two mountains. It is about 130 meters high - a shorter distance than our SkyTower jump - but with more of a freefall to it. The road up to the jump is kind of hidden - I think to keep troublemakers and non-jumping tourists away. The road was quite scary - it kept going up, and up, and up - our tourbus survivors were definitely a little nervous! Anyways, we made it and immediately got suited up in our harnesses - they move quick around here! They wouldn't let me go first on this one - as apparently they go by weight (heaviest to lightest). So after all that good Argentinian steak - Jose was the first to jump!! They shuttled him and a few others over to the station and almost immediately it seemed Jose was out the door! I didn't even have the camera ready yet! (oops!!) This fall looked super scary - you are basically diving into this huge canyon - the river below looks absolutely tiny! After a couple of other jumpers, they shuttled the rest of us (mostly girls, as we were the lightest) over. The station was a little scary - it was definitely rocking back and forth in the breeze, and I was not comforted to see some shady looking plywood holding up the floor! Looking back though - it was not too bad - I was just scared!!

Anyways, once we got in the station, they sat us up on a ledge and put ankle straps on each leg

04 - Kawarau Bridge, the Birthplace of Bungy

. Then we had to sit as each person jumped. The station also had glass planks in some of the floorboards - and watching each person just made me more and more nervous! It looked SO far down!!! So after watching about 15 people jump and come back it was finally my turn (second to last......). I was EXTREMELY nervous - but I felt a little better because they actually had real harnesses at this jump - no more towel around my legs like at the bridge!!! I did get pretty nervous once they explained that after the second or third bounce, I would have to reach up and pull out on a strap on my ankle - that would release my legs and allow me to sit upright while they pulled me in. I had already watched one kid that couldn't get the strap and had to be pulled in upside down - this did not look like fun, so I focused much of my energy on that silly strap. After sitting in a quasi-dentist's chair while the guy finished hooking up my leg ropes and Jose snapping a million pictures of my nervousness...I was ready to go. I waddled on up to the plank, and did exactly what you aren't supposed to do....look down!! The river looked so tiny - my heart was racing!!! However - I thought to myself that I've already seen so many people survive this...what could go wrong, really? So I took a deep breath as the guy counted down, and after "1!" paused for a second and really attempted to jump! It was incredible!! I really focused hard to keep my eyes open - all I could see was the mountain rushing down and the river rushing closer...then BAM - the rope jerked me and I was upside down - stomach in my mouth!

05

! the second drop was just as incredible - I think I bounced pretty high! After the second/third bounce (it all happened so fast!) - i reached up to grab the cord to sit up - it was pretty tricky, but after three tries and getting my other hand up there, i managed to pull it. Once upright, I was shaking - happy, but my heart was racing!!! What a rush!!! As I slowly made my way back up to the station - I was pretty thankful for finding such a wonderful guy who can talk me into doing all this crazy stuff!!! If it were just me, I would have done the first bungy and called it a day - but the NEVIS was absolutely incredible!!! Once we got back over to the bus stop (after a long and shaky high wire ride back), Jose discovered that the HIGHEST bungy in the world is located just outside of Hong Kong......guess where we'll be in a few weeks!!!

So, all drugged up on our adrenaline highs, we hopped in the bus and headed back into town. We had a short break before "The Ledge" - the last bungy of the day. Lucky for me - there was a cute little Indian restaurant in town! MMMm and it was delicious!! So, after a ton of Indian food, we walked over to the Gondola ride to get to the top of the Ledge. The Ledge is a short bungy, about 40 meters, but it is located right in Queenstown (as opposed to the other two which are in the middle of nature). Everyone we talked to said the Ledge was amazing - since you do a run off the plank - and you can even do flips, jump backwards, etc. Unfortunately for us, as soon as we headed to the Gondola up, it started to rain. I was a little worried that they might cancel our jump - but I must have forgotten that this is New Zealand! They are all nuts around here - they wouldn't cancel jumps even if a hurricane was coming through!

Anyways, after a gorgeous gondola ride to the top (Queenstown is INCREDIBLY beautiful!) we made our way through the rain to the bungy Ledge

06

. We ran into our tourbus victim friends again - and they both said that the Ledge was awesome. I had a hard time believing them - how in the world could this little jump outdo the NEVIS? I was way off! Once harnessed up, the guy explained that not only did i have to run off the plank into the rain to the trees and mountains overlooking the city below....but I also (after a few bounces) had to un-clip and clip a rope into my harness to get back up..... I asked what happens if I can't clip it (remember our friends at the Nevis)...and the guy just laughed and said I would be there for quite a while then!! No pressure!!! Looking out over the Ledge was pretty freaky - all you can see is the City and Trees - but I took a deep breath, got a good running start, and Jumped!! It was the CRAZIEST freefall sensation yet! Even the bounces made my stomach turn - i felt like I was floating, weightless, and also about ready to crash into the mountain at any minute - definitely a great rush - although I'm still not sure if it could have topped the Nevis! The first meter down was amazing though!!! Anyways, I successfully unclipped and clipped (Whew!) and they began to raise me back up. My heart has not stopped racing - three bungys in one day is INSANE - but where else would we do all of this! Jose did an amazing running jump off the plank as well - I think he enjoyed it - but still thought the Nevis was the king of bungy, and I think I agree!

Anyways - after all of our adrenaline rushes - we decided to stop at the local Rotary meeting.....which is held at the restaurant of a Casino! But I'll let Jose fill you all in on that part of the night. To sum it all up - we survived the bungies! You can stop worrying now Mom!!! All three were absolutely amazing - we got a few on video and some amazing pictures - check out the pics and we'll work on getting the videos uploaded! Love you and miss you all!!!

Love,

Andrea & Jose

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

07 - Andrea before Kawarau	08 - Andrea during the Kawarau jump	09	10 - Jose...AFTER Kawarau
11	12	13 - Home Base for the Nevis	14 - the NEVIS
15 - Before the NEVIS	16 - Jose at the Nevis!	17	18
19	20	21 - Andrea preparing for the Nevis	22
23 - Five, Four, Three, Two, One......	24 - JUMP!	25	26 - View from the Glass Floor Planks
27	28 - we survived the NEVIS!!	29 - the ride over	30 - Queenstown from above
31	32	33 - Jumping Platform...the LEDGE	34
35	36	37	38 - Andrea preparing to jump
39	40 - Jose..In Progress!	41	42 - Munchkin Rugby Players in Action....

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