Anzac Day

Andrea: This morning we woke up a little late and had to rush to meet our bus headed to Shotover Canyon. Fortunately, we made it just in time - the bus was just about to leave! Our first stop was the Shotover Jet. This is a speedboat ride that goes up and down Shotover Canyon, a privately owned canyon and river area in the mountains just outside of Queenstown. The views were amazing (as is the usual around New Zealand). It was still pretty cold though - so I was a little nervous about getting wet. However, they gave us humongous rain jacket/windbreakers and life jackets and told us that the handbars would be heated - so I felt a little better. Once we got into the boat - the hot handbars were a great treat. We sat right behind the driver - I felt a little relieved by the number of older people that were on the boat with us - if the average age is about 60 - it can't be that bad of a ride!!! And it was actually pretty nice - the driver did a bunch of 360 degree turns, but he would warn us a ahead of time. The rest of the drive we weaved in and out of the canyons - the part that scared me the most was the close calls with the rocks jutting out of the canyon walls. Overall though - it wasn't as scary as anticipated - I've definitely been on a boat in Miami with others whose driving was even scarier!! The boat was pretty cool though - although Jose informed me that the GoFast boats in Miami go even faster! I want one!!! This one only cost about $230,000NZ though - pretty cheap!

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Anyways, after the boat ride, my ears were ringing and frozen....and we hopped on the bus to the Canyon Swing. I figured after our three bungy jumps, how could I possibly be scared of a little Canyon swing? When we got down there though and saw all the different jumping styles, my stomach got a little nervous! It was extremely fun though - I decided to jump backwards, as with all the bungys i had gone face first. The two guys running the jump were really funny though - they spend their entire day just freaking people out before they jump! They actually had me going a little bit too. I stood backwards on the platform..waiting for the countdown...but they didn't do one! I kept asking them to count down before I jumped - but they said that was for bungy-losers :) So they finally did a typical New Zealand countdown - Lamb, Mutton, SHEEP!!! And then I jumped backwards! The rush was much better than expected - falling backwards, looking at the platform with the rocks rushing all around you - totally scary! I also did a little flip (not by choice) as I reached the bottom of the swing....after that it was a pretty peaceful ride through the canyon - again SO beautiful!! Jose chose to go backwards too and definitely enjoyed it! If we had more money, I probably would have done some of the other jumps - they have one called Gimp Boy goes to Hollywood where they hang you upside down and then swing you - but this one isn't as difficult, because you don't actually have to jump. We had some crazy Koreans and a crazy German with us - and they had never even bungy'd - they were so scared, it was pretty hilarious to watch.

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Anyways, after our adrenaline rushes for the morning, we headed back to Queenstown to do a little shopping. Although the prices are pretty high here, I managed to find a couple of good deals on summer clothing (we are in fall here now), but I'm trying to save most of my money for China. Also, we learned today is a holiday for the Kiwis - Anzac Day! We think its like their version of Veterans Day - but it seems like eveyone has the day off, which is pretty nice.

We are planning on heading out tonight - Queenstown has a pretty vibrant nightlife, and we've also found a comedian who is in town. Should be a good time. Tomorrow we will head on our way - will update more then!! Good morning everyone!!

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Love,

Andrea & Jose

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