Co-Pilot Has Left The Plane

Well John finally succumbed to the adrenilin come-on posters that cajole you from almost every wall in this town.  You can't even take a pee here without being faced with a dare to "Embrace The Fear at 15000ft"   So this afternoon he lept from a plane at 12,000ft for a tandem skydive with N-Zone.  He's perfectly ok though, I just had a pint of Guinness with him.  Anyway we are in Queenstown and jumping off or from things is what people do here - oh and the sun is shining again today.  It's a perfect setting - on Lake Wakatipu, in the shadow of The Remarkables, and cobalt blue sky - and its reached the dizzy heights of 27C this afternoon.  This is a relief after the rain at Franz Josef and the steely cold evening in Wanaka (which was of course preceded by rain).  The hostel, Bumbles, is excellent and our dorm, like all the others, has lake and mountain views.

Up, Up & Away

I drove to the private airfield to watch John prepare for and undertake the jump.  He came down smiling and with thumbs up. the worst part, he tells me, is having to swing your legs round and under the plane just before you are rocked back and forth and into the void. He was shouting at the guy "jump, jump" - just wanted to be out of there.  I ferried him and fellow jumper, Laura, back to town and later John and I adjourned to the Buffalo Bar where I was summarliy thrashed at pool whilst enjoying 2 for 1 drinks (courtesy of the hostel key fob).

A Hostel With A View

The evening was concluded two doors up the street in Harry's Pool bar. No pool was played here but John perplexed the barmaid by ordering absinthe, insisting on the whole flaming sugar routine.  She was releived by my oder for a whisky and lemonade.  We did of course bump into someone we knew whilst in the street earlier - it was Irish Catherine from the Monteith's brewery tour! Buut no sign of Jeffery -  I guess the other girls must left him somewhere, probably suspended from a bungy rope, clinging onto his basball cap for dear life.  We also learned from Catherine that the Buffalo Bar has a similar deal with nearly every hostel in town, the tarts. And we thought we were getting something exclusive. 

John's Cameraman Back On Terra Firma

Smokey the Cat at The Purple Cow

Wanaka