A title like action man gives indications of grandeur that I don't deserve but it does cover the past couple of days quite well. Yesterday I jumped off a bridge, the day before last I jumped out of a plane and the day before that I hiked up a glacier. James Bond eat your heart out. I did the skydive at Fox glacier. It is in the Southern Alps. When you jump from 12,000ft you are jumping level with Mt Cook (the highest mountain in New Zealand). It is known as the most scenic skydive in New Zealand if not the world. Obviously I didn't enjoy jumping from a plane last time so it may seem strange that I did it again. I bumped into a few of the girls who did the skydive with me at Taupo here in Queenstown and they were surprised that I did it again. I decided to do it again before the fear would stop me doing it again. I wanted to see what everyone else enjoyed and I found terrifying. It also seemed like the place to do a skydive. We were picked up from the hostel at 6am and driven to the airfield. The operation in Fox is on much smaller scale than Taupo. There were a couple of portacabins, 3 tandem instructors and a plane that could only fit 2 jumpers in at a time. However, this meant it was a much more personalised experience than at Taupo. Taupo felt like a conveyor belt in comparison. They go through the jump routine on the ground before boarding the plane and film it all if you have paid for a DVD. I did due to my Aunt giving me the money to cover it. I was pretty nervous on the ground waiting around for my turn. Once I got into the plane I started to get really nervous because I knew what was going to happen next. They let you take your camera in the plane and on the skydive with you, which is very unusual, so I was taking lots of snaps as we flew up into the mountains and over the glacier. It was getting a bit uncomfortable in the plane as we got over the mountains and hit turbulence. My instructor then went over the skydive procedure with me again, "The door is going to open, Anish (mate from the bus) and Mel (the other instructor) are going to perform a magic trick, they are going to disappear. We are then going to slide to the door I will put my foot out and then you will hang your feet over the edge, smile at the camera (there is a wing mounted camera), fold your arms and then we will tumble out of the plane...". At this point I nearly freaked out, I controlled myself by telling myself that I was James Bond. Now it may seem daft but mantras are an improv technique and useful for tricking the mind. I don't know if it is in the skydiving manual but it should be added. Anish and Mel performed the magic trick (has to be seen to be believed) and we slid to the edge. I smiled at the camera and then dropped. I was terrified. They film the dive by having a camera mounted to the instructor's arm, so it means it is with you the whole way. My scream in the fall out of the plane can be heard above the wind noise and my expression is priceless. Unlike the first dive once we stopped rolling and got into the freefall position I relaxed and enjoyed it. I was able to take in what was around me and wave at the camera. The parachute opened, which was again scary and then we started to float around. I thought it was brilliant. It is amazingly peaceful and quiet when the parachute has opened. I got my camera out and took a few photos. While we were floating around rather than leave you in the standing position they get you to lift your legs up and then move the straps around so that you are sitting. For the landing you raise your legs and come sliding in across a field. When we did it the parachute collapsed over us for the perfect ending. A backpacker bus then drove passed honking its horn and I was pretty pleased with myself. My tandem instructor, Greg, was great throughout giving me lots of information about what was going on and what I was looking at (although he did burp in my ear after the parachute opened).
Yesterday I did a bungy jump. I hadn't planned to do a bungy before arriving in New Zealand. While I have been here people have spoken about it and I became curious about it. However, I still didn't fancy it. I had heard too many stories of people putting their backs out, and bursting blood vessels in their eyes. I also thought it would be unlikely that I would enjoy it. Chris' philosophy has been that he wouldn't be let back into England if he didn't do a bungy (I considered this to be rubbish) but by the same token bungy is Queenstown. I also thought if I did it then there would be no way anyone could have any comebacks on me. I was still umming and arring about it on the day the Kiwi bus would be stopping at Kawarau bridge (the first commercial bungy jump). I had a chat with the driver, Buzz (he has done over 30 jumps and he has eaten a few pies in his time), and he said once I arrived I could watch the film see how safe it was and do it. In the meantime he would put my name down for it. We arrived and watched the 'Secrets of Bungy' film. It did not even mention any safety issues. I went outside and watched someone do it and decided I would do it. I paid my money and no safety issues were mentioned. I then had to sign a disclaimer, I read all the terms and conditions and the woman behind the desk commented, "We've got a reader". They weighed me and then said walk up to the bridge. I walked along and chatted to Buzz, who was giving words of encouragement. Chris and a few others from the bus were also there. I then put on the safety harness around the waist and the guy asked if I wanted to be dunked, I said no. I sat on the edge of the platform waiting to go. Dave from the bus was ahead of me. When he got to the edge of the plank he nearly bottled it, he was holding on to the edge and kept grabbing the instructor's hand. I then sat on the platform to be fitted up with the bungy. Now you may expect it to be an extremely technical business attaching an elastic band to your legs. It isn't. They wrap a bath towel around your legs, below your knees. They then put a normal velcro strip around the outside of the towel once. Between you legs they wrap a cord around the towel and velcro which has a bracket on the end to attach to the bungy. No one had given me a safety talk at this stage and my safety harness was loose around my waist. I asked the woman instructor if it needed to be tightened and she said no. She asked me if I wanted to be dunked, I said no, she tried to persuade me otherwise, and I said ok to a hand touch. She said she couldn't guarantee I wouldn't get dunked, I would need to do a big jump out to avoid getting dunked. I asked her about the dunking and she said you need to hit the water with the crown of your head with your arms together and not your face. Buzz had told a story of a friend of his who hit the water with his face and ended up with a couple of black eyes. I sat on the platform for what seemed an eternity. The woman called me up and I shuffled to the edge of the plank. At this point I suddenly realised I was going to jump off a bridge and I didn't want to do it. I again used the James Bond mantra and planned to do a swan dive (aka the Bond dive off the dam, lots of the english boys attempt this). She told me to wave at the camera. On the left is a big viewing platform with lots of tourists and the guys off the Kiwi bus, so I played the crowd a bit and got them to make some noise. She started the countdown "5,4,3,2,1" and I jumped. While she was counting down Chris yelled, "I'll tell your Mum you love her". My jump wasn't as good as Pierce Brosnan's to say the least. The moment you go is terrifying. I as ever yelled Ahhhh loudly. It didn't feel like the bungy slowed me down and before I knew it I had hit the water (I managed to get my upper body dunked) and was flying back up again. The bit in the middle I found really uncomfortable because you don't know where you are, you are bouncing and falling in mid-air. I got on the raft at the bottom and felt pretty shaken up. I had jarred the left side of my body and was a bit wet but apart from that perfectly fine. I am a bit achy though a couple of days later. I am glad I did it and am now on par with everyone else. I am proud of myself for doing it but I can't say I enjoyed it. In the 'Secrets of Bungy' film they say that it is all in the head, it is about forcing yourself to go against your natural instinct.
The day before the skydive we stayed in Franz Josef and did a glacier hike. It was pretty amazing hiking up into the glacier. It felt a completely alien environment. Franz Josef itself is a small place. It is there for the glacier, if you aren't interested in enjoying the scenery or climbing a glacier than don't bother visiting. We stayed at the Rainforest Retreat which was a very good hostel. The kitchen was big and well equipped. There was a big hot tub which came in handy after the hikes and the bar was good.
One of the Kiwi Experience traditions is stopping at Lake Mahinapua at the Mahinapua Hotel for a fancy dress party. The Hotel is in the middle of nowhere. Inside the walls are lined with group photos of past buses and hats of all descriptions hang from the ceiling. The man who runs it is an 81 year old called Les. The theme for our party was bin liners and I decided to go as a sheep. Ben, who won the fancy dress competition, went as a spider (with legs), and Matt (from Maldon) had a wedding dress. It was a really good night. Accommodation wise you stay in portacabins that have a bad smell of damp, but don't let you put that off the party makes it worthwhile. I discovered at the party that a group of girls on the bus had given me the nickname Jarvis (as in Jarvis Cocker) and I am now known generally as Jarv (it hasn't got anything to do with my singing abilities).
The stop before Lake Mahinapua was at Westport. We stayed at Bazils which was a converted home, this meant the dorms were really small and the kitchen facilities were excellent. Westport was a small place but with a nice character. I wandered down to the mouth of the Buller River and had an amazing view down the beach with mountains in the distance. In the afternoon I went jet boating on the Buller River. It was great fun. The boat glides over the water with two chevy's under the bonnet. We went up the river one way at 40mph with a few turns and rock passes. On the way back we went at full speed 65mph doing spins and high speed turns. If you don't want to get soaked, don't sit in the back corner where I was.
The first stop on the south island was Nelson. Nelson is the sunniest place in New Zealand and it showed. It was really pretty and the town had a lot of character. I climbed to the top of a hill to stand on the centre of New Zealand and get some great views. We stayed at the Prince Albert, which is a posh pub with a hostel attached. The rooms were nice and the bathrooms were excellent, though the kitchen was a bit small.
The trip down from Wellington has been brilliant. The driver, Buzz, has been very informative and helpful. I have got on well with the people on the bus and had a good time in all the places we have stopped. I have also done some superb activities.
