1/28/02 Queenstown to FraNZ Josef Glacier (Kelly)
Happy Birthday to Phillip..boy did we celebrate! Well if you call celebrating by throwing ourselves off a bridge 71m (229 ft) high with nothing but rapant rapids below and a rubber band attached to your ankels...the infamous bungy jump!
It's funny because we had arraanged an order prior to getting to the site...Idon't exactely remember the order but I do know that I did not want to be FIRST or LAST so I chose 3rd. Robert absolutely did not want to be 1st. Both of us were about to crap our pants...we were definitley the most nervous of the group. So we get up to the bridge at Skipper's Canyon after another hour ride around on the narrow road we took yesterday rafting. The guide guy gives Rob ankle harnesses and said "your first mate!" Rob looked like a ghost. Talk about thinking the poor guy was going to throw up, wow! So it winds up being heaviest to lightest...yup, I'm last. I think this was the worst place to be because the anticipation was absolute torture. I had to wait for 6 pople to jump before I got to go.
So it finally as my turn. "OH SHIT," was my only response when the guy asked me are you ready. I crawled between the poles of the bridge onto the bungy platform, harness on. He made me sit down so he could attach the bungy cord and explain to me where to hook the cord to pull me up once I was dangeling in mid air. My heart was going 90 miles an hour. So here it was...I stood up, clinching the pole next to me. The guy drops the bungy down so that I had to put my feet at the end. I couldn't look down. I just starred at the trees. "3,2,1!" I heard the guy say to me. The next thing I knew I was in mid air with nothing below but water, screaming my head off, just waiting for the bungy to snap/pull me back up. Once it did this I bounced, but let me tell you, it definitely was not little. I got to do it all over again, only this time it was probably only 90 ft. This was the second scream. I fumbled around for the cord I was suppose to pull and clip on but it took me a second to find it. You have to remember I was hanging upside down by my feet. Finally I got my equipement right and I was sitting up in my harness. It was beautiful scenery if only I could have taken it in...at this point I was just trying to retreive a normal breathing patter. The guy reeled me in...Thank God it was over! Once I was on stable ground, I had to say, it was cool--definitely exhilerating, glad I did it...but I swear I am never dioing that again, EVER!!
Later on in the afternoon we packed up the car once more and headed for FraNZ Josef Glacier. This tommorow's activity. Jayne and Robert bought Phillip's ticket for the half day tour for his birthday.