29 June to 4 July – New Zealand

I will start by stating that Christchurch, the city we landed in, was a bit boring.  We stayed at the Jailhouse hostel, ranked as number 2 in Oceania; how it achieved #2 was beyond me.  I suppose I disliked the place because the room that we stayed in (10 person) had a wood floor.  Why would you put a wood floor in a hostel?  I would wake at 5am from the ‘clop clop clop’ sound of shoes as someone traversed across the room.  We weren’t able to find much of anything in Christchurch, espcially a personality/vibe.  Every great city has one–Melbourne has got that international, indie, alternative vibe and Cairns has the touristy, laid-back waterfront feel… but Christchurch is… well its a bit lame.

Thankfully we weren’t staying long  and were quick to leave.  We went off to the Hanmer Springs for a relaxing time in the rock springs.   When it comes to kicking back, not much can top simmering in a steamy 36C rock pool in the crisp mountains of New Zealand.

We were off to Queenstown the next day, spending most of it on the nakedbus (no nakedness involved. Thats good, right?).  Ah, now Queenstown is the place to be.  It is never hard to find something to do, and theres something for everyone.  It is THE hub, the perfect base-camp, for the great outdoors.  The town is right along lake Wakatipu (I believe thats the name) which is bordered by massive mountains with sheering slopes and snow capped mountains.  While Christchurch has, apparently, a multitude of adult stores and a touristy central square, Queenstown is sporting a plethora of stores packed with outdoor gear, places to book skydiving, jet boating, bungee jumping, hiking, and thensome; not to mention raging nightclubs and pubs all over the place!

Lake Wakatipu

Our first big outing was to the Cordrona peak for a day of snowboarding.  The lessons showed us how to go, stop, and turn.. but after the first two hours I was itching to take the matter into my own hands.  I went for a couple practice runs down the baby slope and decided it was time to hit the big (bigger) one.  I went down the slope with a bit of restraint at first, but eventually I cut loose and really started to shred some powder.  Snowboarding is a lot like surfing and skateboarding, minus the steering (which involves more of a subtle lean and twist than a forceful pull or push) and the work effort (no paddling! hell, you get a chair lift to the top of this monstrous 20 minute snow-wave).  Although, I must confess my body was a bit achey the next morning.  This is something I really want to get into in Washington!

The next morning we strapped into jumpsuits and took a 10 minute plane ride to an altitude of 12000ft before jumping face first towards the solid Earth below.  I was brimming with excitement the entire time up.  The free fall was epic; it started with a mixture of bodily confusion (feeling like ‘where am I?’ and ‘I can’t feel anything except the wind and myself, no floor, no handlebar, nada’). I drunk in the awesome New Zealand scenery like a dry sponge in a billabong; the snowy peaks and vast lakes… absolutely stunning.  It seemed like only a few seconds (they say it was actually 45 sec) before my tandem master pulled the shoot and took me for a spin (literally) down to terra firma.  Quite simply one of the best, and the most unique, experiences of my life.

Another skydiver dropping in

Just as exciting, was the famous burger joint, Fergburger–I could have easily eaten here everyday (we did have a good streak going, too).  We were a bit low on funds so we laid low, fasted on PB, Nuttella and banana sandwiches and explored the trails around Queenstown, many had stunning views.  Before we knew it we were back on the bus to Christchurch and on the plane back to Melbourne.