Day 25 - Call me "dude" and I may have to kill you

Queenstown - Twizel

AJ Hackett invented bungy jumping outside Queenstown. It is a base for skiing, parasailing, speedboating, river rafting, white water speedboats. The town is surrounded by huge mountains, full of people walking up them with every intention of throwing themselves off the edges.

Odd that with such an excess of thrill-seeking that Caroline and I loved the place and didn't want to leave. On our tour of the South Island we have found many places that we wish we could have spent more time in but for me Queenstown was the first place that I wanted to stay for a lot longer.

First job of the day was to head up the Skyline Gondola. This is a 750m cable car that makes a pretty steep ascent up the side of one of the mountains overlooking the town. We had seen the top station, comprising restaurants and such like on our way in the night before. The utter lack of any light between it and the town at the bottom gave the top of the Skyline a curious feel, like it was simply suspended in midair.

If you get the chance, ride the Skyline Gondola to the top. The views are spectacular and that is before you get to the activities available. Queenstown is quite compact below you, but the view of the bay and Lake Wakitipu is unforgettable.

One of the activities is the Skyline Luge. You sit on a plastic tray and gravity takes you down a concrete track. Pull forward on the handlebars to release the brake, push forward to put it on. Harder than it looks and quite exhilarating, especially the Advanced track, which has some seriously cunning dips to increase the speed.

Due to budget constraints, we didn't do the tandem paragliding - one person is strapped to a pilot who simply lifts off and drifts to the bottom, turning and given an unparalleled view of the town.

Once back at the bottom, we ate at a studenty place called The Rock or something. To be fair, it was all a bit studenty. However the food was excellent, my burger was about a foot tall and all in all the atmosphere was just right.

We left Queenstown mid-afternoon, wishing we had several more days to really explore the place. It is a town that you can come to and do just about anything, ski, bungy or parachute in search of adrenaline or just walk and take photos for something more sedate. The activities aren't cheap (but not ripoff stupid either) but you could have a fantastic time there.

On the way out we found ourselves behind a van marked "AJ Hackett - Home of Bungy". I had an inkling that it was heading to a bridge over the Kawarau River, the place where the eponymous Mr Hackett invented bungy jumping. I was right and on a whim, we followed the intrepid jumpers in.

Viewing is free and there are several cameras to help you keep an eye on things. Despite the cold, there was a stream of people willing to trust in a rope made of latex and throw themselves into a river gorge. Personally, I might be stupid but I'm not an idiot. Although the idiot in me was a constant nag, I would estimate that it was 40% "oh, go on, it will be a rush" versus 60% "you have got to be frickin' kidding me". It is when the percentages are reversed that you have got to worry. Or rather, other people worry about me.

Anyway, we watched the jumpers - mainly going in pairs for some reason. I would guess that like misery, sheer abject terror loves company.

Twizel would be our stop for the night. A small town built originally in the late 60's to house the workers for a nearby hydro-electric plant. When the plant was completed, the now-locals campaigned to stay and keep their new home. The motel room was good but the food at the local country inn was sublime.