THE BIG NZ - PART 3

keep reading... you're in the final stretch!

- DAY 17 -

big day in queenstown today. we headed over to the shotover river for a jetboat ride through the canyons. then we hopped off the jetboat and into our rafting gear...

from there, i headed out to the cliffs overlooking the shotover river and took a couple turns on the canyon swing. (see videos here.)

that night, we hit the town and visited minus 5, a bar made entirely of ice. they give you jackets and gloves and even a cup made out of ice for your cocktails...

- Day 18 -

another big adventure day for me. i started off with a trip to the kawarau river for some mad dog riverboarding. it sounded simple enough. me, wetsuit, helmet, boogie board, river... FUN! and it was fun, except for the times i thought i was going to die... i'm joking... sort of.

back on dry land, i grabbed a quick bite in town and met up with my 2 bungy buddies. there were only 3 of us that opted to do the 440 foot nevis highwire bungy. we made the right choice. it was an indescribable experience. i would do it again in a heartbeat! (see video here.)

after tackling the nevis, our jump from the ledge was cake. (sorry, i still don't have that video posted yet...)

adrenaline-junkied out for the day, i headed back to the hostel, swapped stories from the day with friends and grabbed as much sleep as i could. one more bungy to go...

- DAY 19 -

we packed up and headed out of town, with a quick stop at the kawarau bridge, site of the world's first bungy. since this was going to be my last bungy for quite a while i wanted to go big, so i decided to go backwards and get dunked. (see video here.)

i thought just my head was going to get wet, but the bungy guys had a different plan. oh well, you only live once. so, i bought a new (dry) shirt and slapped on the boardshorts i had stashed on the bus and we headed out for milford sound. today was a big scenery day, so we had a lot of photo stops, where you can either take a pretty picture of nature, or you can run around like a spaz. i usually tried to squeeze both in...

once through the famous homer tunnel and down a lot of curvy roads, we finally made it to milford sound. we boarded the milford wanderer and prepared for our overnight stay in the middle of what rudyard kipling called the 8th wonder of the world...

the wanderer took us on a scenic tour of waterfalls and sheer cliffs that blew our minds. my pictures don't do it justice. this is definitely some place that every one should see in their lifetime. check out how tiny this giant cruise ship looks next to the cliffs.

we parked the boat in a cove for the night and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening enjoying our surroundings...


- DAY 20 -

the wanderer was up and running pretty early this morning, so i got to watch the sunrise.

after breakfast we were treated to a bit more time exploring the waters, before we boarded the bus for the long drive to lake ohau. once at our lakeside lodge, we got settled in and enjoyed a dinner overlooking the beautiful blue water.

with our trip coming to a close, we couldn't just go to bed early, simply because we were in the middle of nowhere... so, we had a toga party. even pokey, our other trip mascot got in the spirit.

- DAY 21 -

moving a bit slow, because it was our final day together, we boarded the bus back to christchurch. on our way, we made a few photo stops at the other glacial lakes in the area...

back in christchurch, we settled in for a farewell dinner and spent the rest of the evening trying to distract ourselves from the fact that reality was waiting not far around the corner...

- DAY 22 -

this morning, i packed up, said some goodbyes and headed to the airport with a few of my new friends. i was the only one with a connection in new zealand, so i grabbed a few final hugs and headed for the domestic terminal. i was now traveling alone again... strange feeling.

i had a quick hop to auckland, with a layover long enough for some food and last minute shopping and i was back on a plane headed to lax. before i knew it, my vacation was over. what a ride!

thanks for taking the time to check out my trip recap! i'm not sure where i'm headed on my next adventure, but i know it will be pretty hard to top this trip to new zealand!