QueenstownWe spent the early morning walking around town, browsing various outdoor gear and clothing stores, and strolling through an arts and crafts market. By 11am, the boys' patience for shopping had worn thin. Eager to hurl themselves off a cliff, Larry and Henry headed off to a tour booking center to learn more about the myriad of near-death experiences while I waited for LT and Sarah to finish up their souvenir shopping.
At the internet/booking center, we perused a wall of brochures that advertised everything from mountain biking and fly fishing to bungy jumping and canyon swinging. Sarah wanted to go sky diving. Larry and LT wanted to go canyon swinging or bungy jumping. Henry wanted to try paragliding. And what did I want to do? I wanted to check my e-mail.
NZ travel tip #4: Book activities early, at least a day in advance, if possible.
When we inquired about availability, however, there were not enough spots for Larry and LT to go canyon swinging. Sky diving took too much time and it was too windy for paragliding.
"Bummer," I lamented with a small hint of glee.
What was available was the shotover canyon jet boat ride so we signed up for that. What is jet boating, you ask? Why, it's "the world's most exciting boat ride," of course! The Shotover Jet company website provides an amusing, more detailed description:
"From the moment the accelerator hits the floor your adrenaline hits the roof as you speed in mere centimetres of water along the famous Shotover River and deep into the spectacular Shotover River Canyons. ...Rock faces blur in your peripheral vision, the opaque water sprays into myriads of white crystals with every turn, and you grip the hand rail for comfort and reassurance and then let out a whoop of excitement as your driver spins the boat around in its own boat length — wow, you've just experienced the World famous Shotover Jet full 360-degree spin. Hold on tight and enjoy the thrill as you spin and without losing momentum keep speeding along the river."
But wait, there's more!
"The best thing of all… this is actually good for you. Studies have shown a good thrill livens up your system, waking up dormant biochemical pathways that refresh, relieve stress and heal. You experience a sense of euphoria and well being as your brain receives a welcome cocktail of oxygen, sugar, adrenaline, cortisol and endorphins. The result — a natural high that makes you feel great! It’s our own unique and exclusive form of Jet Boat therapy, we call it Thrill Therapy and we've been prescribing it since 1970 — a good healthy dose of adrenaline to get you feeling alive!"
We were too cheap to pay for the "professional" photos taken of us but the photo below is a pretty accurate representation of what we looked like during the world's most exciting boat ride.
I enjoyed jet boating quite a bit. I'm a lazy thrill-seeker. The less I physically have to do to get my adrenaline flowing, the better. And all that jet boating required was for me to wear a smelly rain poncho and sit on my ass for half an hour.Upon returning to Queenstown, we ate a massive meal at Fergburger (their website is worth a quick peek). While the others each ate half a cow for lunch, I went with the more veggie-friendly but similarly heavy "Bun Laden" -- falafel patties dressed with a lemon yogurt and chipotle chili sauce, lettuce, tomato, red onion, cucumber, avocado, and aioli.
Before food coma could set in, we ambled over to the skyline gondola to check out the scenic viewpoint overlooking Queenstown and go luging - or as Sarah excitedly called it: "lubing." I'm not sure if what Sarah had in mind was the same thing or not; we didn't really want to know (though I'm sure either would have been equally fun).
View at the top
LT wooshing by on the luge!We ended the day with grocery shopping in preparation for our 3-day hike on the Kepler track the following day.
To be continued...
