Awesome Foursome

Breakfree the Waterfront Hotel Rooftop Deck-  My whole childhood my mom would ask me “if (insert friend) told you to jump off a bridge would you do it?” whenever I complained someone was getting to do something I wasn’t allowed to do.  Well for the first time today my answer was yes and the person doing the telling to jump was April.  I knew April really wanted to bungy jump on this trip and I just tried to not bring it up and hope she would forget…she didn’t.  I have to say it was quite the experience and neither of us have any regrets about our choice to do it.  

Our destination for the jump was Kawarau Bridge which is the site where bungy jumping first started.  The bridge is 43 meters (just guess on how many feet it is…I started calculating at noon and gave up at 8 pm)  above the Kawarau River and like everything else in the area is very scenic.  Of course because I was the one that was more nervous about doing this it meant that the workers chose me to go first (actually they have two bungy ropes depending on weight and I was on the heavy one with no line and April the lighter one with a huge line).  I never had any doubt that I would jump but actually forcing myself off the platform in that moment of truth was a little difficult. 

April had a much longer wait but that was no big thing for her.  I had no time to think about anything and was gripping the bridge for dear life…April had all morning and when she gets up there she is cracking jokes with the workers (we have a video, but it wouldn't upload).  Everyone was very impressed with her perfect swan dive form (no video evidence to show my form but let’s assume it was similar).  It was the most adventurous start to a day we’ve had and it truly was just the beginning.

Our next thrill ride was on the Shotover Jet Boat.  I knew jet boats were popular here but really had no idea what they were really all about.  Watching the safety video on our way to the site we realized we would be going at speeds up to 75 km/hr (conversion please)  in between narrow rocky cliffs on a river.  They tell you how much training the driver has had and how safe it is and then you meet the driver and somehow it always works out that you get the one that seems to have that crazy look in his eye.  You know that one…where his mouth says the boat only goes 75 but his eyes say…I wonder if we could hit 100?  Anyway it ended up being a lot of fun and not nearly as scary as anticipated.  The boats are so powerful they can do 360 degree spins and other sharp turns almost like a really big jetski. 

Our transportation from jet boating to our next activity was actually an activity in itself.  In order to get to the starting point for rafting we took a helicopter over the mountains.  Neither of us had been in a helicopter before and weren’t really sure about the whole thing.  About 30 seconds into the trip we found out this wasn’t just a leisurely ride.  Without any warning the pilot did a sharp turn that made it feel like we were going upside down.  Since we had never experienced it actually made us think we were going down.  Once we realized this was normal the rest of the ride became a lot of fun.  We flew right down the river valley in between the mountains and it was a whole new view of the area.  We both got off saying we wished the ride was longer but also both felt a little car sick…or helicopter sick I guess so maybe it was good it was a short ride.

Once we started rafting we had a lot of fun..but the getting ready and waiting around part was not so great.  The first step in the process was getting our wet suits where some guy looks at you and picks out one of 6 possible sizes.  Apparently when my guy looked at me he saw a 5’6” 130 lb. guy because wow was that thing tight.  Of course if you say anything their only answer is that it is supposed to be tight.  Oh really, what about breathing…is that something I should be able to do?  Anyway, it was uncomfortable.  They are also full body and black so extremely hot especially on a hot and sunny day (this is where people stop feeling bad about our complaining right?).  We actually put all that on before the helicopter ride and because that was much faster than the buses some other people took we had a fairly long wait once we reached the river.  Finally after an extended safety talk that pretty much makes you think no one should ever go rafting we were on our way.

Our guide was very friendly and made the 2 hour trip entertaining.  Although he did separate us when assigning seats for which he felt really bad halfway down the river when we told him we were on our honeymoon.  After lots of jokes about needing a break from being near each other, we could concentrate on surviving the rapids.  Luckily our boat was pretty good and no one fell out or got hurt. 

So at the end of the day we were happy to have survived the Awesome Foursome and more importantly to be able to tell my mom next time she asks “well if April tells you to go jump off a bridge, would you?”…Yes Mom, yes I will!