12/28/2023
Today wass our full day in Queenstown. We started out with Bungy Jumping from the Kawarua bridge – where bungy was invented! This was on my trip bucket list. The last time I was here I jumped from the Auckland Harbor Bridge, but missed out on the Kawarua Bridge (only because I didn’t realize how special it was at the time). I’m glad I went back to do it! I was totally freaked out, which is to be expected, but I jumped when they said to jump, and it was thrilling! Preston and John also jumped. I was warning Preston all week that he needed to let me know 48 hours in advance if he didn’t think he could do it, because I needed to cancel to get a refund. When it came to it, Preston went by himself to the other platform which has the bungy cord for lighter people. I tried to keep an eye on him, but they were binding my legs when it was his turn to jump. I totally missed him jumping off. Apparently, he was like “whoa this is really scary, but this guy says to jump on the count of 5, so I guess I’ll jump.” And that was that. When I got up to the platform I was looking around for him and the bungy guys were like “oh yeah, he went, no problem! He’s down there somewhere.”
John had a bit of a wait after me and Preston because he needed to go on a different cord as well. I was able to watch him jump from the viewing platform. Mom, Dad, and the littles were having a great time watching from the platform. Even the people they didn’t know were fun to watch.
I have many fun pictures, which I’ll post when I have better internet, there are a few on Facebook already.
After bungy we went to Skyline. At Skyline you take a large cable car to a hub on the side of a mountain, and there are a few activities you can do from there. People carry their bikes up on the cable car in order to mountain bike back down. You can also visit a restaurant and gift shop. The highlight for us was the luge track. It works a lot like a ski slope where you ride a lift to the top (the luge vehicles also ride the lift on hooks underneath you) and then hop in a gravity powered cart and steer your way down some fun tracks to the bottom. Then ride the lift back up again. This was an activity that Alyssa (and Grandma), everyone, could do, so we had a fun time racing each other down a few times.
We had a late lunch/early dinner near the bottom the Skyline. Parking in Queenstown, even at our hotel, is nearly impossible, so we try to walk to nearby places whenever possible. We ended the night back at the lakeside playground, which also has a beach, stream, bridges, and garden. It’s a lovely spot if you can get there.
We tried to go to bed early because we had an early wake-up call for our coach to Milford Sound. Things went smoothly, but in the middle of the night Alyssa woke up wimpering. Apparently, her ears popped on the Skyline and one ear was still not recovered and really bothering her. We gave her some advil and got her to bed, but it was the first time I Googled for a nearby urgent care (nothing was open, and thankfully we didn’t need it). She was better in the morning.
John had a bit of a wait after me and Preston because he needed to go on a different cord as well. I was able to watch him jump from the viewing platform. Mom, Dad, and the littles were having a great time watching from the platform. Even the people they didn’t know were fun to watch.
I have many fun pictures, which I’ll post when I have better internet, there are a few on Facebook already.
After bungy we went to Skyline. At Skyline you take a large cable car to a hub on the side of a mountain, and there are a few activities you can do from there. People carry their bikes up on the cable car in order to mountain bike back down. You can also visit a restaurant and gift shop. The highlight for us was the luge track. It works a lot like a ski slope where you ride a lift to the top (the luge vehicles also ride the lift on hooks underneath you) and then hop in a gravity powered cart and steer your way down some fun tracks to the bottom. Then ride the lift back up again. This was an activity that Alyssa (and Grandma), everyone, could do, so we had a fun time racing each other down a few times.
We had a late lunch/early dinner near the bottom the Skyline. Parking in Queenstown, even at our hotel, is nearly impossible, so we try to walk to nearby places whenever possible. We ended the night back at the lakeside playground, which also has a beach, stream, bridges, and garden. It’s a lovely spot if you can get there.
We tried to go to bed early because we had an early wake-up call for our coach to Milford Sound. Things went smoothly, but in the middle of the night Alyssa woke up wimpering. Apparently, her ears popped on the Skyline and one ear was still not recovered and really bothering her. We gave her some advil and got her to bed, but it was the first time I Googled for a nearby urgent care (nothing was open, and thankfully we didn’t need it). She was better in the morning.