Extreme Queenstown

Our second day in New Zealand’s adventure capital started in typical Queenstown fashion, Extreme Grocery Shopping followed by some Extreme Laundry! OK, so we got off to a bit of a slow start. Unfortunately, Doug was up all night with some Extreme Projectile Vomiting, so we were stalling to see if he would be up for anything. With rain in the forecast, we didn’t have much planned anyway.

After getting Doug stocked up with all his sick supplies (except for the Gatorade that we totally forgot) we had his blessing to try to take advantage of the break in the weather. The skeptics here would say that he was faking, but trust us, it was legit. Anyway, after much debate, we settled on Hang Gliding for the day’s activity. It’s always been on top of my list of things to try. Jen and Sue have been harassing Doug and I to Bungy Jump, but if I’m going to spend that much money on an extreme sport, I’m looking for more than 6 seconds of action. We were told that our flights would last about 10 minutes, and if we could be ready in an hour, we could fly right away while the clear skies lasted.

We got picked up by our guide and took the 15 minute drive up to Coronet Peak which would serve as our launch site. Coronet Peak towers over a vast valley, and Lake Wakatipu is visible in the distance. We got similar views from yesterday, but this time we were getting ready to run off the side of the mountain. After getting suited up in our harnesses, it looked like I would be first to fly. Unfortunately, my pilot couldn’t find a piece of equipment. I had no idea what he was looking for at the time. I just hoped it wasn’t important. Very comforting. Anyway, while he looked around the van, while we were both still strapped into the glider mind you, I lost my place in line and had to watch as Jen and Sue took off.

When we were finally fully equipped, we had a smooth take off, as you can see in the video. We all agreed, the flight was not scary at all. The beginning is actually quite peaceful as you just have a nice easy glide over the valley. About mid way into the flight, we each got a chance to take the controls. From what I can tell, it’s really quite easy. Push forward to go down, push back to go up, steer with your hips. Nothing to it! It’s really amazing how much they let you do. We each got to try a series of corkscrews and the pilots didn’t seem too concerned that we would crash into the side of the mountain or anything. Eventually though, we had to hand the controls back over and our pilots took us in for a relatively smooth landing. Just an incredible experience!

When we got back home, we were happy to see that the patient’s condition was improving. He had an exciting day too. On a brief walk into town, he spotted some people on Segways. We found this hilarious brochure for Segway tours. We kind of want to do it just for comedy’s sake (the Arrested Development references alone), but it may be a bit too pricey. And yes, Matt we could potentially take them to the Disc Golf course. A dream come true!

Instead of the Segways, the four of us (that’s right, Mrs. Bortzfield, Doug’s doing fine) decided to check out Deer Park Heights, which one of our glider pilots told us about. It’s up on yet another peak overlooking the lake and was used for a lot of Lord of the Rings scenes. They have “heaps” of animals up there that you can go and feed. That’s right, Queenstown even has an Extreme Petting Zoo!

The ride up was well worth it. I guess the animals know where there food comes from and they are not shy. A couple of these critters practically came into our car! Sue was also accosted by a bunch of renegade donkeys after a trip to the restroom. Three of them surrounded her as she tried to leave. She became so disoriented that she even tried to convince us that a baby donkey was, in fact, a Mini Horse.

After emptying our giant tin can of animal feed, we decided to call it a day and head back to our hostel for some well deserved rest. We haven’t decided just yet what we’ll do tomorrow, but it will be pretty hard to top today. Hope you all enjoy our video!

Feed me!!!!

Jen takes Chris out, Hobbit style. Yes, the swords made the trip!

Do not pick up hitchhikers!