The Big Jump -NZ Part III

Since arriving in Queenstown, there has been one adventure after another. Queenstown is lovely – a beautiful little tourist town on a huge lake surrounded by mountains (a common description of NZ towns we are discovering). Our first evening in Queenstown, we walked along the waterfront where Caleb could not get enough of all the ducks. The next day we headed to the Kiwi and Bird Park for the bird show. We even caught the kiwi feeding which was great since it was an opportunity to see New Zealand’s famous little nocturnal bird. We grabbed a quick FergBurger (delicious) for lunch. We had booked a flight and cruise trip that afternoon to Milford Sound for the next day but when we did our weather check, we discovered it would be a no go for that day. While the weather was hot and sunny in Queenstown, it apparently was not so pleasant in Milford Sound. So we postponed until the following day and headed for the gondola and luge track. At the top of the gondola, we stopped for a beer with a view. We sat 300 meters above Queenstown enjoying our drinks in between chasing Caleb around. We had each purchased two luge rides so the Kevins and Adelina went first while Brenda, Caleb and I found a good viewing spot to take photos of them coming down. After my turn, I decided that Caleb would enjoy it too so I took him on my second ride. He did not make a sound so I am not sure if he liked it or was terrified! While I was waiting for Kevin’s final luge run on the advanced track, I started talking with a guy who just did the bungy jump. He raved about it and while I had been previously considering it, I was now game. Brenda said she would do it if I did – so we did! 400 m above Queenstown we did AJ Hackett’s Ledge Jump. Queenstown is home of the original bungy jump so there was really no better spot to do it. After five thrilling hours at the top of the gondola, we headed down for dinner and an evening walk along the waterfront… still on a high after our big jumps!

First thing the following morning, we did our weather check for our Milford flight and the weather was still poor resulting in all flights being cancelled that day. Instead of waiting another day and not liking the idea of taking the kids on a 15 hour day trip via bus to Milford, we planned to depart Queenstown that afternoon and head to Te Anau. From Te Anau, we could see Doubtful Sound (a shorter day trip and less tourists than Milford). Brenda and I took the children shopping (which Caleb happily napped through) while the guys went on the Shotover Jet. We all met at the Pub on the Wharf to watch a bit of the Olympics, the Canada-USA hockey game. We departed for Te Anau and found a great campground that was much quieter than the packed Queenstown location we had come from. Te Anau, situated on a lake, is yet another lovely Kiwi town. There were a few accommodations/hotels, one grocery store, a couple souvenir shops and the ‘Mainly Seafood’ street food. The next day, we had our trip to Doubtful Sound. It was terrific, although a long day. The cruise through the fjords was peaceful especially considering our boat was the only one out on the water (with the exception of the overnight cruise boat that we passed by once). Caleb and Adelina were thrilled to discover a toy box on board. After our three hour cruise, we headed back over the Wilcott Pass to the Manipouri Lake. By the time we got to the bus after the one hour lake cruise, we were hungry. We got dropped off at the campsite, grabbed the strollers and headed for ‘Mainly Seafood’.

Only three nights left in New Zealand so we are making our way back to Christchurch with a one night stop in Dunedin.

Taking the gondola up for a view of Queenstown.

Up the chair lift...

and down the luge track!

Instructions: smile at the camera, step back and run!

Hanging out 400 m over Queenstown.

Cheering on the Canadian Olympians and making a fashion statement all at the same time!

Everyone enjoyed the Doubtful Sound Cruise... a boat with a toy box!

On beautiful Doubtful Sound.