Free Falling

Kei Ora,

Well, this afternoon I jumped out of an airplane at 12,000 ft, attached to a most handsome skydiver. It was such an incredible rush! We jumped over Queenstown, in front of the Remarkables Mountains and over Lake Wakatipu. The sky was blue with only a few small clouds. What a magnificent view!

The worse part was the actual falling out of the plane. There is no jumping out of small plane when you are attached to another person. We rolled out of the plane and continued to roll until we ended face down. We free-fell for 45 seconds before the chute opened. This part was not so enjoyable, probably due to the wind, the speed and the altitude. The pressure hurt my ears. But once the chute opened and slowed down, the decent was delightful. It took another 5 or so minutes to reach the ground. And the view of the lake, mountains and farmland was breathtaking. The sheep looked like specs of dust on the grass. Would I do it again, you betcha! Would I do it solo? Maybe.

This morning I took a jetboat tour of the Dart River. That was fun! We boarded a jetboat in Glenorchy which is about 45 minutes outside of Queenstown. The boat sped up the river past Paradise Forest, Mt Eanslaw, Rockburn chasm Chinaman's Bluff and out to Sand Bluff. The boat driver would occaisionally do 360 degree turns in the water. Kinda like doing donuts in the snow (or skidding out on ice). The trip was about 50 minutes. The snow capped mountains are magnificent.

On the return trip in the boat, we got off at Paradise Forest. Parts of the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed in this forest, and also along the Dart River. They just finished filming parts of the next Narnia movie along part of the river.

Yesterday I went to Milford Sound, via Lake Te Anau. It was a rainy miserable day, but apparently rains most days at Milford Sound. The plus side of the rain is that waterfalls appear on the rocky mountain peaks of the mountains. The falls only exist when it rains, and will disappear when the rain stops. The dark, rocky cliffs are overwhelming. (I need more mountain adjectives!!!)

Milford Sound was incredible. It's actually a fjord, not a sound. Rough, dark blue water surrounded by huge rocky mountains. There was an occaisional waterfall embedded in the mountains. A couple of dolphins swam with the boat. And it was REALLY, REALLY COLD!!!!

Today and yesterday have been filled with unbelieveable sights. My eyes need a rest.

Cheers,
Stacey