Weekend In Queenstown

I spent this past weekend in Queenstown, a town in the central part of the South Island. It was a very touristy and expensive town, but I can easily see why because it was an absolutely beautiful place.

The trip was organized by Arcadia so all the activities were set and planned for the weekend, which was fine by me because I didn’t know anything about Queenstown anyway! On Friday we dropped our stuff at the hostel and then rushed to make it in time for jet boating. I have done this before on the Great Lakes, but jet boating here is far more extreme. We went through narrow cliffs and the driver went so close that we were all screaming because it felt as though we would crash, but of course we never did. Although even if we had hit the rocks in New Zealand apparently you can’t sue people for accidents, so pretty much Kiwis are far more daring and adventurous than Americans because they can afford to be.

On Friday night for dinner a bunch of us decided to go to a burger place called Ferg Burger, because we had heard so much hype about it from other people. It definitely lived up to its hype, because that was the BEST cheeseburger I have ever had in my entire life. It was quality New Zealand beef, grass fed and everything, and it was SO delicious. I’m getting excited just thinking about it right now.

Saturday was a full day of hiking. We went on the Routeburn Track, a hike which takes 3 days to complete if you do the whole thing. We did just a part of it, but in total I hiked 30 kilometers, which I think equates to about 18 or 19 miles? It was intense, but so worth it. I went all the way up to Conical peak and had the most incredible views of Mountain tops, and even all the way to the ocean. It was the hardest, longest hiking I have ever done, but I was so satisfied and felt so accomplished by the end of the day.

Sunday was the most exciting day. We went up a gondola and had some more great views of Queenstown, and at the top of the gondola there was a luge track which we were able to enjoy. It felt kinda like go-cart racing. Then came the best part of the whole weekend: bungee jumping! We had two options, the Kawaru Bridge, which was the world’s first bungee site, or Nevis, which is 3 times higher and the second highest bungee jumping site in the world. I decided to go for it and signed up for Nevis. I was actually pretty calm until I was standing on the platform about to jump. The guy who hooked up all my gear told me to inch out my toes to the edge of the platform and that’s when I looked down and started really freaking out, but by this point there was no turning back. He counted down from 5 and when he got to 1 I jumped and screamed bloody murder. The first second was the most terrifying second I’ve ever experienced, but for the remaining 8 seconds of my jump I was elated. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before, it is an incredible feeling to be soaring through the air, surrounded by mountains and looking down at a stream. If I had the chance I would definitely do it again.

After a very full weekend now it’s back to school, but with only 3 days of class it’s really not too bad.