we left wanaka this morning and immediately stopped at puzzling world because it's on the edge of town. we wanted to do the maze first because the kiwi bus was only stopping there for about 1 hour and we didn't know how long it would take us to find our way through the maze. the goal of the maze is to make it to all four corners, then go to the exit which is a return to pretty much where you began. it took us only 20 minutes to reach all four corners but it took us 30 minutes to find our way back to the exit! we got stuck in a loop in the blue corner, then in the red corner. we made our way back to the blue corner and i was perplexed as to how we were gonna get out of there. i was trying to trace our way back and finally we realized what went wrong. there was one little path that we kept not picking for some reason or another. we walked this path and immediately realized that was the problem the entire time. if we had taken it initially, maybe we would've found our way out in 10 minutes instead of 30!

the great maze

finally reached the exit!

after the maze ordeal we went into the main building to spend more time in the places we glossed over yesterday. we further inspected the room called 'the tilted house'. to me it's like a combination of the santa cruz mystery spot and the haunted shack at knott's berry farm. they have the water that runs uphill, the ball that goes uphill, the slanted stairs, and that sort of thing. but what is different is that they have a chair you can sit in and go uphill. that was fun. after that we browsed the gift shop. they probably have for sale every puzzle game and book that's in print in english. they have a small cafe and tables with puzzles on them for free. i would have had so much fun there as a kid. then we took some fun photos outside the building.

that maze was a pain in the ass!

the distance between wanaka and queenstown isn't much, but of course the kiwi experience stretches it out. we stopped at a fruit and veggie stand. we bought some things there because groceries are a wee bit more expensive in these touristy towns (franz josef through to queenstown).

our next stop is where all the fun was at: the kawarau suspension bridge. if that name means nothing to you, step aside sir. it's the birth of the commercial bungy jump! woo hoo! i have been waiting to do this since high school, at least. the bungy went commercial in 1988 so i probably heard of it 2 years later or so. i wanted to bungy so bad in high school but i haven't thought about it for the past few years. i guess i've grown up because i don't imagine myself jumping off high places or through glass windows anymore. the stunt person is gone! for old time's sake though i had to jump. if you're going to jump, why not at the bungy birth? so i signed myself up for it. the weather was gorgeous so i had to take advantage of it and jump today with no delay.

the bungy center building is really nice. i mean really nice. i could live there. it was really nice. some of the souvenir clothing for sale was nice but not perfect. the prices were outrageous and if it's not a perfect thing for me to wear than why pay an outrageous price? so i didn't buy anything. the free t-shirt you get is white and well i don't wear white. i'll probably make an exception for this shirt later on but wear black underneath it. i wasn't planning on buying photos or a dvd of my jump. i had twiddle thumbs to document it for me. after i jumped though, i just had to buy the photos. they were too cool. i look so stupid in them too! also, the video camera wasn't working for twiddle thumbs. she was too panicked to work it i suppose. that's ok. i wasn't mad about it. i'll just videotape someone else!

collage of the bridge

about the jump...
it was awesome! it was nothing like i thought it would be except yes it is scary to stand out there on the ledge like a hollywood pirate forced to walk the plank. my presumption was that it would hurt like hell on your ankles or that you had to do a proper swim type dive or else you'd ruin your back or something. none of it is true. first you step into a harness like you wear when you parachute (thanks taupo!). then they wrapped a towel around my legs and attached a cord over the towel. the bunch was attached to this cord and i think the harness was connected to it somehow. anyway, the point is i didn't feel any sort of yanking on my body when i jumped and was dangling from the bridge.

collage of my jump

when i was standing on the ledge, i kind of chickened out. i mean, it's just really a nerve-wrenching thing to stand out there with only the river below and knowing that you are going to jump with nothing to hold on to! so i delayed the moment by asking about how to jump. you see, i also didn't want to be a pussy about it and go forwards, i wanted to jump backwards! i wanted to know if there was a technique involved, such as diving or something so that you don't get tangled up in the cables but i didn't mention that stuff. i just was asking for tips on what type of jumps are possible. also, i was out on the ledge very fast! i didn't have to wait at all. waiting to pay my jump took 10x longer. i walked out on the bridge and handed my ticket and immediately was strapped in and on the ledge within 5 minutes. no time to psych yourself into it at all.

i quickly made up my mind to do the backwards jump. you can't walk as your legs are strapped together. so i had to hobble myself around so that i could stand there with my heels hanging off the ledge. i let go of the bar to my side and the guy counted to 5. then i jumped. no thinking about it, just jumped. i didn't realize until i looked at the photos that i was holding both hands as fists. maybe i was that nervous. more unsure than anything. how to jump, what to expect, etc. it's my first time damn it! i told them i didn't want to touch the water (there is a dunk option) and when i was getting close to the river i realized i was going to touch the water and i got pissed. i didn't want water up my nose. i was much relieved when only my hands went in. i had my hands flat out then to touch the water. my hair got wet too but i didn't realized that until later when one of the workers said it looked really cool when my hair touched the water.

'official' photos of my first bungy jump

after doing a few rebounds and starting to come to a stop, i realized i had no idea how the hell to get out of this thing. i wondered if they were going to hoist me back up. then i saw a boat coming towards me. they had a pole and i reached for it and they lowered me into the boat. they took off the cables and towel. then i stood up to get out of the harness. i was shaking! i tried really hard not to but there was so much adrenalin running through me. i got out of the boat and raced up the stairs only to realize i had a long walk ahead of me. i took it easy but i wasn't even at the top when i had to stop or else my asthma might kick in. twiddle thumbs met me where i stopped and told me about the video camera not working. she was scared as fuck as to how angry i would be but i wasn't at all. it's ok, man! i was just happy to touch the water, to touch the river anduin in the lord of the rings! it would be awesome though to kayak in the same spot as when they see the pillars of the kings. that kawarau river is such a gorgeous green-blue. after doing the jump, i got to watch the dvd of my jump. the praise of people telling me how graceful my jump was or being amazed that i did it backwards didn't hurt my ego either.

next stop, queenstown! we took a group photo as is kiwi experience tradition. sorry, not interested in a group photo but did it anyway. then we went to some office so we could book activities. we signed up for the shotover river jet/helicopter ride/gondola and 2 luge rides/kiwi magic movie. then we went to our hostel.

we are staying at the southern laughter backpackers. i wondered why it was called that and then we got to see our rooms and the decor of the place. it really is about making you laugh. not everything is funny but the majority of stuff is from "the far side" so it's pretty damn funny! this hostel is pretty good. it's a cold town so i would put a heater in every room but that's probably my only big complaint. we're not freezing yet.