Queenstown

Extreme in the
Canyon

Queenstown is the self declared capital of extreme sports in New Zealand, and they work hard to show they deserve the title. You can do just about anything and everything in terms of gravity defying, G-force pushing, adrenaline pumping activities. They have skydiving, bungy jumping, stunt plane flying, canyoning, slack jumping, jet boating, paragliding, hang gliding, off roading, quad riding, mountain biking, river surfing, white water rafting, and much more.

The vast assortment of different activities is mind boggling. They are all geared up to help the flocks of tourist spend their holiday money and make them feel like they are on the edge of danger, while actually keeping them just about as safe as sitting on the couch at home. The tourism industry of adventure sports is inherently paradoxical in that manner.

Keeping with the spirit of the adventure seeking city I indulged in two adventure activities: canyoning and slack jumping. I went canyoning with 12 Mile Delta Canyoning. It was a small canyoning company, and a small canyon, but big fun.

All totaled the canyoning traversed only around 200 meters downstream along the small but powerful creek that ran trough a tight contorted canyon. We started out by hiking upstream from the exit point, then rode a zip-line over the canyon to reach the far side. From there we were belayed down into the canyon and entered our watery playground.

We spent the next hour and a half sliding, swimming, splashing, and jumping our way though the canyon. None of it was what I would classify as an extreme sport, but it was still good fun. The highlight of the canyon was a 4 meter tall waterfall, which we got to play with in a variety of ways. The waterfall swirled and rushed down a steep shoot in the rock for 2 meters and then launched off a 2 meter tall ledge into a deep pool below.

First we went down the waterfall like a natural water slide. We slid down the 2 meter slope and flew off into the pool below [TOP: The natural waterslide]. Next we climbed up alongside the waterfall and jumped off another small 2 meter ledge into the waterfall and the pool. Then we hiked back around to the top of the waterfall for the finale. From a ledge 1 meter above the waterfall we leaped out over the waterfall to fly between the tight walls of the canyon and plummet 5 meters into the churning pool of water below [RIGHT: The finale jump]. It was a blast. Even though it was no cliff jump in canyon ferry height wise, it was exciting with the tight quarters of the canyon.

Overall canyoning was a great outing, and a good easy introduction to a sport I had never experienced before. However, even with our multiple layers of wet suits it was amazing how over the course of the trip the frigid water sucked all the heat out of you. By the end everyone in the group was a black insulated Popsicle.

My other extreme activity, slack jumping, was done with Shotover Canyon Swing, the worlds largest swing. It is suspended 109 meters above the floor of Shotover canyon, is approximately 100 meters in length, includes 60 meters of free fall, and takes you hurtling through a 200 meter arc of travel. It is certainly quite the contraption.

You start by walking out onto a platform that is cantilevered out over the canyon below. Then they strap you into a massive full body harness. You pick your departure style whether it be Forwards jump, Backwards jump, the Chair, the Cutaway, Gimp Boy goes to Hollywood, Elvis Cutaway, Pin Drop, Indian Rope Trick, Flips, or most anything else you can think of. I selected Backwards and Gimp Boy goes to Hollywood (head first basically).

Then you clip into the end of the swing and get as close to the edge of the platform as you dare [BELOW: Me just off the edge of the platform; photo by Shotover Canyon Swing]. Look down the cliff face below you that ends in the solid earth of the river bank. Take a deep breath and savor the building adrenaline. Then jump!

The platform disappears and the cliff face rushes past you. Your heart races as the ground closes in and then suddenly you swoop out in a giant arc over the river. In an instant you go from edgily standing on the platform, to feeling the pure rush of adrenaline as you fall, to gently swaying over the river just 9 meters below your feet.

By an order of magnitude it was both shorter and more intense than skydiving. Being so close to the ground makes the rush more powerful, but is over too quickly to really savor the experience. So while it did provide a higher dose of adrenaline, I liked skydiving better because of its far superior duration. Regardless, I would still recommend the swing for any fellow adrenaline junkies, and by extension Queenstown in general.

As always,
-Russ

[Pictures from QUEENSTOWN]