Okay, so now I'm back on my travels, and I left Wanaka for my first stop in Queenstown. It was a nice bus ride, and the driver, Lisa, was a real hoot. She first split the bus into two teams and gave us a list of 10 things to bring to the front of the bus, with the first group getting a prize. The list included a phone, an iPod and a Loenly planet guide, as well as boxer shorts/ bra. We then had an individual mini quiz, and I won a drink. We arrived at the Kawarau Bridge after a fashion, and I stood and cringed as some of my fellow Magic passengers took a jump. I also saw a couple jumping tandem whilst both nude. Shortly after that, we arrived into Q'town, and to my surprise the first two people I met in the reception were Jason and Shane-o from Wanaka. I made plans to meet them in the bar, and quickly took my stuff up to the room. Before the night out I needed sustenance, so I decided to takle the legendary Fergburger, which was described as "A very big burger. Unless of course you're from America, because then it's normal size". I decided to have a 'Big Al' and I was so stuffed that I didn't manage to finish my chips. Feeling full, I traipsed back to the bar to meet up with Jason and Shane-o. Many fun and exciting pursuits then ensued, aided (of course) by liberal amounts of alcohol. These included the pub quiz (which we didn't win) and the horizontal bungy. I was paired up with Shana, a girl from London. Before our turn, a very drunk Shane-o took his turn, and he decided to do it stark bollock naked! He managed to stagger far enough to eventually grab the drink before returning it to his partner to skull (well, half ended up on the floor). When it came to our turn I decided to do the running and let Shana drink. I ran and just grabbed the drink bfore I was pinged back. I managed to fall most of the way back to my partner, and we set a very reasonable time of 35 seconds which put us in the lead, with one more pair to go. I watched then next pair, praying for them to fail but sadly they managed 32 seconds. This was actually a blessing in disguise though, as the prize turned out to be a free canyon swing (height + rope + falling = not my cup of tea). I partied for a while longer before managing to stagger back to bed. I awoke the next morning feeling reasonably rough but bearable, only to find that my backpack (which happened to contain my passport, eftpos card, tickets etc.). I tore the room apart, becoming very agitated, before deciding to go down to reception to call somebody. I opened the door to find that the guys who were on the Kiwi bus (and had already left) had lleft it sitting in the hallway outside the door. I was furious, but relieved, and headed into town to get the minibus for my next adventure, jet boating in the skipper's canyon. The bus journey took about an hour to the canyon, but the scenery made it so worthwhile. The driver was alsio very knowledgeable about the gold mining history of the area. We arrived in the canyon and took a half hour jet boat ride, with numerous 360 spins as well as photo ops. Back on dry land and feeling considerably less rough, we were taken to the site of the old pipeline bungy (which we had seen from the canyon). I decided to stay on the cenyon's edge whilst the other walked out onto the bridge, and the bungy's hut (which closed in 2004) looked as if the guys had gone home for lunch. There were even signs up advertising prices. We then took the winding gravel road back out of the canyon, to civilization. Once back in Queenstown I decided to head out to the gondola and Luge (just like the one in Sentosa but with better views). It was so much fun and a great way to round off the afternoon. I grabbed a lovely, healthy and filling (not) meal from McDonald's before catching a bus out to the suburb of Frankton, which has a Warehouse (I needed some new jeans). After that I made my way back into town for a quiet night in the TV lounge, before an early night to be up for the bus the next day.
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