[Queenstown, New Zealand] WARNING. Geat day = long post.
Yet another perfect weather day, it even felt hot and the cold breeze must be busy somewhere else. We were up very early to be in time for the canyoning. Typical, we were a half hour early, but killed the time on McDonald’s free WiFi connection that for some reason was not asking for the usual login (some IT guy is gonna be in trouble). We had a group of 10 people with 3 guides. I won the age race again by at least 10 years. It was a short ride out to the canyon and in no time we had been kitted out in 7mm full length wet-suits, booties, life vests, helmets and harnesses.

Before walking up river we had a chance to sample the water, it was around 6 degrees Celsius. Brrrr. Thankfully for the first few canyon crossings we were high above the river on zip lines. Once again the guides were excellent. Everything was checked and double checked on each person. A well oiled and professional operation with a lot of simple (some hardly noticeable) steps to ensure safety. After the zip lines (which were short and slow compared to what we are used to) we were lowered into the canyon and got to experience a small slide. Hitting the water was so cold it knocked the wind right out of us. This was followed up with a decent (7m) waterfall jump into deep water. As usual I somehow found myself at the front of the queue. V had managed to wiggle her way to the back and had initially opted to be lowered down but to her credit she didn’t chicken out – she was rewarded with a nose full of icy water 🙂

Jumping, wading, sliding and scrambling got us back out of the canyon to another zip line. This time the object was to zip to the middle of the line and then abseil down to the water. V and I were the last to go and we were just chatting about how not to mess up the simple procedure involved. V was a little concerned but had no problem in the end (just like the other 8 people before her). Then I stepped to the plate and forgot to release the safety before starting the abseil. Doh. What a gonk! In my defense I have never had an additional safety to remove before abseiling. All I needed was 15 seconds to tie an 8 and step up to release the safety but the guide was hauling me back in before I could turn around. V is never going to let me forget that one. Scrambling around the rocks I put my hand down to balance myself and felt a pop in my shoulder accompanied with excruciating pain and loss of motion in my arm. It is impossible to keep you muscles warm in this cold water is my excuse, but really I think I’m just getting old. I managed another bigger jump (maybe 8m) but V did opted out (paaak pak pak pak), and were on our way sliding and wading towards our exit point but not before another icy dunking (I suspect the guides favorite part). By the time we got out of the canyon a few of us were starting to shiver and turn blue but it didn’t take long to warm up in the sun.

Back in town we rushed back to camp (ibuprofen rocks) swallowed as much lunch as possible and then walked up to the gondola to discover that ‘half-day’ pass meant from 3pm until 8pm. With an hour to kill we chilled out back at the van and then tried again with more success. The views going up the gondola and from the skyline complex at the top are stunning. This place has a lot to offer.

Vertigo bikes is yet another fantastically run organization. We decided to rent some full suspension downhill bikes (full face helmets included, body armor as an optional extra) and they were in perfect condition. They even switched the hydraulic disc brake levers around for V (she’s not normal). Not familiar with the bikes or trails we took the easiest route down (an 8km green trail). It was awesome and to give an idea it was comparable to the black (hardest) runs in Wales with options which look positively life threatening (huge jumps, elevated Ewok village trails etc). Then the best part. The guys at the gondola hooked our bikes on and in no time we were back at the start and ready to go again with ear to ear grins. We love gravity assisted sports.

Gaining confidence we hit the same route, but this time a lot faster making full use of the burns and small jumps. The bikes instill a lot of confidence – obstacles that would throw me off a hard-tail just get smoothed out with the dual shocks. It’s an incredible feeling and the best value for money thing to do here. Also the most adrenalin inducing. A bungy jump you ‘know’ is safe, but careening through a forest over jumps and obstacles is infinitely more dangerous – and the outcome is far from certain. Just to prove the point we opted for a blue run on our next descent. It was STEEP and accompanied with shrieks of exhilaration/fear from both of us. I accidentally ended up on a black run headed straight down an insane trail. It wasn’t long before I was thrown over the bars and was being chased by my bike as I rolled head first down the trail. Confidence crushed and in some pain I found my way to a road, met up with V and continued down the blue run at a more conservative pace.

Back on the green run and by half way, having forgotten the earlier spill, I was gravitating towards the more technical options. A small gap jump landed me on a rock which punctured my tire. V continued on alone as I pushed back to the top along an access road. One thing about downhill bikes, they are HEAVY. I got to the top completely spent at the same time as V. It took 30 minutes of slog up the road. Chatting to the locals it seems that the gondola has not been available to bikes for too long and this is the first year that riders have been able to buy a season pass. I can’t imagine having to ride (or push) all the way up, but it would have been worth it – the trails are genius.

We did a few more runs (6.5 for me in total and 5 for V – the locals do 8 or 9) but the last ones were hard. Never again will we diss downhill mountain bikers as lazy – this stuff takes a lot of fitness. With time running out I set off on one last cannonball run. Too fast, too tired, too unfit and not enough skill had me bouncing down the trail again. How often can you have a huge grin on your dial with blood dripping from a bashed knee and covered in grazes and aching bruises. We love it!

It was a long hard day at play. Luckily we are spending tomorrow driving as I doubt either of us will be able to walk. Thank you Queenstown. We will be back (just need to rob a bank first).

[Pictures: Queenstown from the Skyline complex – Stunnning. All the other pics are on the camera so you’ll have to wait]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi