I slept very well on this couch---it was very comfy compared to the van I guess! I got up at 9:30AM, packed up my stuff, Misha brought all of us some breakfast from the buffet to share. We had to check out by 10 and get Misha to his bungee jump. The rest of us looked around the bustling town and then had to move the vans---being in a town, it was back to time allotted parking. Colin and I decided to go zip-lining and we signed up to go at 4.
I decided to do a hike on my own up the huge Gondola (long ski lift). The hike was rather exhausting and difficult. It was completely up-hill and the path was made mostly of tree stubs, rock edges, and dirt. There was another path called the Vertigo path on the way up which was for dirt bikers--there were a few bikes that flew past me on their way down---one even coming a little too close, all I head was "watch out girl" and he zipped behind me. The second part of the path was a dirt and rock road. Cars I guess can drive up here on this road, but mostly its for walkers, runners, climbers. The hike usually takes about an hour, I was hauling it so I go up there within 40 minutes. What a magnificent view. I was out of breath several times on the way up and especially at the top but once i got up there it was well worth it. Surrounded by mountains and huge lake, I could see the entire town from there too! I saw the bungee jump-off, paragliding,a chairlift, the luge (racecar/bumper car course which went from the top of the chairlift to the Gondola), and gift shop (bought a beautiful necklace made from the native shell-peril shells).
I decided to continue hiking and started on the Ben Lemond hike (5 hour round trip hike for fit individuals the books suggested). The hike had a couple terrains to walk on--the first was dirt and rocks like the other I just took. The path was about a foot wide only. I walked through two forestry parts with very tall trees and much shade. The temperatures would change up there---since one minute I would be blazing in the sun on the side of this hill and the next be in trees and putting more layers on.
The second terrain was more sand and mud. This part was wet some of the time so my shoes were sliding and by the end completely covered. The sights were incredible though---I was walking on this hill and the mountains kept wrapping around me. I was facing the mountains and the lake and more and more expanded as I ventured around this hill. Such natural beauty---I never would have stopped on this track if I didn't have to go zipline soon. The only scary part of that the path was so narrow and the fall was so dangerous and deadly off the side of the hill if I even made one wrong step. I was freaking myself out being all alone, but I only crossed paths with 4 people or so, again that same good thing made me nervous too---what if I had trouble or needed help---no one was there! I was in the middle of nowhere so I was extra careful----the way down was more scary because now I was slipping down-hill. My heart start pounding twice when I slipped in the mud and thought it was it but I caught myself and kept trekking down. I love the hike, but had to turn around after about 40 minutes to get back to the Gondola.When the path got too muddy, I decided to turn around. On my way back, I heard two mountain goats in the distance making some weird noises and communicating in some way. I could only hear them, I couldn't see them at all. Passing a couple, they warn me to watch out for mountain goats, but I didn't come across any at all. Probably should have worn real hiking boots because my shoes were just covered in mud by the time I walked back.
I added a small hike up to the Skyline Loop where I can to the top of the chairlift and the beginning of the luge. I took some more pics of the beautiful scenery and then headed down to find Colin. He was waiting by the gift shop so we walked around a bit, i ate the lunch I packed, and then we went and checked in at the Zip-line treehouse. Colin was very nervous because he was scared of heights but he really wanted to do this. I said I would do it too, but I was looking to make it more adventurous and fly upside down.
The first step was getting some gear----gloves, hats for warmth, hard hat for safety, and harness. We looked super cool and very official in our gear--lol! We met our guides, heard some safety rules, and then were off to the first line.
The first line was the shortest just to give us a feel for it---we were allowed to do whatever we wanted! For ziplining, the guides hooked us up, controlled our braking speed, but we didn't have to hold any ropes or our own cords at all. I was a little nervous for the first one to see what it felt like, but very excited. Colin's teeth were chattering a lot, but he went before me and had a great time. Once I was clipped in, the safety door opened and I walked down about 4-5 stairs before weight was put on the cord and I took off down the line.
1-flew straight forward, lifted legs on the side, flew with no hands, swinging my legs and arms around
2-Guide taught us how to go upside down so I walked off backwards down the step, threw my head back, tucked my feet up, and released my hands---wow what a thrill!
3-Zipped upside down again, only hooked one foot this time and shot the other in arabesque. I guess the guide was impressed too Colin said after I went.
4-I videotaped this one while riding. This last one was 3x as long as the others so I went upside down, then face up to film the beautiful mountains I was passing, and then flipped upside down again.
I felt so free on the lines, and very safe. I liked how I could fool around on it and what a blast! I was very proud of Colin--he had a lot of fun!
To get to the next zipline, we had to walk down the treehouse and the next tree house was right there. As we traveled tree houses, the guides shared information about how NZ is working more and more on sustainability. The guides shared how the world needs to improve the sustainability of the land for future generations. Ziptrek is also dedicated to being a sustainable company. All of their power is generated by solar power panels on top of the trees and also a stationary bike at the check-in treehouse. I rode the bike when I first checked in and we were waiting for the other zipliners and to keep myself warm. The ziplines were not permanently embedded into the trees so when the tree grows, screw could be undone and adjusted to fit the new growth. At the last line, the guides shared how one of the guides is creating a new project for Laos---providing clean water system, sanitation system, and power system for the people who have nothing. One thing I thought was a phenomenal idea was the way he generated power. He was building a merry-go-round which kids would play on all day and then generate power at night for the neighborhoods. How neat is that!!! I hope his ideas take off and America adopts some of them too!
After the last line, we had to walk back up to the check-in treehouse to get our bags and then we walked all the way down the Gondola. It took about 40 minutes to get down. The sun was setting now so about half way down we were traveling in the dark, but luckily we had our flashlights. The path on the way down was just as tricky as on the way up. The path is not well distinguished in the light and in the dark its even worse so I slipped and missteped a couple times. Some parts were really steep too and I had to almost jump down.
Once we reached the bottom, we met up with the other students and went to Fergburger (known burger joint with wacky names and giant burgers). A typical burger was the size of my hand. I decided to get a kids Spring Chicken burger (NZ$7) so it was a bit smaller but delicious. This place was the hot spot though, constantly busy, burgers coming out nonstop.
Once we ate, we headed back to Base (our hostel). We got an eight bedroom dorm to share for NZ$25/person. This was a very nice hostel--beds were really comfy, the shower though had a button which had to be pushed every 20 sec to keep the water going or it would turn off. I guess that saves water! It was kind of annoying, but I got in and got out as fast as possible.
We each got a free drink for staying there so we got our free ticket and went to the bar. At the bar, I bumped into the girls who climbed with us on the Glacier who were also drive from Fox Glacier and were staying at Base that night too. We chatted about our adventures that day and then the rest of the BSU students and I went upstairs to shower. We all were really tired and ended up staying in the room that night playing some scrabble- I played with Rory, Misha, and Colin. I also go into a wrestling match with Colin somehow---we were playing around and laughing. He pinned me down a few times, but I seemed to get myself out every time. He is much like a brother to me and we pick on each other like we are siblings. We had a lot of fun just chilling in the room together. I had every intention of going back down to the bar for Ladies Night, but we were all too exhausted. I went to bed around 11-11:30PM. My calves were a bit sore and I was pooped so I climbed into the top bunk and went to bed. We all said goodnight to each other and Misha decided to say to goodnight to every one singularly which made me smile. We all have grown so close together its going to be very hard to say good-bye in a few days.
I don't want to think about good-bye, I have made some great friends and I will miss them all.
Minutes later I was asleep.
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