Franz Josef

Several of our tour took a helicopter ride up Franz Josef glacier to hike around for several hours with a tour guide (who was from Boulder and graduate CU) before flying back down again. It was a really warm day for it and the ice looked brilliant under the New Zealand sun.

Nevis Bungee

Again, fellow rams, I would like to call attention to the special shirt I chose to wear on this terrifying day! I wasn’t too scared until I got to the edge of the platform, and then I screamed as loud as I could haha. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Colorado State University

I have many, many people to thank for allowing me to travel and see some of the world, one of which is the team at Colorado State University College of Business Go Abroad. The COB awarded me a scholarship for study at the University of South Australia, so I try to take a few pictures with my ram gear on from time to time! Go Rams!

Lake Matheson

This picture is Lake Matheson, a stunning lake on the South Island of New Zealand that our Stray tour bus stopped at before reaching Queenstown. The reflections on the lake made for some pretty spectacular pictures.

Lake Matheson

Although most of our trip was sunny, the day we stopped in Lake Matheson was perfectly cloudy to cast scenic reflections on the surface of the water as we hiked up and around the lake.

Franz Josef

This is out of order from where I went, but it was a really cool day! We flew in a helicopter up to Franz Josef glacier and hiked around. It was unbelievably warm and sunny and I’m wearing the blue rain jacket my sister gave me right before I left (this pic is for you, Sarah!).

Christchurch

Though much of the city is under construction or decorated with graffiti, some street art jewels shone through to speak for Christchurch’s persistent hope in its future.

Dusky Dolphins

We woke at 4:30 a.m. this morning to swim with Dusky Dolphins in Kaikoura, NZ, and it was brilliant. We swam right along side them in their pods and played with them by diving down and swimming circles. They loved racing the boats as well!

Queenstown

It’s been a while!

Unfortunately I don’t have consistent internet, as I said before, but I wanted to post about Queenstown. When I get to Australia I’ll post in order about the places we’ve been and all. It’s over half way through my trip to New Zealand, and what a trip it’s been so far!

Queenstown is just beautiful. The scenery reminds me a lot of the Rocky Mountains, starting with the north-south Remarkables mountain range. It’s not as green here as it was on the west coast of New Zealand near Abel Tasman or on the east coast in Kaikoura, but it’s still really breathtaking. On our first evening here we did a little roommate bonding and had our last big night out as a bus together. After this our bus splits and some of us continue south while others go north. I’ll be going north to Mount Cook from here.

Yesterday I toured the Queenstown gardens and walked around the town. We ate honeycomb and tortamana ice cream, which is about the best stuff you can ever eat. Tortamana is a cream based ice cream with salted caramel and chocolate chunks in it. Can’t keep my hands off the stuff!

In the afternoon six of us loaded on to a bus– Luke and Laura, they’re from the UK, Rolland, who is from Holland near Amsterdam, Tova and her friend, and myself– and we headed out of town past the Kamarau River and bungy there to the Nevis Bungy.

The bus ride itself was actually a little terrifying because it was a little one lane dirt track up a VERY steep grade of road with nothing but a large drop and steep rocks on the sides. And I had just told Rolland we had a better chance of getting in a car crash than of something going wrong with the bungy. We both looked at each other when we came to that road and roared up it.

They take you out to the middle, a gondala-like structure suspended high above solid ground. I didn’t feel too scared, really, even when we were in the gondola. I watched the others go before me, we went by weight, and they were all just fine and came back up with big smiles. Luke went first and he screamed but came back into the gondola laughing.

Connor strapped my feet in. One of his mates put me in a chair and attached the bungees. “Pull this green rope on your leg on your second bounce,” they said. “It releases a pin so you can sit up on the ride back up here.” The girl before me (Tova’s friend) couldn’t get hers out and rode up upside down. Her face was bright red and I imagine that was a bit of a frightful haul up.

I shuffled out to the edge, guided by one of the guys, and he had a steady hand on me. I sort of froze up and he said I needed to get on with it, can’t turn back. Thinking back on it, having a hand there with me really made me do it. Sort of a sign of solidarity I guess, but there was a huge undercurrent of trust that passed between two strangers right then, at least for me it happened and, mistrustful of others as I sometimes am, I felt like it was alright.

So I jumped.

And it was stunning. I did a pretty good dive with my arms stretched like a bird. But I guess I should mention right before I jump, in the video, I scream no. Haha. It’s not all gallantry and courage up there.

The first feeling is still fear when you jump, but then it gives way to this unbelievable falling freedom and you lose everything– the fear, the worry, thought– everything. I imagine if we didn’t have language, it might feel like that sometimes. No words, just feelings rushing through you.

Once the fall is through you bounce and then on the second bounce I had no trouble pulling my green rope and sitting up. That portion of the jump is just as good as the initial fall because you’ve lost all your troubles and it’s just you amongst these magnificent mountains with a river below. It looks a little brown in the video, but the landscape swells and falls and is just so huge that you can’t help but feel the wonder a bird probably feels up there.

Oh to be a bird!

I was tremendously glad I got to share that with people I knew, and we were all laughs and smiles and high fives on the ride back to land. We were the last jump of the day so the crew came with us and I just wanted to give them a big hug, because they had had my life in their hands for a few moments when they put my gear on and it all came out alright. They joked they don’t usually let the Americans come back up. Very funny.

We went for Ferg Burgers after. We were all so starving, I guess fear and exhilaration makes you hungry. Fergburgers is a famous place in Queenstown, and really all of New Zealand. Everywhere you look on the wharf and in town people have Fergburger wrappers and are scarfing down the food.

This morning I went jetboating. I took the nine o’clock time and I am so glad I did. Lake Wapatipu and the Kawarau and Shotover Rivers looked just beautiful in the soft morning light. The hills looked so smooth, the reflections were a brilliant color in the water, and the air felt so good on my face.

Jetboating is pretty exciting stuff. My dad loves boats and I can’t wait to tell him all about it. The jetboats only need two inches of water to go in once you plane up and get going so we were cruising in very shallow waters and near the banks and bridges and all! Lincoln was our driver with KJet and he spun us around and took us careening through the cerulean waters. It’s easily the most beautiful sights I’ve seen in New Zealand and that’s really saying something. The light was just great.

I think I’ll just walk around the town and sit by the water the rest of the day. We might go frisbee golfing later on, which also reminds me of good old Fort Collins, CO. This place feels like home because it looks like home.

Until next time!

Nicole

PS ColoState EduAbroad please note my bungy shirt– just for you!

AJ Hackett Bungy, Nevis, 134m

I recommend doing this every chance you get.