Thursday 24 October 2013

Queenstown part 2: Skyfall

What's wrong with rocking back on your chair? Oh yes, it could tip over, which might be dangerous. Especially if you are on the very ledge of a 108m high cliff, surrounded by two crazy people with a strong let's-see-what-happens-if-he-goes-down attitude.


But we are in Queenstown, and here the nightmares become reality. So there we go... experiencing the Shotover Canyon Swing! Oh, don't try this at home.


The next day I boarded some random plane for a scenic flight.


At this point I should have been warned about the many loops and straps of the aviation suit, and the plane having no chairs, just a flat floor. At an altitude of 12000 feet (about 3600m) a door swung open, and we all jumped out one by one. The freefall that followed were the 45 most awesome seconds of Queenstown! I saw the huge range of mountains with its numerous magnificient white peaks, Queenstown itself along Lake Wakatipu, the green valleys and the awesomeness of New Zealand all way around me while totaling down at a speed of 200 km/h.


At around 1000m the parachute was deployed and we landed safely back on earth (the picture above showing the previous group). No mid-air pictures of me this time, as I did not want my once-in-a-lifetime 360 degree panorama view being obstructed by some paparazzi photographer ;)

Next trip: Mt Somers.

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