BUNGEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

April 10 - Well, today was the day - Pete and the kids went bungee jumping for the first time.  They figured that since we were already near Kawarau, the birthplace of bungee, there was something of a historical element to it.  Whatever works for you, I always say.  Anyway, the day was chilly and the wait on the bridge for their turn was unfortunately long.  The company, AJ Hackett, has different strengths of bungee cord depending on the person's weight, and there were apparently a lot of light people there that day, so that made the whole system go a bit slower than usual.  But the system was really impressive - these guys have the technique down to a science, and the safety factor is impressive, even though they are pumping people through at a pretty good rate.

But I think that the best way to describe the experience for Pete and the kids is to show the photos and videos taken of their jumps.  These were all taken by the bungee company, and that is an impressive system as well.  The bridge was 43 metres high, and I think that all of their techniques were quite impressive. (On another blog, I will describe some of the more cringe-worthy jumps I witnessed during the day.) I cannot seem to upload the videos of their jumps right now but if you want to see them, let me know and I will send you the link once we download them to another website.

I think the photos speak for themselves.  A great time was had by all and discussions have already started about doing it again.  Oy. I was so proud of the way that they all took the plunge (literally) - they just stepped up and did it, and there was great excitement after each jump to support the next person.  Well done, crew!!

After the bungee adrenaline wore off, we started off on our way to our next - and unfortunately, last - stop of this trip, Twizel.  It is not only half-way to Christchurch, it also has a great Lord of the Rings Tour of the locations used for the Fields of Pelennor (Rohan and Gondor, to you LOTR fans).  We thought that this was a great way to end our trip - we started with a LOTR tour and we are ending with one.  A bit touristy, for sure, but I think it's going to be a blast!