Queenstown, NZ
Queenstown is pretty much the hub for activities on the south island. It is a real touristy town with a kind of ski village vibe (it actually has a gondola that takes you up the mountain). Great restaurants and bars, stellar scenery, and access to pretty much any extreme sport you can think of. Unfortunately it is pretty pricey, so I had to limit myself to just the bungy jump.
One really cool thing that this city has is called the Luge. You can take the gondola up to the top of the hill and then jump on these little carts and ride down a concrete track. It was hilarious. Kind of like go karts except without the engines. These things could cruise too. Despite several warnings from the staff at the top of the hill, our nice little ride quickly turned into full contact caos. You can check the pics as one of the guys got dumped off and ended up losing a little skin off his elbow....and hand....and hip.
Criket
I also got to watch my first ever Criket match. I know, sounds pretty boring, but you know me, I love my sports. I went to watch a day match between NZ and Sri Lanka. A day match takes about 8 hours, but a test match (where they are wearing all white uniforms) is the long one that takes 5 days. Criket is played in a circular field and the batters are aloud to hit the ball in any direction. You get 4 points for hitting it to the fence, 6 points for hitting it over, and otherwise, just one point for each base the batters get to. The great part is, is that the batter doesn't have to run if he thinks that he may be thrown out, so he can stay up there for a while. Only thing is, is that a team is limited in how many pitches it gets (day match is 6 pitches per over, 50 overs per team). I'm surprised at how into I got. NZ actually ended up winning the game on the last ball of the game.
On some other exciting news......I left a banana in my day pack and it rotted. Motivated me to spend and afternoon and do some 'housecleaning' in my packs. Twas pretty ugly in there. Apparently when spilt in your pack, those little chewable Vitamin C tablets can dissolve quite nicely even without water. Hard to believe that I have been living out of this bag for almost 8 months now. I don't know if you can tell from the pics, but I don't even bother rotating my 6 shirts anymore......I'll just wear the same one for 5 consecutive days. Getting time for some new socks though. I can no longer remove my shoes in enclosed spaces, or breathing becomes an issue.
I was chatting with some people the other day and they determined that I was suffering from travellers fatigue. Ha!!! I thought that you guys would like that one. Its actually pretty tough conjuring up that adventure feel day after day. I guess it IS possible afterall that too much wip cream can eventually spoil your strawberry shortcake. Did that make sense? Maybe that was just a little side note.
I think I'm hungry.
Anyway, here are some pics. Given that my new found technology worked so well with the bungy jump, I put on a video of the luge. Didn't require any tape this time, but it did make for some difficult handling once the speed started to pick up. Enjoy.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.9oa9kg8t&x=1&y=-56frmr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxF2mxUDmeM
One really cool thing that this city has is called the Luge. You can take the gondola up to the top of the hill and then jump on these little carts and ride down a concrete track. It was hilarious. Kind of like go karts except without the engines. These things could cruise too. Despite several warnings from the staff at the top of the hill, our nice little ride quickly turned into full contact caos. You can check the pics as one of the guys got dumped off and ended up losing a little skin off his elbow....and hand....and hip.
Criket
I also got to watch my first ever Criket match. I know, sounds pretty boring, but you know me, I love my sports. I went to watch a day match between NZ and Sri Lanka. A day match takes about 8 hours, but a test match (where they are wearing all white uniforms) is the long one that takes 5 days. Criket is played in a circular field and the batters are aloud to hit the ball in any direction. You get 4 points for hitting it to the fence, 6 points for hitting it over, and otherwise, just one point for each base the batters get to. The great part is, is that the batter doesn't have to run if he thinks that he may be thrown out, so he can stay up there for a while. Only thing is, is that a team is limited in how many pitches it gets (day match is 6 pitches per over, 50 overs per team). I'm surprised at how into I got. NZ actually ended up winning the game on the last ball of the game.
On some other exciting news......I left a banana in my day pack and it rotted. Motivated me to spend and afternoon and do some 'housecleaning' in my packs. Twas pretty ugly in there. Apparently when spilt in your pack, those little chewable Vitamin C tablets can dissolve quite nicely even without water. Hard to believe that I have been living out of this bag for almost 8 months now. I don't know if you can tell from the pics, but I don't even bother rotating my 6 shirts anymore......I'll just wear the same one for 5 consecutive days. Getting time for some new socks though. I can no longer remove my shoes in enclosed spaces, or breathing becomes an issue.
I was chatting with some people the other day and they determined that I was suffering from travellers fatigue. Ha!!! I thought that you guys would like that one. Its actually pretty tough conjuring up that adventure feel day after day. I guess it IS possible afterall that too much wip cream can eventually spoil your strawberry shortcake. Did that make sense? Maybe that was just a little side note.
I think I'm hungry.
Anyway, here are some pics. Given that my new found technology worked so well with the bungy jump, I put on a video of the luge. Didn't require any tape this time, but it did make for some difficult handling once the speed started to pick up. Enjoy.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.9oa9kg8t&x=1&y=-56frmr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxF2mxUDmeM
posted by Ryan D. MacIntyre | 5:27 PM
8 Comments:
Hi Ryan,
If you are reading this it means thatI finally learned how to post a comment. I haven't figured out how to put in a name but that will come with practice. I enjoy reading your blog (couldn't they come up with a nicer word?). It sounds like you are havind a sensational time and doing things others only dream of (or have nightmares about, I am not sure which). In your last photo, I don't see your lip ring. Does that mean you accidently swallowed it or you swapped it with a friendly NZ lady or what? Maybe I am like Tara and just going blind.
Keep having fun and stay safe.
Sarajevo Sam (that's the name I would choose if I could figure things out)
Oh Yes,
I forgot to mention the lip ring thing. Well, unfortunately I was playing with the ring with my teeth and busted it. I guess my lip kind of needed a break anyway!
Oh my God, Ryan, are you crazy? Stupid question. It's bad enough you're travelling all over the world by yourself now you have to jump into canyons hanging from a rope thousands of feet in the air. I had tears in my eyes just watching it. Glad you enjoyed it. I remember at Disney World when I chickened out at the last check point before getting on the roller coaster and was glad I did, cause Sarejevo Sam & the Hickster were sick the rest of the day. Glad to hear you broke your lip ring as well. Hope it grows over quickly, probably the puss will help that.
Be careful and no more stupid stuff, ok? Love ya
Auntie Marion
Ryan...
Happy New Year! Glad to see you are taking the 'new year, new U' attitude and testing yourself. Congrats on the bungee--had no idea you feared heights. Be very proud.
Tho wot's this about you being the type to get car sick???? Kinda negates the whole manly bludgeoning of the fish...score is even, for now...
Big Fat Zero on this end. Feeling a wee bit anxious as 3 months approach & no serious job yet...and I'm not doing anything nearly as fun as you while it's happening (RATS). Applied for some super cool stuff this week, tho, so fingers, toes & eyes crossed.
Give those Kiwis a "what for" to show them they're not as fun, smart, cool as us Canadians LOL.....Yorga
Marion,
Yeah, that video still gives me butterflies when I look over that ledge. The jump was easier than roller coasters for me......I usually only get to go on one of those, and then I'm sick for the rest of the day! Ha! But then again, I'm sure that you remember having to pull over for me a few times. Ha.
Yeah Heidi, the roads in NZ were absolutely killing. They are so windy and bumpy, that it was only taking me about 5 minutes this time. I'm taking so much gravol now that I think I'm becoming immune. I feel terrible having to ask these people I just met to 'pull over for a minute'. Ha!
As for the PLAN, well, I've just landed in Auz. Gonna hang around here for a month or two, then its off to Indonesia for a month. If I still have any $$$ left, then may try to check out China and some of S.E. Asia. I'm not real great at planning though. Ha!
Miss Kimi,
It's too bad that you can't get the Youtube working. I was going to send you some dirty videos of me.
Kate,
Good to hear from you. I was getting worried that you had found some crazy desk job and had given up on any social interaction. Ha. 3 months of hanging out can certainly suck. January is now here though, so you're free time schedule may be coming close to an end. I'm sure that you'll be craving it again soon.
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