Today was bungy jumping with AJ Hackett Bungy.  I met Graham at the shop at 10am, the site controller I’ve been organizing the jump with.  He drove me to the jump site, Kawarau Bridge, in a company pick up truck that I was easily able to transfer to the passenger seat.  They normally take the jumpers on a big passenger bus that I would not have been able to get on without a lot of help.  It was about a 15 minute drive to the bridge.  The entrance is accessible with an elevator to the check in level.  I met Mark, the jump controller, to talk about my injury and what I will feel during the jump.  I will be in a harness when I jump and not hooked up by the feet.  After checking in Mark and Graham helped me to the bridge.  There are 2 sets of 10 steps up to the bridge.  They carried me up in my chair one in front and one behind me.  Not the way I like being carried up steps but I felt safe.  There is a patch of loose gravel from the top of the steps to the bridge that I needed help from Graham to get through.  Once on the bridge it was easy to wheel to the area to get the harness on.  Graham and another jump controller helped get the harness on me.  I had to transfer from my chair down to the bridge, then with help, move to the area to get the bungy hooked up to the harness.  Next I was moved to the jump ledge.  I was not nervous at any time getting ready or sitting on the jump ledge.  Time to jump or in my case roll forward off the ledge.  The Kawarau Bridge jump is the original bungy jump at 43 meters high.  It was a nice adrenaline rush during the free fall but nothing like skydiving.  After the jump, they sent down a rope that I hooked to the harness and I was pulled back to the top by a wench.

VIDEO OF BUNGY JUMP

They have a boat on the river that they unhook the other jumpers and there is a long set of steps to walk back up to the bridge.  Graham and the entire crew at AJ Hackett were great.  I felt safe the whole time.  After we returned I went to Off Road Adventures to check if they had other people signed up for Skipper Canyon 4×4 adventure.  They did not, so besides zipline, this was the only thing I had planned in Queenstown I did not get to do.  I head to 1876 for dinner.  1876 use to be the old courthouse.  I’m not a fish fan but since I just bungy jumped I figured I’d try something new.  I had the salmon cakes for dinner and they were very good.  The bar is accessible off Ballarat Street.  They have a ramp up to the deck.  I head back to the hostel for one of their nightly activities, Tuesday was Boiler Room bingo.  Most of their nightly activities don’t start until 9pm or 10pm when I was going back to my room.  I had no plans for Wednesday but do laundry and pack so I stayed out late.  I met the group from the hostel at 8:45pm and we head to the Boiler Room Bar.  Bingo was not that exciting but I met Lorraine and ended up talking with her for most of the evening.  She is from England, lives in Australia and her brother is in a wheelchair.  We stop at Monty’s for a drink after bingo and she heads back to the hostel for a flight to Sydney on Wednesday.  I stay of one more beer then go back to the hostel.