Moving to New Zealand--Doubtful Sound

..Living the goal..

Meet The Parents...
Queenstown | Bungee Jumping | Paragliding | Doubtful Sound

After counting down the days, Jeannine's parents finally arrived on March 1st. Shaking off the cold from Binghamton, NY, they settled into the relaxing New Zealand summer and took no time at all getting used to the hot tub and time off from work. We got right to work in showing them the country...
First off, a trip to Queenstown. Jeannine's parents had been here before--roughly 18 years ago. However, Queenstown looked nothing to them like it had earlier. If only they had bought property then! A tiny two bedroom house will now fetch about $300,000 US. The place has become the main tourist hub overnight--and with views and skiing to suit, it's not hard to see why.
   The first morning there, Jeannine and I finally decided to pursue the stupidity of youth and jump from the Kawarau Suspension Bridge--bungee style, of course. I figured, if anything, the view would be great on the way down. Around the corner, one could see the spot where they filmed the giant Argonauth statues above the river.
    I took the jump with great enthusiasm, screaming a phrase I had read stenciled on a Forrestel T-shirt ages ago. The large number of Japanese tourists were all taken aback by it, so it must have been effective. The rush was great, the pull of the robe gentle, and the experience wonderful. It's really quite safe, and I encourage all to try it out. Jeannine's jump went just as well. There are videos below to prove it.
    Not to let Dave and Julie get away with just watching, we convinced them to do something a little wild as well. First though, to the historic town of Arrowtown we headed. Situated about 20 minutes outside Q-town, this place rose up out of the discovery and hence, rush of alluvial gold in the Arrow River. Today, it looks much the same as it did 100 years ago--but with tourist shops replacing the saloons. Dave and I took to gold panning in the river--we ended up cleaning some rocks. Apparently though, some nut had found $2,000.00 worth a mile up stream the previous week. We detested him. After meeting up with the ladies--who were doing some shopping--up to the top of Queenstown we headed intent on getting Dave and Julie to do some Paragliding action. After some coaxing they both took off in a tandem jump above the township, lake, and mountains. Amazing views for them and they really enjoyed it.
    After Queenstown, we took off to the town of Tehanu to rest before heading to the Fiordlands. The next morning, a boat picked us up at the entrance to Manapouri Lake and we cruised towards Doubtful Sound. This place is simply to amazing to describe. Untouched, raw nature that is the same today as it was thousands of years ago. New Zealand has gone a long way in protecting it's greatest gems and over 30% of the country is composed of National Parks. The Fiordlands have been declared a World Heritage Site and they're more than worthy of the title. Gorgeous mountains rise high above the sounds filled with beautiful trees, song birds, and waterfalls. It rains nearly all the time there, but we were lucky to get a perfect day.
     I won't say much more as I'll let the picture do more of the talking.

Videos:
(right-click and click on "save as target" to view. Turn your head to the left to view the bungee videos. Make sure sound is on.)
Mike Leaps Off!
Jeannine Follows!
Julie Takes Off Paragliding!

Photos: