Queenstown - Adrenalin Capital of the World

Seriously, that's what they say. Though a tiny town, it's covered in tourists and adventure activities - a ski town in the winter and center of insanity in the summer. Every other building on the main street is a booking center for bungee jumps, canyon swings, jet boats, white water rafting, kayaking, river surfing on body boards, rock climbing, sky diving, etc. With all of these activities, many tourists blow through their budgets in just a day or two, with each couple hour trip costing around $100 or 200. As I pulled into the picturesque town right along an attractive mountain lake, backed by the mountain range aptly named The Remarkables, I saw people walking the streets and parachutes in the sky. Typically, I try to stay away from the over-touristed areas like this, but Queenstown is a place that you can't really pass up. For my first day, I decided to do one of the adventure activities - the jet boat through Shotover Canyon. A super high-powered boat with a custom engine designed for just this purpose flies through the narrow rocky canyons of the region, skidding along the top of the water, twisting and turning and passing just inches away from the sheer rock walls, reaching speeds of 50 mph. I'd seen some videos of this on tv, and it was one of the ones that I really wanted to do, so I immediately booked my trip and was headed out that afternoon.

We drove a few minutes out of town, put on some jackets and life jackets, and the 10 of us piled into the last boat of the day. Our driver was a crazy Australian named Olly, who played up the psycho bit by humming a simple, repetitive tune the whole time through our 30 minute trip up the canyon, not being affected by the walls or rocks screaming by our noses. I was fortunate to be in the front seat with him, giving me a great, terrifying view of the action. The green water and beautiful rock walls quickly blurred as he threw the boat into gear and performed a few of their patented 360 spins, spraying all of the passengers in the process. He was even challenged by one of our passengers, so he managed a 540 spin as well. Basically, the boats work on some propulsion system with 500 hp, allowing it much more control and speed than typical boats, permitting us to slide within inches of the walls while still maintaining control, though you begin to doubt the driver at times when impending death looks to be in your future.

Of course, we made it through safely and jumped on the bus back to town before I gave in and decided to book another expensive activity for the next day - a jet boat and kayak trip through a nearby national park. I then headed up the road and found a nice lodge where I could park the van for the night, just in time to have a bit to eat and get some rest.

(Lake Wakatipu on the way to Queenstown)

(One of the main rivers just outside of town...I had to run back on the one way bridge and dodge cars to get this picture, so appreciate it)

(A view of one of the jetboats sliding in through the rocks)

(From the bridge above, again avoiding cars and disdainful stares)

(Jet boat, obviously)

(One more time)