The day I jumped off a cliff.

The day started off with Adrian and I taking a walk down the lake in the morning and feeding ducks, while the other 3 girls went for some other thrilling activity (involving heights), which we were just not really interested in (plus we were broke). During the later part of the morning, we met up with Charlie and headed to the shop where the bus will take us to the Shotover Jet area. Basically for Shotover jet, you sit on a boat and the crazy driver will just.. uhm go crazy and do funny 360 turns at the shotover river canyons (ok i suck at descriptions check this out: http://www.shotoverjet.com). The ride was okay, though not particularly thrilling. I enjoyed it but maybe it wasn't worth my money.

After the shotover jet, we waited for a small bus to pick us up and bring us to the Canyon Swing area. i shall not bother describing what canyon swing is, you may wanna check it out here: http://www.canyonswing.co.nz/index.php (it is a must try if you're in Queenstown!!!). Long story short, you have to jump off a cliff. It is, however, a little different from bungy because the Canyon Swing offers you a variety of jumping techniques and you'll be donned in a full-body harness. So these are the different "jumpstyles" you can choose: http://www.canyonswing.co.nz/jumpstyles.php

Before this day, I had actually spent 2 days mulling over how i should jump. I definitely wouldn't wanna do the normal forward jump (like i did in Auckland), and truth be told, i was not really keen on jumping off on my own. So after much deliberation, i decided to do the "Elvis Cutaway", where they'd hang me horizontally and release the rope as and when they feel like it, rather than me jumping off (yes, i was feeling like a wuss!). So everything went as planned, i prepared myself mentally for the drop (not jump) and told myself it's something i had to do before i die. As i was patiently waiting for my turn, one of the staff started to strap me up with the harness.

him: so have you decided on how you're jumping off?
me: yep, i'm doing the Elvis.

him: do you have perfect eyesight?
me: no
him: are you wearing any contact lenses?
me: yes
him: oh then i'm sorry you're gonna have to choose another jumpstyle
me: what?! why! i spent 2 days making my decision, you can't do this to me.. 5 minutes before i jump!
him: you could go blind if you don't have perfect eyesight and do the Elvis. (he then went on to explain why and i could only remember hearing the word "retina", because i was too busy panicking to concentrate).

So i decided to f*$^ it and just do the backward jump. Not long after, it was Charlie's turn to jump, and i was to go after her. Charlie had chosen the backwards jump and she was THIS close to chickening out because she's afraid of heights. She took more than 10 minutes to deliberate at the tip of the cliff with two evil New Zealanders trying to pressure her to jump. I kept shouting some encouraging words to her -- "Charlie, you can do this! just jump off it'll be over in a bit", or "Charlie, you paid 130 bucks for this you HAVE TO JUMP!", to which she shouted "IT'S JUST MONEY!!". Finally, after what seemed like ages, Charlie leaned back and fell off. :P I was secretly thankful she took that much time because.. well, i was scared shitless!!!

So my turn finally came and those dudes at the edge tested my full body harness to make sure everything was working. Once they were done, they decided to have a little chat, with my back facing the edge.

dude no. 1: Would you like to take a look at the gorgeous view below before you jump?
me: erm, no thanks i'm good!
dude no.

me, before the jump.

2: Oh come on, it's beautiful you've got to see it!
me: no, really, i'm fine!
dude no. 2: you do know you're gonna regret not looking down, don't you? it's not often that you get a view of a canyon like this. who knows when you'll be back here! come on, just a tiny peek will do!
me: oh fine! just a peek. don't push me down!
him: don't worry, lady you'll have to jump off on your own.

i caved in, turned my head, looked down and immediately wished it was all a dream hahahahah. they asked me if i was ready and i took a few deep breaths and said "okay". One of them started counting down from 3.

him: 3.

....2...
me: STOP! no. i need time.
him: ok take your time

after a good 20 seconds, i took a deep breath.

me: ok y'know what, i'm just gonna jump it's either now or never
him: that's right. don't worry when you jump off, just give your leg a little push it'll make things better.
me: ok got it. i think.

So they counted again and this time i decided to f^&$ it and jump! i did what the guy told me to do and gave it a slight push as i was jumping off. i remember falling backwards being a victim to gravity but more importantly, i remember doing a backflip/summersault in the air. .. 360 degrees! the backflip was definitely not part of the plan but it was AWESOME. once i reached the bottom, i was supposed to swing in the canyon (hence, "Canyon Swing") but i didn't swing much because i was too light.

So that was my canyon swing experience. Later on at the gift shop, i ran into one of the guys who had coaxed me into looking down.

me: hey how come i ended up doing a backflip?
him: well that's cos you gave it a little push when you jumped backwards
me: but you told me to do that! wait, you knew what was going to happen, didn't you!
him: well. erm. HEY it was an good jump!

hahahaha. So that pretty much sums up my jump-off-the-cliff experience. Now i am able to compare the difference between a forward and backward jump. In my opinion, forward jumps are much easier to initiate (i.e. jump off), but the journey down isn't as fun. Backward jumps, on the other hand, are frightening simply because you'd have to jump backwards and the feeling of uncertainty is higher, but the journey down is definitely more enjoyable. :)

That afternoon, we left Queenstown for Franz Josef, feeling very accomplished and satisfied. I had survived the day!