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On SH6, about a half hour east of Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island, we stopped to see both the River Anduin and the infamous A.J. Hackett bungy jump. Hackett was the first nutjob in the world to look at a tall bridge over a river gorge and think, "I should throw myself off that bridge with a giant elastic band tied to my feet!" Takes some balls and insanity to imaging that for the first time.
A Remarkable Journey Upriver and Uphill November 21, 2004
Ttrealtravels2005-12-26 15:40:17
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On SH6, about a half hour east of Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island, we stopped to see both the River Anduin and the infamous A.J. Hackett bungy jump. Hackett was the first nutjob in the world to look at a tall bridge over a river gorge and think, "I should throw myself off that bridge with a giant elastic band tied to my feet!" Takes some balls and insanity to imaging that for the first time.
Although, after watching a few jumps and investigating the bridge, I thought it didn't look all that scary. The bridge wasn't horribly high, and the jump lasted only a few seconds. Looked like quite a thrill, actually, albeit a rather expensive one. Maybe another time...
Across the highway from the bungy place is an unpaved, one-lane road to the Chard Farm Winery. From points along this road, you can look down into the Kawarau River, which was filmed as the Great River Anduin of Middle Earth. The high cliffs on either side formed the Pillars of the Kings -- with the help of some computer-generated statues, of course.
At Frankton, just before Queenstown, we took SH6 to the turnoff for the Remarkables Ski Field. Several guidebooks recommended the hike from the top of the ski area for excellent views of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, and the mountains. Also, another hike from the top lead to where parts of the Dimrill Dale was filmed in Fellowship of the Ring.
However, you have to drive 13km up a very steep grade on a narrow gravel road with no guardrail. This was the most harrowing drive ever! Sheer cliffs, nothing stood between our car and the perilous drop. The rocky road meant going very slowly and carefully.
That was the craziest drive I've ever done in my life. Up an unpaved, gravelly road for 13km, we rose to a height of over 5,000 feet to get to the bottom of the ski area. What a nutso drive!
The road was so bad, the incline so steep, and the gear so low that the car, which had a third of a tank of gas (or more) registered "Empty" the whole way up. This nearly gave us heart attacks halfway up the mountain until I realized what was happening. I can still hear Trystan saying "but I thought we had plenty of gas!?!"
The excitement done, we reached the top and took plenty of pictures and video. In my shorts and T-shirt, I got pretty chilly, so I donned my parka and walked around the car park. I even tramped on a shallow embankment of snow, still left from the skiing season, believe it or not.
Then we came back down the mountain -- which wigged out Trystan, and I wasn't much better. Going back down was almost freakier than driving up!
See photographs from:
New Zealand Gallery
