Friday, August 03, 2007
Let's go jump off a cliff....
A slight problem with Blogger (all the instructions are in Chinese so a bit tricky) so you get two updates today. Yesterday's skiing report and todays Tandem Hang Glide. We had a slight delay so didn't do til 3pm (more shopping in the mean time. Thank good ness for VISA!) Headed up the Remarkables to our launch site with the very nice men from SKYTREK. Amazing views, despite rather overcast weather. We were put into more super flattering outfits - jumpsuits, harnesses, helmets etc. Jordana was the first to take off, followed by Louise then Cathy. We have photos (which should be posted below all being well) and all really enjoyed it - extremely exhilarating. Jordana and Cathy both took a turn at the controls - with varying degrees of success, but no crashes!
JJ here.... Well I've done my first scary event of the trip - if you don't count the skiing! It was fantastic as the other two have said, although when we got to the side of the mountain and they were putting together the hang gliders I wasn't so sure I'd made the right decision. Running off a cliff is a little scary even when you are strapped to a man but I held on for dear life and it was amazing, I would definately recommend it, take a look at the pics, the view is amazing. The landing is also a little scary though when you see the ground hurtling towards you and know you have to hit it too stop - luckily the man knew what he was doing and landed us safely - not before he dipped us down and made us do turns just to make me scream a bit louder in his ear!! It really was a great day - Mum don't look at the pictures though!!
Lou here.. I decided this time to let my chap take me for a gentle spin - after the daredevil descent the last time I went hang gliding, I thought I'd enjoy a more relaxed flight. Hurtling towards the ground in a very tight 360 to get out of the way of a plane the last time was fun but scary! I was able to watch JJ flying out in front of me - very professional once she fought the controls out of the chap ! Talk about keen - I don't think he expected her to be so forceful - she appeared so meek and mild on the ground. It was fantastic - a little more scary than the last time. Then again, I had just done a sky dive before then so it didn't seem frightening at all in comparison. The only thing I had to compare it with recently was a gondola ride - not quite as extreme. It was good though as we took off from a different side of the mountain this time which meant it was a change for me too. All in all another fantastic flight... Back to Cath..
After a rather muddy landing, we headed back home, to prepare for our next activity - a trip on the steam ship TSS Earnslaw and dinner at Walter Peak Hgh Farm.
It was just getting dark as we headed across Lake Wakatipu, but the food when we got there was delicious (they even had scrummy brussel sprouts!) Very nice 5 course meal, followed by a farm show - sheep dogs and sheep shearing. Bit of torrential rain accompanied us home, but another great day.
Have a look at the new additions to the Photo Album
JJ here.... Well I've done my first scary event of the trip - if you don't count the skiing! It was fantastic as the other two have said, although when we got to the side of the mountain and they were putting together the hang gliders I wasn't so sure I'd made the right decision. Running off a cliff is a little scary even when you are strapped to a man but I held on for dear life and it was amazing, I would definately recommend it, take a look at the pics, the view is amazing. The landing is also a little scary though when you see the ground hurtling towards you and know you have to hit it too stop - luckily the man knew what he was doing and landed us safely - not before he dipped us down and made us do turns just to make me scream a bit louder in his ear!! It really was a great day - Mum don't look at the pictures though!!
Lou here.. I decided this time to let my chap take me for a gentle spin - after the daredevil descent the last time I went hang gliding, I thought I'd enjoy a more relaxed flight. Hurtling towards the ground in a very tight 360 to get out of the way of a plane the last time was fun but scary! I was able to watch JJ flying out in front of me - very professional once she fought the controls out of the chap ! Talk about keen - I don't think he expected her to be so forceful - she appeared so meek and mild on the ground. It was fantastic - a little more scary than the last time. Then again, I had just done a sky dive before then so it didn't seem frightening at all in comparison. The only thing I had to compare it with recently was a gondola ride - not quite as extreme. It was good though as we took off from a different side of the mountain this time which meant it was a change for me too. All in all another fantastic flight... Back to Cath..
After a rather muddy landing, we headed back home, to prepare for our next activity - a trip on the steam ship TSS Earnslaw and dinner at Walter Peak Hgh Farm.
It was just getting dark as we headed across Lake Wakatipu, but the food when we got there was delicious (they even had scrummy brussel sprouts!) Very nice 5 course meal, followed by a farm show - sheep dogs and sheep shearing. Bit of torrential rain accompanied us home, but another great day.
Have a look at the new additions to the Photo Album
