Nah! Just kidding! I don't like heights and am too chicken, I don't think I would ever do a bungy jump. Having said that, when I saw the real thing for the first time in New Zealand a few years ago, I found it really thrilling to watch.
KAWARAU GORGE
I remember we were leaving Queenstown that morning heading north for Lake Tekapo. We were due to stop by a vineyard called Mt Difficulty for lunch and had a couple of hours to spare before lunch time. We checked what there was to do on the way and found Kawarau Gorge. After a bit of reading up, turns out Kawarau Gorge, or more specifically the bridge, is famous for being the first place where commercial bungy jumping took place. It was the perfect pit stop to spend some time and to be honest, it's always nice to see places of historical importance if you can count the origination of bungy jumping as history.
A LITTLE HISTORY
Even if it wasn't for the bungy jumping, Kawarau Gorge itself is a natural beauty spot and full of history worth visiting. The turquoise blue Kawarau River starts from Queenstown, leaving New Zealand's third-largest lake, Lake Wakatipu and meanders some 60km through the gorge.
The Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge is a piece of interesting New Zealand history I learnt during my trip. This region's claim to fame dates back to as early as 1860 when New Zealand struck it's largest gold rush. In order to gain better access to the goldfields and to avoid punting across the river all the time, a bridge was built. Due to the geographical landscape of the gorge and the high winds, building a bridge here was no easy task. And don't forget this was back in the late 19th century when technology wasn't as developed as today.
In 1880, a 120m long bridge was successfully built 43m above the river. The Engineering New Zealand describes it as an exemplar of the contemporary regional vernacular type of bridge. The bridge was a key route between Queenstown and the rest of the region until it was replaced by a new bridge in 1963. Luckily in the 80s, it rose to prominence again when it was restored to it former glory and became the first commercial bungy jumping site.
BUNGY JUMPING
Today, bungy jump takes place on (or off?) the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge, 43m meters above the Kamarau River. Visitors can watch from the side of the gorge outside the information center. It was raining a little on this day, and a bit windy as it was July, New Zealand was starting to go into winter.
I watched the jumpers (?), wondering what it feels like standing on the edge of the bridge? What goes through their mind? The wind blowing into their hair, and the light rain splashing in their face. Could one feel if it was rain or sweat? What does it feel like having your legs tied together, knowing the only way is 43 meters down? Did the sight of the bundle of elastic on display in the information center give them confidence or make them worried? I will never know what it feels like, and I doubt if I want to know.
THE JUMP
It was very interesting to watch people jump off the bridge, I mean as in bungy jumping, not jump off the bridge as in ... you know what I mean. That is not a nice thing to watch or even think about.
Some of people jumped like they were jumping into a pool, others leaned forward embracing the moment, and others had a little help from a friend and did a dual jump. Maybe this is where you go You jump I jump!
I remember there was one guy, he was standing on the edge of the bridge for ages. I mean it must have been like for ten minutes. He was all bundled up ready to go, only he wasn't. I saw the staff talking to him, maybe giving him assurances, encouragement, coaxing. Perhaps secretly they wanted to shove him off as he was taking forever, though I'm sure they would never do that. They probably see many of these situations every day. Eventually, some of his friends went over to the bridge and spoke to him. Maybe they reminded him that USD130 is quite expensive to just stand on the edge of a bridge for ten minutes!!
CROSSING THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE
Before we left, we wandered off over to see the supension bridge. It's now a historical monument. We weren't sure if we were allowed to go on the bridge as there was a small sign at the entrance. Then we saw a small group of people and figured it was ok. I walked to the center where the activity took place and peeked over. There wasn't a lot of space there. You could sit down with your legs comfortably stretched out, that's about it. The guys working there seemed pretty cool as if they were on ground level and not 43m above a river. You need the balls to do this job, that's for sure!!
I can't say I've done it, but I've certainly been there, the home of bungee jumping. I'll take that.
前幾年去紐西蘭旅遊時，路經一處名為 Kawarau Gorge 的地點。這地區是1860年代紐西蘭尋金熱的地方，讓不少人抓了第一桶金。尋金熱過後，這個地方現在以笨豬跳著名。中國大陸叫蹦极跳，臺灣叫高空彈跳，但我覺得香港叫笨豬跳也其實蠻有趣。跳那個真的是笨豬嗎？貼錢買難受！！還是不跳那個，錯過了這麼刺激的活動才是真正的笨豬？這個我真不知道，只知我一把年紀，受不了這樣刺激，還是在旁看人家玩好了。
Kawarau Gorge離開皇后鎮以西約30公里 ，如果像我當天行程一樣去特卡波湖，一定會經過。有機會到紐西蘭南島，是一處可以去看看的景點。說不定可能會刮到一點金喔！
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