We were pick up in our camper an at the airport and quickly found a campsite to park in while we went to book Sam's bungy jump. William and Oliv did not want to leave the van but we lured them away with talk of speedboats. sam booked his bungy for the following morning and we then found ourselves booking a trip of the 'world's fastest jet boat'! Oliver and William just about met the height and age requirements and within half an house we found ourselves at Shotover Creek donning life jackets!
The 30 minute trip down and back up the Shotover river was amazing. We skimmed over rocks, narrowly missed rock faces and completed countless 360 turns in impossibly confined sections of the river all at 80kph! Our concerns that William and Oliver might be scared turned out to be unfounded. They laughed most of the way and now assess every river for it's jet boating potential. With jet boats costing £160,000 and burning through 40 litres of fuel each trip we are hoping it is a passing holiday fad!
Having developed a taste for such activities we took the gondola up a mountain for superb views over the city and more importantly two races on the luge track. Oliver and I won the first race and were attempting to make it two from two but were well and truly beaten by Sam and William.
The following morning we were up and off in good time to get to Kawarau Bridge for Sam's bungy jump. He chose to this one as it was the first commercial bungy in the world and was over a river. William, Oliver and I watched nervously as Sam was strapped up and stepped to the edge of the platform. He did an amazing swan dive off and ended up dunked to his waist in the river. After being picked up by the boat he came up the steps grinning and on a real high. Now we have to afford not only a jet boat but trips to worldwide bungy sites!
From the bungy site we headed to Arrowtown a settlement built up around the gold rush of the late 19th century. After the initial gold rush in Arrowtown miners were lured away by other gold rushes. To replace these miners Chinese immigrants were invited over to work. In Arrowtown they have excavated and partly restored the Chinese settlement. It was fascinating for us seeing it and observing the similarities it has with the way migrant workers in Shanghai live today.
The weather was fantastic and we explored the lovely old main street in Arrowtown, including the old fashioned sweet shop where Sam and I took the boys on a trip down the memory lane of our childhood sweets.
We then picnicked and searched for gold in the river.
After a short drive to Lake Wanaka we stopped for a play in the lake and supper before setting off over the mountains for the West Coast.
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