Entries about bridges

It was freaking early when our alarm clock went of, but there was just no way around it. We still needed to go for our start to run lesson and since our day was already filled with lots and lots of things to do, the only option left for us was an early rise and shine!

The sun was already shining when we left our hotel and it seemed that by the time we arrived at Circular Quay, we weren’t the only once out there. Although it was relatively quite, still a few people were up and about doing the same thing like us, running or in my case jogging. I guess, the locals love their morning run as well, but can you blame them, the view is just too amazing.

Filled with lots of energy, we quickly showered and had a bite to eat and than it was off for another thrilling adventure!

Yesterday evening, quite pretty late actually, we booked the bridge climb. We were amazed to notice that there were still places available but now that there was an opportunity, we grabbed it with both hands. Our climb was going to be at 9.05, but we needed to be a bit earlier and so by the time it was a quarter to 8, we stepped through the front door. Are we good or are we good.

I must admit that I was a bit nervous because of my fear of heights, but during this trip I already had done so many crazy things, that I am starting to get used to it. I am amazed actually of all the things that I have done so far and although I am still terrified of standing on a roof terrace of a tall building, it was really strange that bungee jumping was so much fun, so secretly I hoped that I would get the same feeling again.

After we’ve got some safety instructions and got into our gear, we walked to another room where we could practice the stairs of the bridge and so far so good. My fear wasn't that high, but we were still in the building, so I hoped it would stay in the building as well.

Our guide for the next 3.5 hours is Shannon and although she only works in the weekends, she is loads of fun and seems really interested in the wellbeing of our entire group, As we walked to the first pylon, the real deal was going to happen anytime soon and to be honest, I got more nervous as well, but by the time we actually left the pylon and where just underneath the bridge, it all went away. When I had a look at the scenery around me, I was really surprised to be in such a beautiful surrounding. I tried not to look down because than I probably wanted to go back, but as long as I looked on eye level, all was well.

We got so much detailed information of the bridge itself from Shannon and although we walked very slow and had lots of stops on the way, it never felt boring for one minute. On every stop you had an amazing view, so what was not to like.

Exact 3.5. hours later we were back on ground level again and after choosing some of the pictures we had on the bridge, we walked out, ready for another fun thing to do here in this crazy city.

While we were up on the bridge, we saw a few people waving at us from the first pylon and we wondered how the view would be from up there, so as soon as we were back on the ground, we hurried back to the first pylon and had a look ourselves. By the time we arrived there, I must admit that the view wasn’t that bad, but the one on the bridge was way better and I am just so glad we got to do this, even if it was very expensive.

Back on the ground from the first pylon, we hurried back to our hotel to drop off our goodies from the bridge climb and than it was off to Darling Harbour and more in particular Paddy’s market. We still needed to buy some souvenirs for the home front and although we set a time limit of roughly 2 hours, it was way later when we finally came out again but with our bags filled with souvenirs.

As we walked out of the market, dark clouds were hovering over the city and in a way we were glad to have bought a souvenir umbrella coz by the looks of it, it could seem that we were going to need it any minute.

Not that we were looking forward to it coz we also wanted to go for another 4 kilometer walk towards an ice cream parlor which according to the Belgian newspaper from a few months back supposedly has the best ice cream of the entire world.Now that we were in the city, we couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that, now can we!?

The walk wasn’t all that hard, but finding the place was a bit more difficult coz we didn’t really got a precise map, only a street address, but that is all we needed thanks to google and a bit of smart thinking.

We arrived at the scene in the rain almost an hour later. Rain or no rain, we were going to have our ice cream and it seemed that we weren’t the only once. There was just a tiny table left in the back, but that is all we needed and as soon as we got settled, it was time for choosing the flavors. I must admit that this was the harsh part, coz there were just so many yummy looking flavors and in the end I went for lime (my all-time favorite), black currant and passion fruit. It was just to die for, the ice cream was more than yummy and by the time we finished ours, me and Tania looked at each other and thought just the same thing, we wanted to have seconds. I know it is a bit over the top, but we walked for 4 kilometers and had not eaten much today so, another ice cream it is!

Another round, another flavor and besides lime, this time I went for the bloodorange. Yummy as always, but after finishing this one, I was really stuffed so round 3 had to wait for another time. Maybe in the near future, you’ll never know!

With eating all this ice cream, I was surprised we could even walk so far, but we did and a little over an hour or even less, we were back in the centre of Sydney again. I know it is more logic to have dinner first and than dessert, but the both of us really wanted to do something crazy so instead we just had our dessert first and now that we were back in the city the search was on for some dinner, which we easily found at a small Thai place. Instead of going for the noodles all the time I wanted to do something crazy and went for the curry instead but that was my biggest mistake ever. My god, this was just sooooooo unbelievable spicy that I almost drank 2 liters of water and still my mouth was on fire. Serves me right for not choosing noodles I guess???

By the time we were back in our hotel, it was yet again pretty late and needless to say we weren’t going to sleep before midnight but a little after we did. I was completely knackered after such an exciting day and tomorrow another one awaited us.

A good night’s sleep is actually the only thing a person really needs and I was happy to have just that. Due to the fact that our room wasn’t available anymore last night, we got a complimentary breakfast. Okay, I have to admit, we had to ask for it, but on the other hand, they could have declined it, luckily they didn’t, so this meant that this morning we were going to have a luxurious breakfast.

There were just so many choices of hot and cold dishes, that it was difficult to decide what to eat first but since we had a long day ahead of us, we made sure we had enough food into our system. It was already after 10 AM when we left our hotel and went to the waterfront to have a look at the famous bridge and of course that other major sight in Sydney, the infamous Opera house. It is not the first time of course that we have seen these buildings, but seeing them is believing and when we gazed upon them, we knew we were back in our beloved Sydney.

Since the weather was so nice, we just walked for a while into the botanical gardens and than it was time to really soak up the sun and what better way to do that than at the beach, Bondi here we come!

Getting there was a totally different story. There were some major track works so instead of taking the subway train all the way to Bondi Junction, we had to get off at an earlier station, where we had to catch a bus. Luckily the walk towards the bus wasn’t that far and we even had a bit of time to spare before we could jump on the express bus towards Bondi Junction. Not that we were complaining, this only meant that we could soak up some more sun. It really is amazing that after almost 3 weeks of mostly bad weather, a bit of sunshine made all the difference.

As we arrived in Bondi Junction, we had to transfer on to another bus and although we didn’t had to wait long, by the time it arrived, it was already fully packed. It seemed that we weren’t the only once wanting to go to the beach and who can blame us all, the weather was just simply put … amazing!

The ride from Junction to the beach wasn’t that far and as soon as we got off, we were a bit distracted by the many shops just like a couple of years ago when we visited this place, but as soon as we were finished shopping and had a bite to eat, we could go and find ourselves a nice spot on the beach, which knowing us, didn’t take that long. It was an absolute bliss lying there in the sand and since it was so hot, it was nice that there was a cool wind blowing as well. I quickly closed my eyes and enjoyed this little moment of pure bliss. I’ve said it already a couple of times, but life really can be beautiful sometimes, especially when you are on holiday and don’t need to worry about anything but yourself. Is this selfish I wonder, but on the other hand I don’t care that much coz in the back of my mind I am saying to myself that I deserve this after so many months of hard working.

It was almost 6 PM when we called it a „day” coz the wind was blowing more stronger now and since most of the people were leaving, it was as good as time ever to do the same. In a way it was the right moment as well because just next to us there was a group of young English guys who got hassled by 2 girls from I don’t know where.

Although they seemed to have a strong accent, I guess they were locals, but they were just so waisted and did just about anything to score a drink from these guys. And I literally mean evertything!!! At a certain point one of them was completely naked and some people around us started to get really offended and who can blame them, that’s just not normal behavior on a family beach. Sitting so close to them, I could even hear one of the girls telling that they would do anything and they wouldn’t have to pay, so I was starting to think that I got a clue what their actual job was. When one of the two actually showed the moves, I was sure of it, well, if you come to think about it, it is never boring when you are at Bondi beach!!

On our way back to the bus stop, we decided to go for a quick dinner as well. It was going to take a while to get back to the centre of Sydney with all the track works, so by the time that we were going to arrive, it was going to be pretty late.

Like most of all our dinners, we wanted something really quick and not to greasy so once again this meant one thing and one thing alone … noodles! It seemed that this dish besides the Indian cuisine is really our favorite on this trip coz we were eating it on a daily basis. Maybe we should think about going to Asia or India on our next adventure!

As we were almost back into the centre, we got off in the neighborhood of Martins place and although it was already late, we still wanted to check out Darling Harbour. On our previous trip, we never went there during the evening, so we didn’t really see it with all the lights, but when we arrived at the spot, we were surprised to see lots and lots of people. What the heck was going on here???

Walking further and further towards the Imax theatre, I just had to ask, it was just too crazy seeing all these people sitting on the ground and waiting for something to happen and only 5 minutes later we got our answer. There was going to be a christmas fireworks at 9 PM. How sweet was that! Once again we were in luck, we only had to wait less than half an hour and of course we waited to see what that was all about.

In Belgium they don’t have such fireworks for Christmas, so this was a totally new experience for us, but seeing all the typical colors of christmas in the sky together with some christmas music, it really came to my mind to have a little chat with our mayor. Maybe they could do something like this as well. The fireworks were really nice and the atmosphere was amazing. With a big smile on our faces and singing the song of Rudolph the red nose reindeer, we slowly walked back to our hotel, where we still needed to get the key of our new room.

By the time we were back in our room and finally went for sleep it was already after midnight and it was as good as time ever coz tomorrow another adventurous activity awaited us.

One day you get a bit depressed when you see rain, the next morning you wake up with a smile on your face when you see the sun shining. New Zealand is such a strange country and although I am here almost 3 weeks, I still can’t figure it out. Do I hate it or do I love it???

Like usual we had an early morning coz we needed to go on the road again and today we once again had a few hours of driving ahead of us, but luckily we were going to do something a bit more active as well and today we were going for a bike ride.

The trip from the small town of Te Anau to Arrowtown wasn’t that far, just about an hour and a half and as soon as we got there, we had some time to explore this old gold rush town a little bit more. Instead of trying to look for some lost gold flakes, me and Tania just relaxed on a terrace and enjoyed the sun on our face while having a marvelous cup of chai latte together with a yummy scone. I can’t describe how delicious the selfmade jam was without drooling, it was just that good!

Now that we had a bit of real food in our system (because how long can a person survive on cereals and a piece of toast), we were ready for our 13 km long bike ride from Arrowtown to the Kawarau bridge where me and Tania jumped off just a few days ago. Thinking about that day made me wanna relive it and I guess Tania was thinking the same thing coz as soon as we all got our bikes, she went off like a rabbit on cocaine. I tried to follow but my scone drug of this morning wasn’t helping, so instead I just made it a relaxing one and together with a few members of our group we made sure this trip was going to be unforgettable. During our ride we made a lot of jokes, had some speeding contests, made a few picture stops, but most of all we just laughed and enjoyed the scenery.

Upon our arrival at the bridge, we saw people jumping off it and although I knew that there wasn’t any time left for me to do this as well, I secretly hoped that Tania got her chance and could jump for a second time. When I met up with her, I was a bit sad to hear that she didn’t and as I wanted to ask Craig if it was possible to do the zip lining, he also declined. Apparently there wasn't enough time. On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t that bad after all coz there was so much wind, but still, instead I just resorted to looking at the jumpers but unlike a few days ago, the people were just hooked with a harness around their waist. The weather wasn’t really permitting a bungee jump, but a normal jump was allowed. We were so lucky that we could do the real one. It doesn’t happen that often, but sometimes luck is a bit on our side. A bit that is!

On the other hand, maybe I wrote this down too soon coz while almost our entire group waited for the last people to arrive at the bridge, we suddenly realized that we missed 3 persons. In the beginning we thought they were still coming because they were just slow riders, but when our driver Craig went on the track and tried to find time for about half an hour, they were no where to be found. What the heck???

During our bike ride, we always had to follow the stream, but it looked like those 3 had taking the wrong track which went all the way to Queenstown.

Not something we wanted of course, so we left Helen behind and the search went on for a tall German guy and 2 petit Australian girls. In the beginning it was kinda funny, but after driving more than half an hour it wasn’t. I even started to think we were never going to find them because once lost, there are more than one side tracks you can take. Where the heck are they??? 

Thankfully Helen called that they were finally at the bridge and as soon as we were back on the road again, we drove all the way back to Kawarau bridge where our 3 missing „sheep" were waiting for us. All in all I am just happy to see that nothing went wrong, but on the other hand I am a bit selfish as well as I was thinking that while all this drama was going on, I’d better had stayed at the bridge so that I had time for a zip line adventure. Am I bad or am I bad!?

With everyone back on the bus, we continued further along the road towards Lake Ohau, the place where we were going to spend the night. It was still quite a drive and while we passed once again some amazing sceneries, thanks to my great selection of music I fell asleep once more, only to wake up again when we stopped at a small shop alongside the road. This place was called Jones’s fruit stall where you could buy some delicious fruit as well as dried fruit, nougat and all kinds of nuts. If you are a fruit lover, you really would go „nuts" about it.

The two of us bought a nice selection of everything, some freshly cut pineapple, a box of cherries and of course, how can we resist it, nougat with honey and kiwi. What is not to like about that. If the weather isn’t good, the food has to be!

Back on the road again, we had one more stop in a small town called Cromwell. It is not like there is much to see in this little town except for a giant display of fruit while entering the town, but I have to admit, the Pad Thai they served in the local Thai restaurant was more than fine to me. For dessert we still had some pineapple and as soon as we all had the lunch we wanted, we could jump back on the bus for another 2 hours of driving towards the lake.

During our ride, we saw the blue sky turn into some kind of thick pea soup of clouds and soon after even dark clouds where hovering around the Lake Ohau area. By the time we reached it, rain was pooring again. It seemed it was going to haunt us wherever we went. Instead of going for a run around the lake, I chose to relax in a hot bath and by the time I was totally zen again, it was time to have dinner as well. This was going to be our last meal together with the group and afterwards, a few of us met up at the bar. Not that we were such a big party group, but with a few drinks, some nice conversations and from time to time even funny dance moves, the evening wasn’t all that bad.

At 11 PM we all called it a night, after all, we all had to get out of bed early and in the end I think we made a wise decision coz as soon as I crawled into my bed, my Vodka Raspberry did his work and brought me straight to dreamland.

Since we had another free day today, this meant that we could sleep in as well and that is just what I needed after a day like yesterday. After not sleeping a whole night the day before, this was more than welcome, but we still wanted to do some stuff today, so we set our alarm clock at about 8.15 AM and while the damn thing was making its usual noise, we slowly got dressed and had some breakfast.

We didn’t plan any extreme activities today because like always you’ll never know what the weather is going to be like, but for some reason the weather gods agreed with us and as soon as we opened the curtains, we saw a nice blue sky and that yellow thing that we saw yesterday was back again as well. What a little bit of sunshine can do to a person coz I felt instant happiness.

Because we didn’t plan nothing, this didn’t mean of course that we weren’t planning of doing nothing. Lots of people from our group said to us yesterday that the view from up the mountain was so beautiful, so we planned to go and have a look around. Unlike everyone else, who just took the gondola upstairs and back down again, we wanted to go and hike up the mountain and of course come back as well.

I know that we looked like a few crazy tourists, but since we started this trip we did so many active things, that walking up a mountain is just a part of it all.

As soon as we arrived at the base of the gondola, we could follow the tiki trail all the way up and that was just the thing we wanted to do. The start was pretty steep and so was the middle and the end. For an hour long we did nothing else but climb and climb and this wouldn’t be a biggie if it weren’t for the trail itself. It wasn’t always that flat, sometimes we had to cross rocks, roots, trees, you name it what you can find in nature and we crossed or passed it. But I have to admit that the views on the way up were so nice and as soon as we arrived at the top of the mountain, we even got rewarded with more than beautiful sceneries. It was just so worth it!

Going back down wasn’t as easy as well coz now we had to do it all over again and sometimes we thought we were going to slide from the mountain sooner than later, but about an hour later we were back at the base, happy to have made it and done with this morning exercise.

Since it was already after 12 AM, we just went for a quick bite at the local bakery and than we were in search for some bikes. We wanted to rent one for the remaining of the afternoon. Now that the weather was still so nice, we had to make the best of it and what better way to do it than with a cycling trip.

It wasn’t hard to rent a bike, finding a good one was a bit harder, but after a bit of walking, we finally found the right bike shop and about 15 minutes later we were out of the place and were ready to start a trip along the lake, that is if you know that you have to ride on the left hand side, which I must say, wasn’t always that easy for the both of us and I was more than happy that most of the trip we just had to follow the gravel road.

The views we saw on the way were so amazing but by the time we ended up on the other end of the lake, we urgently needed some food into our body and this was hard to come by. It seemed we were always too far away from civilization if you didn’t count the endless houses with a lake view.

It took us a few more minutes of riding when we suddenly saw a sign to a golf club , which also had a cafe and it invited all travelers along the way. This was the ideal situation and since we craved for some food, we went for it. Only the way up wasn’t all that easy and the road was just too steep for me to handle. I had to go further on foot, but hey, although completely tired, I made it.

We ordered some pumpkin soup and afterwards we split a passion fruit muffin and with some food in our system, we felt more human again.

Back on track about half an hour later, the road got more heavier and above all, it wasn’t as flat anymore, there were rocks on it and getting up a hill wasn’t that easy. I am not a real experienced mountain biker, so after we came to a certain lookout point, it was the ideal place for me to end this ride all together and although Tania went a little further to go and have a look, she also told me it came to an end at a beach. There wasn’t much to do anymore than slowly drive back to the centre of Queenstown where we arrived about a few hours later.

As soon as we got rid of our bike, we searched for some more food and this time we went again for the noodle canteen. It is quick, it is eatable and I guess it is a bit more healthier dan going to do golden arches every day, so we weren’t exactly complaining.

The sun was still shining so bright that we enjoyed every sunbeam. We walked around town till the sun was almost setting and before we went back to our room, we went for another piece of lemon meringue. It was just so yummy and after a day full physical activities, I felt like we kind of deserved it. 

Since we were going to leave tomorrow for another part of the tour, this meant packing again and this time it was a bit more difficult with all the souvenirs and stuff, but we made it. A quick shower later, I called it a night and closed my eyes. I must have been more tired than expected coz I fell asleep in an instant.

I don’t know what happened, but although I was mentally prepared for my bungee jump since a last couple of days, somehow this night I couldn’t sleep at all. I guess the movies Tania showed me on YouTube didn’t help all that well. We practiced our jump a few times last night and although I was sure I was going to be prepared, my dreams begged the differ. I kept on dreaming that the rope broke, that I couldn’t jump because my feet were stuck somehow or even that I jumped completely wrong. I kept on practicing my jump in my dreams till it was morning and when it was time for Tania to leave for her skydive adventure, I could finally close my eyes for a couple of hours, when I suddenly woke up at about 8 AM.

Today was going to be a relaxing morning coz Tania was already high up in the sky and by the time that she was done at about 10 AM, I was going to meet up with her at the skydive shop, but till than I just got dressed and had some breakfast, which was simply a bowl of cereal and a toast with jam.

Not that much, but my stomach wasn’t up to something more. I still was very nervous, but can you blame me. I am afraid of heights and now I was planning to jump of a bridge, but I had to do it. If I want to achieve something, I need to take action, and this was as good as place to start with it. After all, I already overcome my fear of heights a little with skiing, so this is just another step in the right direction. Some people I would know, would tell me that this is a bit extreme, but it is my life, my decision!

On the other hand, that doesn’t made me less scared, so in order to put my mind at ease, I just went into town and walked all the way to the waterfront where a few people where feeding the ducks. It was such a reassuring picture and with the sun on my face, it felt like a real holiday and after all, that is just what this is!

Earlier than expected, Tania send me a text message that she was done already, so I just walked up to our room again where we saw each other again after a few minutes.

Tania was really excited about her skydive and loved it so much that I was beginning the wonder why I didn’t join her, but on the other hand, my jump this afternoon is scary enough, falling out of an airplane from 12500 feet, that is a little bit more extreme. Maybe for next time, I have to think about it, if I survive this one of course.

Our jump was planned for 1.30 PM, so we had enough time to walk through the Gardens Park of town and have something small to eat for lunch. We didn’t wanted to eat something too heavy, so we just opted for a bowl of hot soup with some bread and that was more than enough for me.

All excited and nervous for what was about to happen, the two of us went to the shop and paid for our jump. We were not alone, two girls from our group, Kelly and Avril were going to join us and by the time we left with the bus, we were with about 20 people who were going to jump. Most of the group was going to do the higher one, the Nevis jump which is about 143 meters, but I was satisfied with the bridge of about 43 meters, think small I always say.

The strange thing about it is, that I was really nervous this morning, but by the time things got closer and closer, I felt more and more at ease.

On our way up to the bridge, I sat next to a girl from Christchurch who was going to do the Nevis swing and she was so excited about the whole ordeal that I suddenly wanted to go for it. Although still very nervous, I had set my mind to it and once we arrived at the scene, the people were so friendly and nice that I almost forgot my anxiety and once I saw the bridge and walked over it, I knew … this is it!

Tania and Sini (a girl from Germany) first wanted to have a look at the jumpers, but I knew that if I was going to do that, I got more nervous, so I just walked up to the bridge and within seconds I found myself right in front of my worst nightmare. Some Korean guy was in front of me and the next in line and I saw on his face that he was really nervous and a bit scared as well, so we started talking and made a few jokes and before I even realized it, he was gone and I was next.

I can’t explain the feeling exactly, but at the moment they put everything on me, I was just so relaxed that it didn’t even felt real. It was like I was sleepwalking and before I knew it I was standing on the platform when it suddenly hit me. One of the crew members just told me not to look down since I told him about my fear of heights and he told me to concentrate on the bridge in front of me. I just did that and by the count of one, two and three, I jumped when he told me to jump. It was just that easy!!

The feeling was just incredible and to be honest, I thought it was going to be much scarier, maybe this bridge was too low???  I don’t exactly know, but it was fun and the only thing that went through my mind at that moment was … I DID THIS!!!! Hell yeah!!!

I can recommend it to everyone, even with fear of heights, one should once in a lifetime do something like this and it even makes me wonder if I could do the Nevis as well??? Maybe for the future???

Anyway, once I was down, Tania was up next and just like me, she had the feeling that it was going to be worse than it actually was. Are we good or are we good??? In a way I am just happy that nothing went wrong, but that's just me. I was so proud that I could finally do something of which I don’t have control over. It felt great, I can tell you that!

Since we still had a little bit of free time on our hands, we took some pictures with our goofy looking t-shirt and than it was of to the souvenir shop and a few minutes later, the shuttle bus was there again to bring us back to town. With a big smile on our faces we walked inside the bus, still feeling a little bit „high”.

Upon our arrival in town we were so hungry that we decided to go for the famous Fergburger. It is said to be the best burger of the whole country and although we had to wait for almost an hour, I must admit that it was a good one, but too big for me and I still don’t understand why people want to wait for almost 3 hours to get one in the first place!!!

By the time we left the place, it was already 6 PM, this meant that within an hour we had to go to dinner again with our group and food was the last thing on my mind right now.

The weather was still very nice, so we decided to do some souvenir hunting and of course we scored a few things. With our new purchases in our hand we walked back to our room only to leave it again about half an hour later. Tonight we were going to a pizza place which supposedly has to best pizza’s in town, but still not hungry, I ate only a bit of bread and one slice of pizza. It was just too much!

On the other hand drinks were no problem, especially the vodka with raspberry, that was way yummy, but when the alcohol started to kick in, I felt sleepy as well and by the time it was 9 PM, me and Tania went back to our room. No party for us tonight, we were way to tired, what a jump (or even two in Tania’s case) can do to a person.

By the time we closed our eyes it was already 11.30 PM, way too early actually, but I didn’t care much about it, I was completely knackered.