Queenstown – Nevis Swing
Queenstown, New Zealand is known as the adventure capital of the world and boy did it live up to that for me! Before I get to the adventure part I would be remised if I didn’t mention how beautiful of a city Queenstown is!
From the moment you step off the airplane you encounter the beauty that is the Remarkables mountain range. The name for the mountains that rise above Queenstown is definitely a fitting name since these mountains are quit remarkable. We drove along the shoreline of Lake Wakatipu to get to our hotel in the center of town. The small city of Queenstown is large on friendliness. Wherever you turn you are greeted with a welcoming smile and a warm greeting.
We started our trip with the adventure that Queenstown has to offer. First, let me start off by saying that I am not an adrenaline junkie or seeker and I have a fear of rights, so I didn’t necessarily come to Queenstown for the adventure but I am glad I did partake! Yes, I may have climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge on this trip as well but the Nevis Swing is a completely different experience. Nevis Swing is a 440 meters high above the ground and a 300 m arc swing above the Nevis Canyon. We started the day bright and early. At my instance I wanted to do this excursion at the beginning of our stay in Queenstown so we did the 9:30 AM swing. Our hotel was located conveniently steps away from AJ Hackett’s sign in location. Here you sign in, weigh in and wait. You sign in utilizing the iPads lined up. If you are a tandem swing (such as we did) you will each have to sign in and then move on to the weigh in station. Here you are weighed multiple times and have your weight written on one and your adventure and bus number on the other. From here you wait in the seating area for you bus. Here there is music playing and videos on repeat of adventures AJ Hackett has to offer.
For a nervous about heights person not sure if this is the best because I had a little more time to sit and contemplate about things. The wait wasn’t very long for the bus though so that was a plus! We took the bus for approximately 45 minutes from when we were picked up. We made one stop on the way to drop off some people who were doing a different bungy before we moved on to the Nevis Swing and Bungy sight. Once we climbed up, well the bus climbed up, the gravel road to the Nevis Swing and Bungy building where we once again are weighed and then harnessed up. Here the friend Queenstown attitude was really helpful! They know people are nervous, scared, or freaking out and they remain calm and walk you through what they are doing and that you will have an awesome time!
From here we moved outside here it was myself and friend and other couple who was doing a tandem swing got to figure out who went first. I think fortuitously my friend and I were selected to go first! We then took the suspension bridge where you walk 70 meters to the swing platform. Here we are met by some more friendly people who walk you though the hooking up of your harness to the ropes, etc. They knew I was nervous, talked me through it and made sure I just kept my eyes on the horizon (even though I will admit I had a little bit of a freak out moment during this time and thought I may back out).
I got the courage to sit in the swing and get my feet over the ledge. Here they take a few pictures of you. They give you the option if you want a count down or to be surprised – well, we couldn’t get an answer out before they released the swing and we were on our way! By the time we finished the first arc over the river I was laughing hysterically and so proud of myself that I faced my fear and did the Nevis Swing! We did a few passes over the river before the moment slowed down and we were pulled back up to the platform! To see the pictures pre- and post-swing you can definitely see the difference in my attitude! After we finished the swing we stayed on the platform and watch a few other people go. I am glad that we were selected to go first otherwise I think I would have backed out!
When we had our fill on the platform we headed back across the bridge and inside to have our harnesses removed, checked out our photos and video they took. Of course we bout the whole package! Once we finished our transaction we headed back on the bus to head back to Queenstown.
