Buller River

Yesterday, December 2nd, was a gorgeous summer day? (Still haven't got used to the backwards seasons) With the day off, Hannah and I ventured to the Buller River to see New Zealand's longest swing bridge. When we first got there, we looked at the price board and got a little worried that we wouldn't be able to do much. Luckily, because we work at a lodge nearby, they gave us everything for free so that we could experience it all and then tell the guests at our lodge all about it! Jet boating, tandem swinging across the river, superman flying across the river, and access to the bridge and trails around the area. Valued at over $180 a person.... all for free! Not a bad day.

We started the day by crossing the bridge that wasn’t that long but actually pretty scary ...and I'm not even afraid of heights! Something about standing on barbed wire bridge with a width of about 2 feet was a little unsettling but nevertheless, like everything else in this country, unbelievably beautiful.

After a shaky trek across the bridge, we walked around the other side of the river through some of the trails and then rode a flying tandem swing back across the river just in time to catch our jet boat that would take us up and down the river for an hour. When I first heard boat ride, I thought it would be a calm little scenic tour…but boy, were we wrong.

Accompanying us on our jet boat was an American couple from Alaska, a guy from France, and our Kiwi boat driver, Mark. From the moment we met Mark, we knew that we were in for a fun ride. Like most Kiwis, Mark played with the boundaries of normal social behavior and had us laughing the whole time while speeding through the rushing water and spinning in circles to get us soaking wet.

Flying that fast through water so beautiful in such an incredible place was an unbelievable adrenaline rush. To top it off, after the boat ride, I was harnessed into some sort of contraption, jumped off a platform and FLEW across the river. It was another one of those days where I felt like I had to slap myself to see if I was dreaming or actually living real life. I've had quite a few of those moments since arriving in the land of the long white cloud...

About to jump!

Flying across the river

Feeling very grateful today.