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| having survived the jump - photo by Dave |
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| Liz parachuting down - photo by Dave |
I never realized that falling out of an airplane at 12,000 feet could be so exhilarating. Having a fear of heights made the anticipation beyond terrifying. My palms have never sweat more in my entire life. I hardly slept the night before, and I've never trusted a random stranger with limited English vocabulary more. Allison jumped first, and I had the privilege of watching everyone plummet out of the perfectly good aircraft before going last. My instructor is probably now deaf in one ear, but I now understand why Dad loved it so much. I would definitely do it again... Sorry Mom.
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| Allison after landing - photo by Dave |
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| photo by Dave |
The views parachuting down were absolutely spectacular. The sun was shining and I could see lake Wanaka surrounded by the snow capped mountains. It's also a plus that we survived the fall. We really enjoyed Wanaka. We met up with one of my friends, Gen, and had a really nice dinner, tasted some wine, and watched the sun set behind the mountains from a grassy knoll overlooking the lake.
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| Fox Glacier - photo by Dave or Allison |
We began our 4 hour drive up the West Coast up to Fox Glacier after our breakfast of gourmet scrambled eggs which was fit for a king... One of many. We hiked to a few different vantage points to explore the glacier and then for the last two days we have been hiking the Coplan Track. The hike took us 7-8 hours to get to the Welcome Hut Flat where there was not only a place to sleep, but also 3 natural hot spring pools. It was incredible. A cool breeze came in when the sun had set which also blew away the brutal sandflies, so we were really able to fully enjoy the view. We had a nice soak which loosened up all our muscles after our full day of hiking so we were not too sore for our return hike the following day. We hiked over 8 bridges (which was Allison's favorite part) and crossed 108 streams (yes, we counted!).
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| photo by Dave |
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| Liz and Allison soaking in the hot springs - photo by Dave |
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| Welcome Hut Flat on the Coplan Track |
Today we drove up the coast and inland to Murchison, staying at the Lazy Cow hostel (which is very homey), and are going white water rafting tomorrow as Dave's pre-birthday celebration.
Allison almost got arrested for hopping the fence to take photos of sheep. I was so proud.
awesome!! did you wanakabob?? :)
ReplyDeleteDid the same Copeland track when I was there, and stayed at the hut! So glad I now know someone else who can relate to the challenge of that hike, plus the incredible beauty of the surroundings. Never known a hot spring to be such a reward!!!
ReplyDeleteAll I could think of was poor Fredrica when I read the subject of this blog!
ReplyDeleteWhat's a mother to do?
Loving the photos and stories Liz - keep em' coming but take a little pity on your dear Mom! : )
xox
Absolutely amazing, Elizabeth! Congrats on another fantastic adventure. I absolutely love the picture of you coming out of the plane - you really beat that phobia into the ground, didn't you! :-D I love reading about your adventures - thanks for sharing, and keep having 'em!
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