[NZ Day 6] Queenstown

Today was supposed to be the day I achieved a lifelong dream of hang-gliding... but unfortunately it wasn't to be. There is an interesting story behind it though...

Standing atop Mount Coronet, it was cold, windy and exhilarating. Not the calmest flyer in the world, people were surprised when I told them how excited I was about this opportunity - Matt included! I was disappointed when instructors took us both aside separately to put on the harnesses and learn how to take-off successfully, especially when I saw myself becoming the last in the line to jump (I had a bad-tempered instructor who winged about everything, so it took three times as long to get me ready).

With the thumbs-up from Matt, he and his instructor (tandem) ran off the edge of the cliff and swooped down, out of sight. It was a strange feeling seeing him disappear and part of me wanted to run up to the edge myself to make sure that he was okay... but sure enough he appeared again when the wind took hold!

Finally, it was my turn, we turned towards the cliff's edge ourselves and with an exasperated tone, my instructor told me to take my helmet off and head back to the van... there would be no jumping for me today. :(

Confused at first, someone else explained that the wind had suddenly changed direction and it wasn't safe to glide anymore (secretly I was cursing the fact it had taken my instructor so long to set everything up, when the others had flown ten minutes earlier). I didn't get any apologies from him, he just scowled and cursed other people under his breath. And with that we made the slow descent down the mountain in a van, to meet the rest of the exhilarated jumpers, Matt included.

Sadly, I didn't get the chance to attempt the jump again during our trip, but we're looking at options for me back at home. Matt described it as a great experience, which has me even more determined to jump in the near future!