Friday, June 18, 2010

Canyoning: Wet n' Wild

Hello everyone!

Once again, I MUST apologize that it has been so long since my last post. The reason this time is that I have been out having all sorts of adventures, and haven't been near a computer for very long lately. I promise I will write SEVERAL blogs in the next few days to bring you all up to speed on what I have been doing down under.

To start off, a couple of weeks ago, a few friends and I got up VERY early one Saturday morning to go canyoning. For those not familiar with this particular activity, canyoning is a mix of abseiling (rappelling) down waterfalls and traversing through rivers. Anywho, we hopped in a van with our guides and drove to a shed in the middle of nowhere where we all put on wetsuits and water shoes. We hopped back in the van and drove a little longer, till we got to the start point. We headed down to the river and stopped briefly for a quick lesson on abseiling. Immediately after this, it was time for the first jump, which was FREEZING. We jumped off a ledge into a huge pool of water beneath, and if we weren't awake already, that certainly did the job.

WEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

We continued down the river, jumping off a few more ledges and generally freezing our butts off, but having a heck of a time in the process. Our first big abseil down a waterfall was pretty scary for me, due to me ever-present fear of heights, but I managed pretty well. We broke for lunch afterward, and got a chance to see Albert, an eel who lives in a pool beneath the first big waterfall. After lunch, we had more jumps and abseils, and one cool rock that we slid down headfirst...BACKWARDS. By the end we were all very wet and cold, but it was an awesome experience, and a great way to spend the day. I would highly recommend canyoning to anyone looking for a little adventure to spice up their life. :-)

Stay tuned for an epic blog covering my eight-day trip to the South Island!

-Connor


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