Monday, Mar. 13 (week 8 / day 50) Queenstown, NZ

Puzzling World

We started the day with a couple hours at a sort of science museum full of illusions, puzzles, mind games, etc. just down the road in Wanaka. There was a tilted house that was really confusing as you walk through having to lean & just to get across the room! One room had multiple heads of different famous people on each wall that followed you as you walked around. Another was the old Willy-Wonka-style room where you seemed huge in one corner & small in the other. We spent an hour just at the food court trying to figure out the puzzles on the table!

the leaning Morgans in the tilted house

Sydney & the wall of Lincoln heads

Avery's the giant & Cannon just a wee lad

now Cannon is big & Avery's small!

a bench you feel like taking a bite out of!

this faucet is suspended in the air without any connection to a wall!

Sydney & Carley holding up the leaning tower

treats & more puzzles at the food tables

Glenorchy Drive

From Puzzling World we drove back towards Queenstown & stopped at the famous Karawau Bridge, the 1st commercial bungy jump operation which opened back in 1988, AJ Hackett Bungy. We watched for a while & signed Carley up for a 4:30 jump. We had 3 hours so we made our way through Queenstown, picked up a hitchhiker & headed to Glenorchy, about 45 more minutes along the lake. This drive is supposed to be one of the ten most beautiful in the world. Maybe number 10.

This was our 2nd hitchhiker experience, which we explained to the kids that this is something we don't typically do in the US, but in hiking country it's OK. Dave is a carpenter from Connecticut hiking the entire length of New Zealand. There's a designated track/trail that spans the entire country with a few breaks, such as the Cook straight between the islands & the stretch between Queenstown & Glenorchy. The solution is to ferry over the water, swim or hitchhike. You have to ferry across the straight but here hitchhiking is much cheaper than the $600 ferry! Will add a photo of Dave when it uploads.

Lake Wakatipu looking northward towards Glenorchy

the whole family at the Glenorchy shed

Bungy Jumping!

 There was some traffic delays passing back through crowded Queenstown but we made it back to the bungy bridge by 4:20 for Carley's jump slot & they were backed up anyway so she didn't actually jump until about 5:15. Jumpers go about every 5-7 minutes depending on each jumper's level of anxiety & hesitancy. Some take a couple minutes just standing there deciding when & if to go. We saw 2 people back out (the staff are not allowed to push them off) & no, they don't get a refund for not jumping. Carley had no hesitation whatsoever, she just hopped to the edge (legs are bundled together) & dove off like a graceful ballerina in swan dive fashion. If you weigh enough, you can choose to dip into the water, arms & head. Carley didn't seem to have that option.