Hang Gliding

Today was a free day in Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand and maybe the world. It's a small place that caters to tourists, especially adrenaline junkies and especially at this time of year. Shop names like NZ Shred and Vertigo give you an idea of what's on offer. Many of the workers I talked with come here from America for the summer months. I did something I've always wanted to do: hang gliding. I've wanted to do it since I first saw people hang gliding on t.v. (must have been) as a kid, and today was my chance. Friends, it did not disappoint. It was AWESOME! INCREDIBLE! FABULOUS! I went out in the morning. A van drove me to Coronet Peak, about 20 minutes outside of town. My tandem buddy (the experienced glider) was Gucci, a Frenchman who has been doing this for twelve years. He set up the hang glider while another guy gave me gear: plastic pants to put on over my jeans, a harness that was padded on the front, and a helmet. With all the gear on, I looked like an overturned turtle. Oh well. Another guy was going too and his wife had come up with him. She didn't want to go gliding out of fear, so I gave her my phone and she took pictures of me instead. She even took a video of me taking off, which I'll load later if I can, when I have a better internet connection. Gucci gave me a three-minute tutorial on what to do, and then he dragged the glider to the edge of the launch point, attached our harnesses to it with carabiners, and told me to hold onto his harness tightly. We stared running down the slope and suddenly the wind caught us and we were flying! It was the most incredible feeling in the world. Freedom and fear and amazement a rush of adrenaline and feeling cushioned by the wind under the glider's wings. We soared over treetops with wide views of the farmland and mountains below and around us. The ride lasted about ten minutes. It was mostly tame flying but in the last few minutes, Gucci asked me if I wanted to do some fun maneuvers. Yes! He angled the hang glider upwards until we stalled, then pointed it downwards and we were in free fall until our wings caught the wind again. Yikes! Then he veered the glider off to the right and left at various angles, taking us in a circle. Finally, I noticed the ground getting closer and then we were landing on a big grass lawn in the foothills. I really wanted to go back up and do it again! Hang gliding might be the coolest thing I've ever done.