Wow, we're starting our last month in New Zealand. It doesn't seem possible that we'll be leaving the country in 3 weeks. The day dawned cool and cloudy in Okaramio, which caused some concern as we planned to visit the Swingbridge in the Buller Gorge today. We packed windbreakers and long pants just in case. We also assembled a picnic lunch, but neglected to put in the sunscreen and insect repellent we had purchased for the Mail Boat ride. We would rue our oversight later in the day. We stopped at the Pak 'N Save on the west end of Blenheim so we could fill up the car with gas and get some money from the ATM (another errand we forgot on yesterday's excursion to Blenheim). The drive out was very nice with only a few Sunday drivers on the road a day early. We arrived at the Swingbridge about noon and bought tickets to cross the bridge and ride the zip line. We started eating our picnic lunch, but had to wait a bit while Anna bought some insect repellent (the sand flies were particularly vicious). The swingbridge is the longest in NZ (about 160 m) and was pretty wobbly, especially when more than 2 or 3 people were walking. Anna was taking pictures on the bridge to provide evidence that Kent really did walk across. The loop trail on the island was disappointing – nothing much to see (even the river views were nothing to write home about) except for some markers for the 1929 Murchison earthquake (http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/historic-earthquakes/page-5). Another marker showed the level of the Buller River during historic floods, but there was no reference to the current level of the river.
The trip back was via the zip line, which was a first for both Anna and Kent. Kent went first so that he wouldn't get cold feet after watching Anna. The ride was exhilarating albeit short. Neither of us were sure that we would stop at the end of the ride ... but obviously we did. Anna was much more relaxed, waving to people on the bridge as she zipped past. But we BOTH enjoyed the ride SO much! Now, we're going to check out other zip line rides along the way (both in NZ and AUS) to see where we can enjoy the adrenaline rush again. We purchased photos and videos of both rides. The girl who took care of that (as well as getting us out of the harnass) was originally from Nebraska, while the clerk who sold tickets was from Alaska.
