Just before takeoff, above Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand. January 1993
Parasailing view, Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand, January 1993
Did I actually do that??
The near-end of our trip to New Zealand was Queenstown, the "adventure capital of the world". The place was nearly mythical for adrenaline junkies with its wild array of daredevil sports. As Americans, we were amazed that one could participate in so many possible life-threatening sports without signing a hundred waivers. New Zealand should be a model for tort law in the USA. If someone is stupid and is injured or dies as a result, well.... whose fault is it? Participating in an extreme sport is "managed stupidity", nothing more.
It was summer in the antipodes and the ski lift out of Queenstown took us over grassy meadows. We reached the top of the hill and were treated with a spectacular view of Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables. As we walked down the hill, there were a variety of adventure sports on hand - alpine slides and nausea-inducing human gyroscopes are two I recall. However, we had our sights set on "tandem parasailing". I had balked at bungee jumping due to ongoing back pain in those days (honest and true, although disbelieved by Brian and MAP), but there was no reason NOT to try parasailing. Brian and I found guys willing to take us (it was incredibly free and easy to arrange) at the take off point. MAP was running low on cash and elected to greet us at the bottom.
I harnessed up to my pilot. He was in back of me. Then we had to run in tandem (that was hard!) toward a cliff edge to allow the parachute to fill up and -- jump. My current old self COMPLETELY admires my younger self for doing it. We ran toward the cliff and whoosh, an updraft caught us and we were airborne. The pilot was a young adventure-seeker who just loved the sport. After we got going, he asked, "you ok?" I said, "yeah, sure". "Wanna go higher?" "Why not??' So we spiraled up and up. That was absolutely thrilling. He said, "few people want to do this - nearly all of them are 'screamers' and just want to get down as soon as possible". I ended up having double the ride Brian did (boy, was he pissed off!).
There was a price to pay though... my very cool pilot who gave me all that extra time sucked at landings. HA! I was told the landings were not bad at all, and according to Brian, his was quite "soft". My guy just cut me loose about 10 feet off the ground and I came down with a thud. I really am lucky I didn't break something. Nonetheless, just as with Brian and MAP's bungy jump a couple of days before, it became a topic of conversation for quite some time. I think extreme adrenaline rushes do that. They must sear the memory, too, because I remember that ride very clearly even as other parts of the trip to New Zealand fade.
That flight was one of the top thrilling experiences of my life. A glorious sunny day in Queenstown with a view over the lake and mountains, all taken in while gliding from the mountain tops - in terms of superlative adventure experiences, nothing ever topped it. I am grateful I was "young and dumb" in a land with lax tort law, indeed.
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