The Swingbridge

From the Abel Tasman Park we drove to the west coast via the Upper Buller Gorge through the Brunner Range of mountains. The highlight of this part of the journey was to visit the longest swingbridge in New Zealand. Since my balance has started to deteriorate I do feel very uncomfortable in unstable situations. A rope bridge one hundred and ten metres long certainly raises my adrenalin levels but Marion loves these situations so we had to take a look.


It didn’t look too bad from this side so we paid our fee and went for it.

At this moment I am not feeling too happy but holding on tight, very tight, off go.

I may be smiling but look at those knuckles! Just after this picture was taken the bridge started to shake and sway as a rather large guy from the USA started to tramp like a bull in a china shop across the bridge. Hold tight keep going and remember that there are some nice Americans.

The views on the bridge were spectacular but I saw far more of them on the way back, it was far less stressful, almost enjoyable.

On the other side of the river, a small circular walk took us through some old gold mine sites and along the picturesque river bank. The walk steadied the nerves just enough to cross the bridge again.