The greatest adrenalin rush

One of the must-do things to do before you're too old, is to get the ultimate adrenalin rush ever.
Whilst I was travelling around New Zealand, I embarked upon an activity I never thought I'd have the guts to do. Joining the rest of the crazy Brits I decided to partake in a bungee jump - not recommended for the faint hearted. It's meant to give you the best rush ever but I wouldn't recommend it if you suffer from travel sickness. There are 3 bungees you can chose from in New Zealand:

The ORIGINAL - from a 140 foot bridge
The LEDGE - a jump into the jungle with a harness strapped to you
The NEVIS - the highest of them all, a cable car with a free fall of 10 seconds.

Being a chicken, I opted for the shorter fall, after all I only wanted to do it to say I'd done it. As I was travelling on my own, I booked the jump to do alone. As I was sat on the minibus taking us to the bridge it didn't feel real that i was about to throw myself off a perfectly good bridge. When we got there, I had to sign my disclaimer - saying it wasn't the company's fault if I suffered an injury during the jump or worse still - death. With my nerves starting to feel slightly unsteady, I joined the queue of brave people. We were like a factory line of lemmings all jumping off just for the sheer hell of it.
It seemed like an eternity until my number was called. (yes number, not even my name)
I felt like I was in a dream world as I slid under the railings onto the plank below. Rope was tied tightly to my feet and I was told to move forwards to the end of the plank. I shuffled forward with imagines of me doing a graceful dive into the water below (not that I'd ever dived into water before, especially as i had a phobia of the deep blue sea). I felt restricted with the rope pulling at my feet and suddenly became aware there was nothing to hold onto. I looked back at the kiwi guide who pointed forward to the edge. I took a deep breath and carried on to my fate. I looked down at the water below and felt dizzy from the height. Closing my eyes, I tried to will my feet off the end but they were fixed to the plank. I felt like I was there ages staring at the horizon in front of me, until the hand of the guide touched my shoulder. He tried to cox me into jumping. "I can't do it" i said panicking. He launched into his much-used speech that he probably uses on everyone who bottles it! "Yes you can. Just fall if you can't jump."
I plucked up the courage and moved towards the edge. Again I closed my eyes, this time I carried on walking until I fell off the edge, screaming for the full 3 seconds it took until i felt my body come to a jolt, dangling in mid-air. I swung there, upside down, feet from the water wondering what happens now. A small dingy with two men holding a long wooden pole came towards me. I reached out to grab it but it kept moving away with the current. They ventured closer and I grabbed hold for dear life. They yelled at me to work my way down the pole. I used my strength until I was low enough for them to grab me and lay me in their dingy.
It took me four hours until the dizziness wore off and I was able to compose myself. Then the adrenalin buzz kicked in! It was an experience I would never do again but it worth it to say that I'd done a bungee jump.

Things to do before you're 30

When I was thinking of ideas for my blog, I came up the mature student outlook. What could I write about, that other people might want to read? As I am now (scarily) over the tender age of 30, I thought about turning my blog into lots of personal experiences. What better than 'Things to do before you're 30!'
I've researched some websites and found a cool site about a 29 and a half year old man called Rich. He's looking to take part in some crazy challenges before he turns the big 'three o'. He wants people to come up with suggestions and he will take the 6 most interesting and do one every month (crazy). You can follow his progress on his blogs, which also include details of his weekend antics such as walking in Wales. One of my favourite blogs is called its not like the old days about him and his old-uni mates hanging out in the uni joints they used to. They reflect on how times have changed.
Although my blog will be different to Rich's, it's a great idea and I'll be keeping up with his monthly tasks! You can check out his first task when he runs around a castle at nighttime in his underpants .

Road charging Scheme

So, there's now over one million signatures on the road charging petition. But will that stop the government from going ahead with the scheme? Did it stop Tony Blair going ahead with invading Iraq when over one million people marched through the streets of London - NO.
Why would the government listen to anything the public say? after all, it' not as if our democracy system really works is it?! Gone are the days of listening to the voters, who actually put them in power!

Tony Blair's argument is that if nothing is done, road congestion will increase by 25% in ten years. Why doesn't he make the railways and buses cheaper and more efficient then? In my opinion, the worst move they ever made was to privatise the railways -it seems the fares are continually rising with no sign of any improvements. I once had to work in Bristol and to travel there daily would cost me £113! I nearly fainted.

The whole road charging scheme is a secret ploy to monitor our every movement. Big brother will be watching. They call it a surveillance system that will track our vehicle so they can monitor our way to work. But surely that means - our route to our personal life! Soon you won't be able to do anything in this country.

I agree with trying to cut down congestion but really don't believe this is the way to do it. We pay enough in road tax and petrol already. This is just another tax the government want to introduce to get us to pay more of our hard-earned cash to subsidise their holidays!
What about the single mums who have to take their children to different schools and are barely struggling to survive. How are they going to afford an extra £30 (approx) a month? The only people I can see it benefiting are the businessmen in their company cars who won't have to put their hands in their pocket, but they'll get to work in quicker time.

Why not encourage companies to offer more flexi-time? That way less people will be driving at peak times. Or put the driving age up to 18 - introduce tests for the elderly who drive too slow and are a hazard. It's bad enough the congestion charge has just been extended to another zone. Soon we won't be able to drive anywhere or do anything without having to pay. Will our wages go up to compensate for the extra charge? will our road tax and insurance be reduced?

So come on Mr Blair, listen to public and give the people of Britain a break....

Happy shopping

I've just researched the blog: Hippyshopper. It's a great site for anyone who wants to be environmentally friendly. Named as 'Ethical consumerism', it covers products from organic skincare to green washing machines. Similar to a magazine and easy to follow, this site is a must for everyone who wants to change their lifestyle by making small changes.

I thoroughly recommend the link to: walk it website which allows you to plan your route throughout London - it even calculates the number of calories you can burn! (picture courtesy of HIPPYSHOPPER)

Hello, my name is Lisa and I'm a second year journalism student. I've decided to join the bandwagon of the Internet diary and start my own blog. I'm putting together a list of travel blogs to show the places that I've been lucky enough to visit. If anyone has any comments or wants to add recommendations, please feel free.

Hope you enjoy my reviews....