We nervously waited for our hang gliding pick up outside our campsite, questioning why we had booked ourselves onto such a crazy activity! The van came and in we went. There were three others who were also willing to jump off a cliff. Although Hang Gliding had been something Andrea had wanted to do since seeing it on the TV as a child, the practicalities of being strapped to (essentially) a kite and jumping off a cliff hadn't been considered at the time of booking. After we'd signed away any method of suing the hang gliding company in the event of accident or injury, we made our way up the hill. As there were only three instructors and five 'victims', we let the other three go first while we waited at the top of the hill. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that the edge we had to run off wasn't quite as steep as we'd thought; it was a more gradual slope. Once the others had gone, we waited for the bus to bring the instructors and the hang gliders back for our turn. We were harnessed up and practiced holding on to our instructor whilst running together (you have to run off the edge rather than jump). After a few photos it was time to go. The run off the cliff passed with out incident for both of us and then we were airborne. The feeling of gliding over the valley with the mountains as the backdrop was amazing! The wind rushes by but everything seems quiet and slow. Andrea even had a go of piloting. We were in the air for around 15 minutes and then it was time to land. Andy says he was glad he did it, and he only let out a few expletives when a stall was being demonstrated, but once was enough, whereas Andrea loved it and wants to do more!

Our instructors were taking photos and video of us whilst we were in the air. Unfortunately only three photos and one video of Andy came out, but we got many great photos of Andrea.

Our next activity was white water sledging with Frogz. We were equipped with wet suits, helmets and short fins, and our white water sledge, which is like a boogie board in size, but with handles and shaped grooves for your arms. After some instruction on the eddies and whirlpools, steering and signals, we were off. It was great fun riding the rapids, being spun around by whirlpools and trying to catch some air off the top of waves. We did a 5km run of the river twice, taking a slightly more aggressive line through the rapids now that we knew what we were doing.

Our final activity of the day was a trip to Haka Pa, a Maori village set beside a beautiful waterfall. After seeing the traditional houses the Maori's used to live in (small wooden buildings that were only used for sleeping in as they lived an outdoor existence), we were greeted outside by a Maori warrior performing the traditional welcoming ceremony. This guy was very intimidating with his facial tattoos, aggressive facial expressions and expert wielding of his long club. A member of our group had been chosen as a chief, who was to accept the token of peace the warrior laid on the ground. Fortunately he picked it up (to not do so would have been considered an act of war!) and we were invited inside. We were then treated to traditional Maori songs and dances, and we even got to join in! We had a buffet meal cooked in a traditional earth oven, followed by more singing and dancing. Andy got to perform part of the Haka made famous by the All Blacks. Andrea's dance routine involved the use of a Poi, a small ball on a rope that used to be used by the men to strengthen their forearms, but now smaller versions are used by the women in dances. We have video clips of both of us failing to each of our dances! After a speech by our chief, each group had to perform a short song. We were sat by an English couple who had moved out to New Zealand and they came up with the idea of singing Jingle Bells as it was Christmas. This seemed to go down well with the group, despite our singing! After more dessert it was time to head back to the van for a well deserved rest.