So this morning I went to Taupo airport for my sky-dive! After spending Thursday and Friday wondering what the hell I was about to do, I felt surprisingly calm in the bus on the way to the airport. There was another girl from the UK there who had never jumped before either so we comforted each other a bit! After getting ready and meeting my tandem partner, 4 of us piled into the smallest plane and took to the sky. We got the most amazing views over Lake Taupo...

Taupo is much better than Rotorua. It's more relaxed, cheaper, more scenic and less touristy, but there is slightly less to do here. From the lake side you can just make out the Mt. Ruapehu and Mt. Tongariro that were used for Mordor in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Also, you could see Hobbiton from the bus on the way down from Rotorua. Just outside of town are the Huka Falls on the Waikato River that flows out of Lake Taupo. The Waikato River is the biggest i...