Tuesday 30th - Wednesday 31st January

Waitomo to Taupo

After our black water rafting, in the morning, we re-joined teh bus and headed in the direction of the Tongariro National Park and Taupo - the adventure capital of the north! We got to admire the view of the Tongariro National Park- the cone shaped mountain Ngauruhoe (Na-ru-hoe-e) was used in the filming of Lord of the Rings as Mt.Doom.

We stopped off for a short walk and checked out the famous Huka Falls before we arrived in Taupo. The Huka (meaning 'foam') Falls are situated on the Waikato River about 2km's north of Lake Taupo and are about 11-12 metres tall - thats 35ft! We did have the opportunity to jump off from the top, but I'm afraid I was a little pathetic and chose to be cameraman instead - the water was bloody freezing and it wasn't the hottest of days!

Lake Taupo is the largest lake in Australasia, apparently its big enough to fit Singapore in it! There is some debate over the creation of the lake itself. Some say it was formed by a giant called 'Tia' and others say it was the scene of one of the largest volcanis explosions that mankind has recorded.

Enough about the history of Taupo, as I bet you want to know what I did there. Well, we arrived at around 4pm and dropped those not doing any activities off at the hostel while the rest of us headed off for the airfield!?! Yes, some may have guessed, we were off to jump out of a plane 15,000ft above the ground! Yes, I did a freefall tandem skydive and have the dvd and photos to prove it (couldn't put dvd online, so will have to show it when back), although I was too busy looking at the ground speeding towards me. I'm glad I did it in Taupo, as not only was it the cheapest but you get spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and of course the lake.
Luckily I managed to get myself on the first plane out (there were about 20 of us doing it that afternoon). There wasn't much prep/training before the jump, simply getting the gear on (very attractive hat!) and then getting strapped into your tandem for the flight. I don't think it was until the first person left the plane that you realised you were doing it and how high you actually were.

I have to admit I wasn't that scared (I'm more scared at the thought of doing a bungy now). The feeling when you left the plane was one of shock for the first 5 seconds and then you relaxed and enjoyed it. Thankfully, although the skies were clear and very, there was a little patch of cloud which meant two things: 1) you couldn't see the ground when you jumped out the plane and 2) that you got to through it which was a bit strange but an enjoyable experience, if a little wet! All in all I would definately do it again and recommend to anyone who's ever thought about doing it.

The rest of the afternoon and the following day (we had a day-off in Taupo, so others could do some of the other activities on offer) pales in comparison. Just going to the bars for a few drinks and dealing with the hangover on a nice hot-sunny day!!