29/7/9 River Valley

Phil finally finished uploading our photos at 4am!!!
Our bus was due to leave at 9.30am and we weren't packed so got up after a very few hours sleep to pack and jump on the bus. It was pouring with rain and very grey and cloudy as we left Taupo. There were no mountain views due to the weather so we were really happy for the clear weather we had over the last three days. Our driver Mar drove us to the Tangoriro National Park and intended to drop us off for a walk but the weather was too vile and we stayed on the bus instead. We did look in the information centre which explained all the volcanic and geology of the park and its mountains. Some of the other passengers went to walk to a waterfall and some mad lads jumped off it into the river below. They were all really blue when they came back to the bus...nutters. We carried on through some bad weather, watching Lord of the Rings on the bus DVD player to distract us from the bad weather outside. We reached River Valley Lodge where we have a room booked for the night. The resort is a really cosy log built cabin with a huge open fire in the middle of a really cosy lounge and dining area. The resort sits on the banks of Rangitikei river which is the only grade 5 white water in New Zealand. We visit River Valley to go white water rafting, horse trekking or just to relax.

Hello again readers, sorry for the gap in posts but we encountered some IT problems which ended with some toys being thrown out of prams!!! We have left it a few days and will now attempt another catch up session.

When we arrived at River Valley we were treated to a huge roast pork dinner which was really delicious, then were shown a DVD about the white water rafting on offer there. Phil got too tempted and booked himself on the trip with some of the others. Liz decided to have a chilled morning in the lodge and wait for Phils return. We have a late pick up so a sleep in will be a real treat. We had a few drinks before going to bed.