We got up early around 9ish and then jumped on the bus to Whakarewarewa Thermal Village. Immediatly we noticed the eggy smell (from the sulphurous fumes). We were then given a guided tour of the village. We walked past thermal pools that contained sweetcorn you could then eat (tasted really nice and think could taste minerals). We then saw the tribal bathing pools(as 200 Maori people still live here in the village). We also saw the geyser from a viewpoint and the marvellous mud pools. We saw a Maori dance which was really entertaining. We were then driven to a secret mud pool by our driver Kerry. We drove on to Taupo and dropped our stuff at the Go Global hostel before continuing on to Taupo Airport to skydive!! We arrived and firstly signed the liability waiver signing away my parent's right to sue should I die. Also we watched a great sample DVD of a girl's dive and I decided to get one. It's really professional and you can choose 3 music tracks from a list. I chose 7 Nation Army-White Stripes for the intro, Galvanise-Chemical Brothers for the fall and Born Slippy-Underworld of Trainspotting/Crow Rd fame for the parachute/landing. We all sat around drinking coffee pretending not to be nervous and then were interviewed for our DVDs. Suddenly we were called and we walked over to get suited up. Next myself, Roshni and Claire were crammed into a small plane with our instructors. It took off and I realised that there was no going back. We climbed higher and higher through the clouds and I became more nervous. I could feel my heart pounding but put my poker face on "me nervous haha..not a chance". Mike (my instructor) attached himself to me and then edged me closer to the door after Claire jumped and disappeared into the clouds. I put my legs under the plane and held on tight to my suit buckles then pushed mt head back as instructed. Mike said: "Right Neil mate, are you ready bro?" we pushed off and spun wildly around I saw the sun and earth upside down until we were facing down. We fell for 45 seconds from 12,000ft and were going at 200 kph! The sensation of hurtling towards the earth was terrific. It was amazing, after a few seconds the sensation of falling to earth dissipates and you feel like you're flying! Mike tapped me to put my arms out which I did, what a sensation of freedom. It was an exhilirating experience! I tried to speak but the words didn't come out. The vastness of the land is unimagineable and your senses are overloaded. The adrenalin coursing through your body gives you a natural high. Seriously, this should be an alternative to Prozac for depressed people. This is a life-changing experience and there's no middle ground; you've either done it or you haven't. Mike opened the parachute and we slow then glide around taking in the beautiful views of Lake Taupo and the surrounding mountains. Finally we land and I push my legs up as instructed. Woo hoo! I'm given a congratulatory handshake by Mike and then walk back to the centre in a euphoric state. Later myself, Roshni and Claire watched our DVD in the small adjacent cinema. They are really good and I stumbled into the lounge still in a daze. What a great memory to have! We go back on the bus and then drive to Urban Retreat where we have a BBQ. We then all had drinks in the Irish bar called Mulligans. I got chatting to a Dutch couple who were skydiving before us at the same place. I spoke to them for the rest of the night, really nice people. Linda learnt Spanish in Sevilla for eight months, Roshni is also fluent and they started yabbering away. I realised I'm a long way from fluency. I can't wait to start learning Spanish in my South American schools. We stayed up until closing time and then went to bed.