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Our first full day in Taupo and the first stop is the Taupo Bungy for our tandum jump. Michael had already done the Taupo Bungy jump when he was here 9 years ago and has been desperate to get me to try one ever since! I was a little more reluctant and even more so when we arrived at the jump centre and I could see the full scale of the task ahead of me! We paid our money, ordered our photo/DVD pack (I want proof if I do this) and had our weight taken for them to calculate our bungy ropes. Once all the paperwork was done and we had signed all our legal rights away it was time to make our way out to the platform. The Taupo bungy is done from a platform that hovers over the Waikato river and when you jump you can make a request to be dipped into the river if you so desire. We got out to the platform by which point Michael was hyper and I was green, I don't think I have ever been so scared in all my life. You sit down while the men put on your ankle strap and then they attach the bungy cord which rather worryingly just looks like a load of elastic bands all stuck together with more elastic bands. I can feel my heart thumping out of my chest and I am barely aware of what the man is telling us to do when we jump however I soon listen up when he starts talking about going over the edge face first (I had been under the impression we could fall backwards so I didn't have to see what was happening). We have to stand side by side with our arms around each others waists and then after the count of three we fall off the platform into the valley. Once we get to the edge I suddenly get cold feet as we stand waiting to jump. At least with a rollercoaster once your strapped in someone else hit's the go button and you have no choice but to enjoy the ride. With a bungy jump however there is no go button you have to physically throw yourself over the edge and that's a whole new level of madness. We get to the edge and after I have my funny turn the man shouts 3, 2, 1, BUNGY and we start to fall. Now as expected I let out the biggest scream I can but within a few seconds the shock of the feeling of falling renders me silent for a good few seconds and then the reality of the jump sets back in and I proceed to scream for the remainder of the jump. Michael, ever the brave fish he is was almost silent throughout the jump only letting out a small grunt when the bungy cord pulls as you dip into the water. I have to admit that after the initial horrible feeling in your tummy when you first realise your falling the rest of the experience is really fun and I really enjoyed it. The adrenaline going through your body when your finished is unreal, you feel you could take on anything, you are invincible! With the whole thing being over so quickly we practically ran back to the jump shop to watch the DVD back and relive what we had just done. The film was brilliant and my screaming in it is hilarious, we both had tears in our eyes watching it back and the photos were really good too. We stayed to watch a couple more people jump before heading into town for a well deserved cooked breakfast! After breakfast we are addicted to the adrenaline and go in search of another fix, this time the rapids jet boat ride. The weather had been pretty grim for the last few days so while there was a hint of sunshine we wanted to make the most of it. The jet boat ride is an adrenaline packed 35 minutes of skimming over the rapids of the Waikato river at the hands of a crazy and perhaps slightly reckless skipper. The speeds that you reach on the jet boat as you skim over the rapids are unbelievable and so exciting. Every now and again the skipper will signal for a 360 and the whole boat will suddenly spin throwing everyone onboard around. The area of the river used for the ride has some larger rapids which due to our speed launches us into the air and then crashing back down. With the occasional other stunt and pretend "we are going to crash head first into that rock" you get a fun and thrilling tour of the Waikato river and you only get a little bit wet. After our amazing time on the jet boat we were desperate for more but there are only so many hundreds of dollars you can spend in one day so we had to settle for an exhilarating trip to a honey factory to sample some of the many different varieties of honey! After getting our sweet fix for the day it was back to the campsite to watch our bungy DVD another few times before dinner, I still cant believe I did that!Our second day in Taupo and we started the day at Taupo's annual mountain biking competition where apparently over 3000 riders come every year to compete. We had expected to find a hardcore mountain bike track full of mud and crazy bikers doing ridiculous stunts however what we found was a rather disappointing circular track and not a crazy biker in sight! After a quick walk around to make sure we weren't missing anything we jumped back into the van and headed to the Aratiatia dam. The dam is part of a network of dams built on the Waikato river to provide hydroelectric power. Due to the dam altering the natural course of the river the power company release a small volume of the water 3x a day to allow tourists to see the force that the water used to flow down the river. We arrived just in time to hear the sirens and then see the gate open to release the water. Within a few minutes what had been a relatively empty canyon was soon overflowing with water. We next took the van further up the river to The Huka Falls where we had some lunch and then went to explore the falls. Unfortunately soon into our walk I started to get a horrible migraine and had to go back to the van to lie down in the dark and hope it went away as we had plans to go out that night. After a couple of hours sleeping in the dark van and copious amounts of painkilling medications I felt much better. Tonight was the tri-nations deciding match between The All Blacks and Australia and having missed most of the tri-nations when we were in Fiji we really wanted another chance to watch the All Blacks in a New Zealand bar. The game was in Australia and due to the time difference wasn't on Kiwi TV until 10pm leaving plenty of time enjoy a few refreshments before kick off. Being the sporting enthusiasts that we are we had sussed out the best bar to watch the match and were pleased to see when we arrived that it was in fact the busiest bar on the street. The game was great and the atmosphere in the bar was awesome with all the locals really getting behind their team. New Zealand won a close match and we "think" the score was 28-24 although this cannot be confirmed due to the game finishing around midnight and us being, well totally hammered! It was however a great night and even someone else vomiting in our taxi on the way home didn't dampen our spirits (although it did smell gross and there was some quality boking from Mrs G)!Unfortunately the next morning brings another hangover and its true they definitely get worse as you get older! We both feel like death warmed up and the antics of the previous night are a little woosy. We are supposed to leave Taupo today however neither of us can face going anywhere so we pay for an extra night to allow us to recover. When the hunger starts to get too much we manage to drag ourselves into the shower and then walk from the campsite into town in search of sustenance. Fortunately the sun is shining and it is another lovely day so we head straight for the bakers to get a couple of pies (New Zealanders make amazing pies) and then make our way to the lake front to eat them. One steak and cheese pie and a chocolate brownie later and we feel positively revived. We walk off our feast and clear our heads at the lake front before we spot a mini golf on the other side of the road. What better way to spend a hungover Sunday afternoon than a game of mini golf. We had a great laugh and I was winning for most of the game until I had a total howler and took 9 shots to pot one ball and that allowed Michael to beat me again. After the mini golf we were hungry again so we got some more food and ate it in the park. Whilst there Michael asked me how I felt about maybe heading to the mountains next to try out some skiing! So after our second lunch we went to the tourist information office to find out about skiing in the north island, this should be interesting!!!!
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