On the way to Taupo (pronounced toe-paw) we stopped at the Huka Falls for a little gander. The Huka (foam) falls is situated on the Waikato River, 11m high. It looks like it was man made but it was actually formed by an earthquake. The water was so blue!
When we got to Taupo it was rather wet but the rain cleared up as we arrived so we went on a little walk to the hot spring. The scenery is beautiful. I'm still stunned at how green New Zealand is. The spring we went to ran into the Waikato River which made the water just the right temperature. It was really nice an chilled. In the evening we all then to the pub, where Mel won $50 playing Bingo!
The next day was a pretty big day for us! We started with a little walk along the lake. Lake Taupo is absolutely massive! It's a crater lake from a previous volcano. We had a go at trying to hit a hole in one onto a platform in the lake to win money. But we weren't good enough! Then the highlight of our day...SKYDIVE! We got picked up in a limousine and taken to the airfield. Watched a short video and got kitted up and next thing we knew we were in a little pink airplane taking off. Emma did 12,000ft skydive and jumped out the plane 2nd and Mel did a 15,000ft jump so she carried on up in the plane and was last out. It was so weird you just saw people fall out and just fall. The instructor is attached to your back and he says "sit on the edge and dangle you lags out the plane" then "1, 2, 3, here we go..." And that was it free falling for 40 seconds for Emma and 60 seconds for Mel before the parachute opens and you float down! The views were absolutely stunning. There were green mountains and the lake with towns and villages around. It was beautiful. And the buzz you get it just incredible!
After that we went and played a round of mini golf. Which took us hours. None of us completed it in under par and Emma managed to do it in double par. Then we chilled out and had tea and then partook in a pub quiz at the local Irish pub. And we came 5th - our team name: 8 empty glasses and no answers. Today was 8months travelling and we think we marked it well by jumping out a plane! Tomorrow morning we head off to river valley.