Legends of the Fall

I'm being pushed and pulled to the edge, a quick smile for the camera (always!) and then I'm hanging off the side of a plane staring down twelve thousand feet to Lake Taupo (the southern hemisphere's largest crater lake) then before I can really process what is going to happen, Berry, my tandem guide, releases his grip and we flip forward making a few loops before free falling towards the crystal blue water below. The rush of air is deafening as we fall 200km/hour but I'm enjoying the ride down awe struck at the view which ranges from the North Island's east coast to the trio of volcanoes that rise off the southern shore of Lake Taupo, a 45 second free fall is hardly enough to take in the incredible view. It's a totally clear day, perfect for skydiving, and before I know it the free fall is over and we're drifting quietly towards the landing strip making banks and turns to kill speed and give that extra thrill. Taupo is home to the "world's cheapest skydive" and since you only live once I decided this was the time to take the plunge.

I arrived here in New Zealand just one week ago, meeting up with the lovely Katie Guthrie who is working hard in Auckland at Les Mills fitness. She's settled into her cozy apartment and has already become quite accustomed to life in the most geographically isolated country on earth. After two months in Asia I strongly considered taking up residence in New Zealand's largest city (a mere 1.5 million, the whole nation boasts only 4 mil) but after a few days of no good job prospects and the continued desire to be on the move I bought a ticket to Taupo and didn't look back.

Other than jumping out of a perfectly good plane, I've had the opportunity to take in some of the surrounding area's natural wonders including Haku Falls, which really isn't a fall so much as it is a deep channel with fast moving water, and the Tongariro Crossing. The Tongariro National park is the home of Mt. Ngauruhoe, which was used as Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Apparently die-hard Hobbit fans will climb to the summit and throw rings into the crater...yeah ummm I guess that's cool. The trek covers 18km and I started at 8am when rain and low clouds made for low visibility. As I approached the first crater the clouds still hadn't cleared and all I could see was a desolate volcanic crater that looked like the surface of the moon but within a few mins all the clouds cleared and the whole park could be seen in the shadow of Mt. Ngauruhoe. The wind on the top was so intense that I was able to lean into it and combined with the rain from earlier I was so cold on the ridge that I didn't stay for long. The hike down passed sulhpur lakes, rocky craters, steamy waterfalls and sulphur belching cracks in the rock that gave parts of the trail the stench of rotting eggs. The hike is described as the best day hike in all of New Zealand and it didn't disappoint. Not sure where I'll head to next, I'll spend today trying to figure that out, with so much to see I'm having trouble making a plan.

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