White Water Sledging......So Cool!!!

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12th March 2009 - SURVIVING MANEATER ON A RIVER SLEDGE & A CINEMA WITH A DIFFERENCE!!
Up early again and straight for breakfast as usual. I hung around in the lounge area for a good while chatting to people and chilling out! Nat was up not long after me...she hoped to do a skydive again today...weather permitting!! It did look a lot a lot clearer outside and we both crossed our fingers for her as it was our last day in Wanaka and her last chance really. She phoned up just before 9am and got the go ahead. I was so so jealous...I wanted to do it too but as I had already done one last year I couldn't justify the $600 jump fee!! Blooming money....wish I knew where to get money trees from! I would definitely become a keen gardener!! I was excited for Nat too though and wished her luck as she set off on her way.

I spent my morning leisurely. I went for a wander down by the lake and sat watching the water for a while. It was so peaceful and pretty. I could have sat there all day thinking and watching the world go by!! I eventually moved my but though and went into town to do a spot of shopping. I even bought myself a little present...can't wait until I get home and have money again....then I can shop, shop and shop some more!! Like mother like daughter...eh dad?!! After shopping I spent an hour on the net before phoning home. It was nice to speak to my mum and sister for a while and catch up on their lives a bit. Really enjoyed my morning!!

Back at the hostel at around 11.30am I got my stuff together for my afternoon activities and then made some lunch. Nat came in at around 12...she had loved her skydive and we watched the DVD and looked at her photos. It looked amazing...so jealous!! Still, I had river sledging to look forward to so I didn't despair!! Frogz (the company who ran the activity) were picking me up at 1pm. I was like a kid in a sweetshop...no...not obese, just excited!!!

Rose (the instructor) picked me up in the van along with 2 others - Justin and AJ. They were both nice although Justin was a complete geek!! Everytime Rose asked a question he raised his own hand in the air and shouted "Justin Knows"!! After the fourth time I wanted to raise my hand in the air and place it right between his eyes...Bop!!! I restrained myself and after a 40 minute ride or so we eventually arrived at Kawarau River. Rose gave us a safety briefing and we were kitted out in another fetching outfit!! Possibly the worst yet and the padded pants sure take some beating!! I felt like a mitchellin man with all the layers and rubber but I suppose it would keep me warm on the river!! Once kitted out we were taken down to the river...I was raring to go!!

The section on the river we were sledging was called 'Roaring Meg'. A 5km stretch of high volume white water with rapids, standing waves, whirlpools, boils and a calm ending. We had a quick practice in the calm waters and then grabbed our sledges and followed Rose into the main flow of the river. Wooooo!!! I got sucked into a whirlpool straight away. It was sweet as!! I didn't panic and instead let it spin me around throw me back into the main flow again!! No point fighting the water. I just went with it!! So cool!! It was then a case of crashing through the waves and following Rose's signals!! Such good fun and e soon reached the first main rapid - 'man-eater'!! It almost swallowed me whole as I went for the centre instead of taking the calmer edge option. It really smashed me and held me underwater for a good few seconds before spitting me back out! Awesome!!

The next section of the river was more of the same. Rapids, whirlpools and fast flowing water! You had to kick pretty hard with your legs to steer and my arms took some strain with clinging onto the sledge. Good fun!! The next main rapid followed shortly after.....'Rollercoaster!!' It definitely took me for a ride and I was totally at the mercy of the water. Loving it!! The next section of the river was more of the same before coming onto the final major rapid...'Dead Cow'........something I did not want to become!! Once again it smashed me about but I clung on and rode through!! So so good!!

The last section of the river was calmer and a good chance to catch our breath back as well as catching a few whirlpools if you wished...I did!! We also did a bit of rock jumping from a 10m high ledge. Pretty cool jumping off but waddling up the rocks in fins was tough. Now I know what a duck feels like walking about with webbed feet...not easy!! After the jump we headed further down the river and onto a beach where Etta (the driver) was waiting with the van to take us back to the start...yes we were going to do it all over again!!

I ended up doing it again but on my own with Rose as the 2 Americans were too tired from the first run. So good having a 1 to 1 and she had me doing allsorts. I went down rapids backwards, rolled into waves, rode my sledge like a cowboy and generally got smashed about a whole lot more!! The second time down felt so much quicker and so much fiercer...I loved it even more than the first time!! I wanted a third go but there wasn't time so I was taken back to the base to get changed and join Justin and AJ. I bought the photo disc too though pretty disappointed when I saw them as they all seemed to be at calmer points of the river and there just weren't enough taken!! Still.....I have my own memories in my head I suppose!! Once I had my photo disc and we were all ready, Rose drove us back to Wanaka and I got to the hostel at around 6pm. It had been a long activity and my arms were killing from gripping on!! Even so...River Sledging....Awesome!!

Nat and I chilled out at the hostel when I got back and we had tea before getting our stuff together and heading to Wanaka Cinema. This was not your average cinema.....oh no!! This cinema was more like a lounge...sofas, lazyboys, tea and coffee, an interval and an old Morris minor car!! Sounds weird? It was but in a good way!! We got there early as we had heard how popular it was and how people grappled for the best sofas and especially the car!! Nat and I got the car....fully kitted out with cushions...so comfy!! Such a novelty sat there in the cinema in a car parked up near the front. Everyone else sat around on sofas looking mightily comfy!! Everyone taking photos as it really is not something you see everyday!! Wish England would catch on to this idea....especially the sofas!! I have suffered too many times with a numb bum after watching a film......this is the ultimate cure!!

Once settled the film (Revolutionary Road) started. No trailers or adverts (a bonus for some but not for me...I like trailers)!! The first half was ok...not much happened but it didn't matter...I was sat in a car!! At half time I went and bought a cuppa to enjoy...just like being at home!! Nat loved it too!! The film continued after the 10 minute interval and again, not much happened in the 2nd half!! The novelty of the cinema more than made up for the film though......loved it!!!

Once out of the cinema. It was pushing midnight and very cold. We walked quickly back to the hostel and climbed straight into our beds. We were leaving Wanaka early tomorrow…..quite sad as I really liked the place!! Not looking forward to getting up early either but needs must. I set my alarm for 6.30am and fell straight to sleep!!

13th March 2009 - A DAY TRAVELLING AND WAITING AROUND!!
I got up at 6.30 when my alarm went off. Far too early!! We were hoping to get the 10.30 bus to Te Anau (too far to bike in one day and no small towns to stop at in between so we couldn’t bike…shame)!! We had a lot to do before 10.30 including using up our pre-bought internet time at a cheap place in town!! I had around 2 hours to use. I showered, had breakfast and made my way over to the shop. Nat was already there…crazy girl!! Bloody shop wasn’t even open as the woman hadn’t turned up yet…typical of the laid back nature over here. Like Oz in that respect…love it most of the time but not when it means I had got out of bed for nothing!! We went back to the hostel, sorted our stuff out and them headed back half hour later. It was open…woo!!

Enjoyed my time on the net….love to check my emails and catch up with people from home! Good to update my blog too…really enjoying writing again in this way as haven’t done it since school really….stimulates the mind more than red bull!! After I had used my time I left Nat in there and headed back to check out and book the bus to Te Anau. Turned out there wasn’t a direct bus to Te Anau and we would have to change at Queenstown. On top of that the bus to Queens had just left and the next one was at 12.30. Typical….needn’t have got up early at all and now got 2 hours to kill!! We spent them browsing town, having lunch and booking our accommodation for arrival in Te Anau. I even squeezed in a 30 minute nap…amazing!!

The bus came bang on 12.30 and we loaded our bikes and climbed on board. Lovely views along the way and I enjoyed looking out the window whilst listening to my music. Journey went by in no time and we were in queens for 2pm. Had to wait until 4.30 though for our connecting bus and basically sat on a bench for the duration as we didn’t want to cart our luggage around. Did seem like tourist central though. So many people and buses coming and going every 2 minutes, the majority for some sort of activity such as bungy, rafting, paragliding, jet boating….you name it…Queenstown does it!! It really is the adventure capital of the world and I was looking forward to returning in a few days!

Our bus to Te Anau eventually picked us up and we set off on our way to Te Anau. 2.5 hour journey and I slept for most of it. Good way to pass travel time!! When we arrived we checked straight into the hostel which looked directly onto Lake Te Anau…nice!! We then went to do a quick supermarket shop before returning to cook tea…a tasty rice dinner!! The rest of the evening was spent in the room chatting to our dorm-buddies about things to do in Te Anau and their travelling experiences. I fell to sleep around 10.30pm feeling a little under the weather. Not sure if it was jus tiredness but I hoped I would feel better the following day!!

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