I never really gave up on breakin' out of this two-star town...

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Back so soon? Yes, that's right, I'm back again. I know I just emailed y'all, but I've done some excellent stuff the last couple of days and when I found an internet place for only $3 an hour (so cheap!) I decided to just holler at ya again, since I dont know when will be next.

Ok, so right after the last email I sent I decided to go do a bungy jump; like you do. It was pretty small compared to the Nevis or say, 15,000 feet skydive, but at 54 meters it was still a rush. I jumped backwards feet first which meant that the beginning of the fall was just staring at the cliff I stepped backward off of and then flipping over half way down. My field of vision was overtaken by the bright blue sky before it crashed into land then faded into the deep blue waters of Lake Taupo. My fingers touched the water and I sprang back up into the air to bounce around a few times before being helped into a rubber raft and floating ashore.

After that I went down with Duncan to watch the sunset over Lake Taupo. There was a magnificent peninsula that looks just like a crocodile. It sticks out so that the head is on the water, then there are two smaller land masses that jut out toward us like feet. The way the shadow fell caused the rising hill to look like a tail sitting over the houses scattered among the green. Trees rising on the ridge looked like spikes, finishing off the scene.

When the sun had set and were tired to writing in our respective journals, we headed over to a crazy golf course (mini golf or putt-putt). It was fun; 18 rather challenging holes. None of the really crazy windmills or laughing clowns, but lots of mounds, turns, and trigonometrical calculations to bank balls into the greens. I even got a hole in one with a wicked round the corner shot I lined up perfectly (it was pretty simple, really, just take the cosine divided by the square of the sine then add the inverse angle's pi ratio before accounting for slope and friction... never mind, I'll explain it later with some graphs and example word problems).

The next day was a hike through the incredible Tongariro crossing, which was featured as Mt. Doom and the home of Mordor. The sights are extreme and diverse, from barren volcanic valleys to lush jungle, over emerald and deep blue lakes, fighting your way up incredibly steep slopes of slippery rock that, if you were to slip, could very well kill you. There was sulfur all around, so it even smelled like hell. A really great hike, although I'm sore as now from carrying all my gear and Duncan's in my pack for 8 hours (17 kms). I have some great pics that I will try upload later. In the meantime, that link I sent has a picture gallery.

We are now in Rotorua which is all sulfur, all the time. It smells like one giant egg fart. There is a lot of seismic activity (leading to the smell) and many natural hot springs to explore, bath, and smell. I found a really nice rock wall here, too, so I may try to get a climb in. Money is going fast, though, so I may have to cool it down a bit. That skydive was pricey.

I'll be in Auckland (oh, joy...) in a few days and I'll try to touch base again then. It'll be good to see my Greenpeace folk back up there, but I'm not too stoked about being back in that poo-hole of a city.

Anyway, time is out again and I must therefore depart to explore some natural geysers and gardens by the lake. Its such a hard life I'm living...

I love you and miss you all.

Giggidy giggidy goo,
Dan

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