Taupo to Rotorua for Black Water Rafting

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After another ridiculously early start we headed out to Waitomo for a spot of black water rafting- our original bus driver had told us we had to stay there but once we were on the bus the bus driver said we could go straight to Rotorua and not stay in Waitomo, which was a damn good thing seeing as there were 4 shops and nothing else to do! Black Water Rafting was so much fun- we got all kitted up in wetsuits, shorts, helmets, gum boots and got in the bus to be driven to Ruakuri Cave. When we arrived we were each given a rubber ring type thing (from the wheel of a car) and we stood on this jetty into the river to practise our jumping technique for off the waterfalls in the caves- backwards and outwards in our tubes! It was so much fun. Then we were led into the cave which we climbed down into and we waded through water looking at the beautiful stalagmites and stalactites from the ceiling which had taken thousands of years to form. We did a couple of quite high waterfall jumps which was awesome and then we floated down the rest of the underwater river in our tubes with our headlights off stairing at the glowworms on the roof of the cave! Then to top it off we got free soup and bagels! Ideal!
We arrived into Rotorua at about 7 to check into our huge room! Me and Em had our own little compartment leading off the main dorm and a balcony and ensuite. We were looking forward to two nights there! The only downfall was the disgusting smell of sulphur which was constantly in the air but we got used to it. We then headed to the Lava bar for a bite to eat and there was a foam party that night- I stayed clear due to past experiences but we had an awesome night as we met up with our danish friends Rasmus and Jacob.

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