Most Extreme day ever!!

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After Rotaru, we trucked on to Waitomo where we stopped at an angora rabbit farm where we saw Zoe the Rabbit being sheared!! she looked very cold afterwards but apparently, if its not done regularly she will die so all good really!!

Waitomo was a tiny little place with the nicest hostel in we had stayed at because it had no bunk beds, yippee!!! that night, our driver Dave cooked a great BBQ for us and it wasa good to get to know everyone off our bus a bit better.

The next day it was an early start to go Black water rafting!! sounds worse than white water but it actually consists of sitting in an inner tube and bobbing along the streams inside the caves. it was a little more extreme than that though because there were a few waterfalls that we had to get over. the way this was done was by wedging the inner tube on yuor bum (it was imortant to pick the right size) and jump in bum first making sure the you jumped out far enough to not impale yuorself on the rocks below. all this of course was done in the dark!!! we were wearing wet suits but the water was so cold when it went overe your head, it took quite a while to be abl to speak again!! all good fun though. we all turned our tourches off at one point so we could se all the glow worms on the ceiling which was pretty cool. th guide also made us all link legs at one stage and pulled us through a section of the cave which was very relaxing!

after scrambling out of the rocks at the other end, we were all totally exhausted and it wasn't even 10am!!

After the other group returned, we headed toward Taupo, the weather was still grim and as we got back on the bus after a short walk, driver Dave told us not to be optomistic about doing a sky dive that day (much to our relief). As we got closer to Taupo though, he told us he was just going to swing by the airport to drop us off. Panic spread through out the bus and we all started to realise that deodeant hadn't been applied since the rafting adventure earlier!! we got to the drop zone and watched a video to get us all in the mood. as there were about 30 of us, that meant 4 plane loads and guess how was in the last one!!! 3 hours later after asking too many questions of what it felt like, we got introduced to our partners and headed to the plane. it was at this point that both of us started to feel totally calm and enjoy the view on the way up. Mike (my man) was really good and he couldn't have put me at ease more. we needed oxygen as we got above 12000feet which made my stomach go a bit but not as much as when the plane door was opened and the air noise was really loud. Karen went out first and she just seemed to drop like a rock!! it was Amy next and i just saw her instructor put her head on his shoulder and then she was out like a pebble too!! Anna was next infront of me and then Mike and i slid along the bench toward s the open door. he said that i should just dangle my feet out of the door but as i was strapped to him, it seemed like it was my whole body dangling out!! he titled my head back so it was on his shoulder and crossed may arms and then just pushed off...all i can remember is a feeling of falling for about 2 seconds until he tapped me on the shoulder and i assumed 'the position'. what a feeling, i couldn't believe i was hurtling towards Lake Taupo and my hands were so very cold!! i tried to scream with joy but no words would come out!!Before i knew it, Mike had pulled the chute and i couldn't stop giggling and explaining to Mike exactly how it felt (which i'm pretty sure he knew!) He told me that we had tumbled twice when we left the plane but i don't remeber seeing it which leads me to think that i probably had my eyes shut for the first 2 seconds! it was so peaceful and the viwe of the lake and the mountains were great. it really didn't feel like we were falling until we got closer to the ground and he told me to lift my feet up. there was no need though because the landing was so perfect that i could just step down. Mike went to shake my hand but i just couldn't resist and gave him the biggest hug before running over to the other girls and having a screaming session!! what a great feeling and a very extreme day indeed!!

We all obviously couldn't stop talking about ti at the hostel and went out for a few drinks that night. the next day we spent getting ready for New Years Eve. Sophie, Anna, Amy and I cooked up a feast of Nachos and Fajitas before welcoming in the new year with the other 20 or so off our bus at the hostel!

The new day was spent mainly moping around and going to the cinema. we were planning to do the Tongerero Crossing on the 2nd but we were really annoyed that it was cancelled due to bad weather. instead,we went for a walk of our own which included watching some guys bungy jump. It convinced me that i would never be able to do one but i hav a feeling Amy is now thinking about it!!

Anyway, enough of us, Happy New Year to everyone, I hope you brought it in in style!!

Laura and Amy
xx

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Comments

[lectric74]

Wow sounds like fun
Have been planning on skydiving here in the US and it sounds like you guys had a great time. I was starting to get worried about you two as it had been so long since you posted. Glad to hear all is well. Keep us posted, and have fun