After an exciting introduction to New Zealand we drove from Paihia (Icon A) in the Bay of Islands back down past Auckland towards Rotorua. It was a long drive and we couldn't make it all the way to Rotorua, so we stopped in the town of Hamilton (B). As it was a night to freedom camp we found a little spot by a lake to spend the night.
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| Our route |
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| Driving past Auckland |
The next morning we finally arrived in Rotorua (C) and our senses were assaulted by the pungent smell of sulphur in the air. The sulphur smell comes from the abundant geothermal activity in the region, with steaming geysers, bubbling mud pools and hot springs. I (Leanne) was in geography heaven! We made our way straight to one of the larger geothermal areas Te Puia, located in the Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley. This where the Pohutu geyser resides, perhaps the biggest and most famous in NZ.
We walked around the site for a couple hours taking in all it had to offer.
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| A view from Te Puia |
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| Bubbling mud pools |
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| In front of the Pohutu geyser, before eruption |
After walking around we fould a lovely campsite overlooking Lake Rotorua to spend the night.
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| Fange admiring the view |
At this point I (Leanne) asked "When are we going to see the lake?" One of my blonder moments! We had a look around the town in the evening including the beautiful Tudor Rotorua Museum and other hot springs/ mud pools in the town's park. We then went back to our campsite to cook up a storm, a homely sausages and mash with onion gravy.
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| Rotorua Museum |
The next morning we woke to a beautiful sunrise across the lake with the birds before driving up to a cafe on the hill for some brunch.
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| Enjoying brunch with a view |
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| Rotorua |
We didn't have anything to heavy as after we drove to Taupo (D) for our skydive! We arrived around 3pm not feeling too nervous as we hadn't really talked about it too much between us. We checked in, chose what video package we wanted then waited a little while for our turn.
We eventually got kitted up and boarded the plane.
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| Ready to go, still looking calm |
As we had waited so long the sun was beginning to set as the plane made its ascent, giving us spectacular views.
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| Brave face |
Neither of us felt that nervous until we reached 12,000ft where two girls were jumping from, one of them was in hysterics. The hatch opened, we got a blast of wind then they disappeared. We then began to climb again to our altitude of 15,000ft. I (Leanne) was first up, attached to the instructor we shimmied towards the open hatch. Under instruction I very nervously dangled my legs out of the plane as we sat on the edge. Glancing right I saw the wing of the plane, I was convinced that it would slice me in half, without another moment to think. 3, 2, 1....
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| ...AHHHHHH |
After watching Leanne disappear from sight my heart began to beat increasingly fast. I was the last one to jump so we shuffled to the hatch through the empty plane where I very reluctantly did what Leanne had done a few seconds earlier and sat on the edge of the plane with my feet being blown by the rushing air. 'This doesn't seem like such a good idea anymore' was going through my mind.
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| Ohh S**t... |
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| ...and away we go |
The freefall from 15,00ft was 70 seconds. The air rushes past you so fast that you can barely catch your breath or blink but after a few seconds you get used to it and start to appreciate the experience, taking in the landscape. When we first jumped out the sun was just above the horizon, it slowly disappeared as we fell through the air.
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| Sexy and he knows it |
The 70 seconds felt like only 5 as we rapidly plummeted to earth , then we suddenly slowed as the instructor pulled open the parachute. What a relief...
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| Living the Dream |
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| Ahh I´m still alive |
As we slowly glided back down we got to enjoy more of the beautiful sunset from a new vantage point. Then our feet or rather bums touched back down on terra firma to complete an unforgettable experience.
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| Ahhhh |
After our thrilling skydive we stayed in Taupo to enjoy a well deserved Indian curry, which was the first time we hadn´t cooked ourselves since getting the camper. With very satisfied bellies we then freedom camped by the river. The next morning before we left Taupo, we checked out Huka Honey Hive, where we sampled various honey related products (honey peanut butter, liquers, perfumes and ice-creams) before buying some Manuka honey handcream.
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| How sweet! |
After the Honey Hive, we embarked on an amazing walk up the river to Huka Falls. As it was Autumn the colours of the trees were at their most colourful and the water was remarkably clear and blue.
The water was very tranquil as we walked down however all that changed as the river channelled into a raging gully that fed the immensely powerful Huka falls.
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| In front of the falls |
After eating our homemade ham sandwiches for lunch by the river, we stopped at a natural hot spring. The water from the spring tumbled down over a waterfall to where it met the icy cold river. The water at the bottom of the waterfall and in the pools above was really hot but as you walked away the water began to merge with the river water. The cold river water settled at the bottom whilst the warm spring water rose to the top. This meant if you lay down half of you was hot and the other half freezing. The sensation was very peculiar.
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| The grotto |
After spending an hour or so frolicking in the springs we got dried and made our way back to ´Fange´ for our drive to Tongariro National Park our next destination. On our way down Lake Taupo Rob spotted a Hole-in-One competition across the lake. With a top prize of NZ$10,000 he couldn´t resist. Sadly he couldn´t deliver, in fact he was terrible there is definitely no Tiger in him.
With slight disappointment that we didn´t have $10,000 we left Lake Taupo and headed to Tongariro National Park, our next destiation.
