River Birches Taupo

... 1493;ם היא ירידה ארוכה במדרג 93;ת - לא מומלץ לבעלי בעיות בברכי 97;ם! לצערי אין אפשרו 14; לעקוף א ...

... to keep the kids in a routine familiar to them (mainly for Jack) so we found a day care for them to go to 2 days a week. Plus, it gives Marck & I a break so we can spend some time together to run errands, play golf, etc. It’s about a 3 minute drive from our house. It’s so different from anything back home……more ...

... North towards Tongariro National Park. In the late afternon we stopped at a terrific waterfall along Whanganui river where a whole river literally falls 7 metres. The drive was fantastic with lots of dramatic scenery, but we were particularly wowed when we turned a corner somewhere around sunset, and a huge snow-capped volcano appeared on the otherwise flatish horizon. This was the view of Mount Ruapehu in ...

... was last, there were spare seats so both kids and Janine came as well. We did two laps with the driver talking me around the circuit, braking points and required gear changes. Just before going into the pits the driver did a power slide, making the tyres squeal! Mikayla thought it was exciting and Alex thought it was amazing. Janine got a buzz but found it stomach churning.

It was an awesome experience as I ...

... out of bed in the morning or at least coax her with a cup of tea. Today she was alert and organised, quite odd. She later admitted that she was terribly nervy about our sky dives - makes 3 of us! We arrived at the skydive centre a few minutes early. They really stressed to us that we shouldn´t get there before 11. I reckon people must drop out if they have to wait around for ages. I reluctantly signed an authorisation form that mentioned the word 'death' several times. In the end ...

... knock the people in front of me off the path and jog down the hill to escape their disgusting voices. Around a corner and a sulphur mist rises from the hills, filling the cracks and dips.. a bowl full of mist. An opaque black river flows over white and red rocks. Then, at the bottom of the hill the path suddenly plunges into jungle (Its like they cut a piece out of all the landscapes of NZ and taped into into one!) A long quiet walk through the trees... Nicole comes up ...

... us back and we off we go again to Waitomo caves. Hostels is full around the caves area and we got to settle on a backpackers in a town called Te kuiti. A place of back country setting and great view of the surrounding area from the hill. For those seeking peace and tranquility, this is a place for you and we have the whole place to us as we are the only 2 occupants. Will be putting up for a night before we make our way to Waitomo caves in the morning.

The Waitangi Treaty gave us the good fortune of a day off & the chance to do the Tongariro Crossing. It's reputedly the best 1 day scenic walk in Nz located in National Park. Though not quite at Messners level, we had read enough in advance to know that we should be prepared for all conditions so armed to the teeth with sandwiches, empanadas & water we made the journey southbound over 4+ slow moving hours ...

... sample the medicinal qualities of the mud, which the Maoris swore by for hundreds of years before we showed up. Apparently who tribes would bathe in the bigger pools, rather them than me!

As we approached the end of the walk it started tipping down with rain, so we huddled under a tree to avoid ...

... mais une fois la haut, on reflechit a deux fois avant de se lancer dans le vide. Apres ca nous sommes alles nous ballader sur le site des chutes Huka 'Huka Falls'. La plus large chute d'eau en Nouvelle Zelande. On n'ose pas imaginer descendre ca en canoe comme dans les gorges de l'Ardeche. Pour tout vous dire, ce n'est en fait pas possible, cette chute d'eau etant classee trop dangereuse.