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Entry 11 of 15 | show all | print this entry |
Photos - HERE or cut and paste: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesaharrison/
Last entry for New Zealand :(
Hello again everyone, I hope you're all good!?! I'm very sad to write that this is my last entry for New Zealand. I have absolutely loved every minute of my time here and I definitely hope to return one day. There have been so many highlights, so many great experiences and so many amazing memories.
I think I ended my last blog with news of my upcoming skydive so this is where I'll start off...
After leaving Rotorua we headed to a place called Kerosene Creek where there's a creek that doubles as a spa. It's the only natural, non-commercial and free spa in Rotorua so I took a dip and absorbed some of the amazing heat from the underground thermals. It was a pretty nice experience.. After this we headed to Taupo....
Free-falling from 15,000ft
Steve and I started our time in Taupo by booking ourselves into separate (I'll explain why in a sec) skydiving schools and arranging a package that we both wanted. I wanted a personal video where you get to see the expressions on my face and where you can really appreciate the experience I'm going through and one that stays with you throughout the dive, including the canopy ride (once the chute is opened). Steve wanted to have the usual video where a cameraman dives with you and then gets out of the way when you open your chute. The unfortunate thing is that other random people that jump with you are also on the DVD. Anyway, it ended up that we went with different schools and we both had an amazing experience regardless.
I was amazingly calm the whole way through with only a few nerves kicking in once we leveled out at 12,00ft for some other people to jump before we went up to 15,000. The views were just amazing with views of the East and West coasts, as well as Lake Taupo (NZ's largest lake and equal in size to Singapore!). As soon as we got to 15,000ft, a girl in front of me shook my hand, told me to have a great jump and then disappeared out the door. Without me noticing, she had actually just hung on to the side of the airplane. It turned out she was practicing shooting video and increasing her jump-count (you need to do 1000+ jumps before you can take someone in tandem with you in NZ!). We then moved to the door and I dangled my feet out, leaned my head onto Charley's shoulder (my tandem dude) and then we did a forward flip into the sky.......
The initial few moments were just confusion, sensory overload and just trying to take everything in and to understand exactly what had just happened. It was simply amazing. The adrenalin wasn't what I had expected as I really thought I was going to be scared beyond belief (Anyone that knows me well knows that I'm not a massive fan of heights) but in reality I was just absolutely loved it.
What happened next was a bit odd as Betsy, the girl that exited before we did, suddenly appeared and she came toward us, spinning us around and filming us. I've never met a girl in mid-air before!! She stayed with us for the duration of the free-fall (60 secs) , filming and spinning us around, and once my chute opened, waved goodbye and then came the relief of everything going to plan and us sailing down at a more leisurely pace. Charly pulled off some cool dives and turns, reminiscent of the micrtolight flight and then we landed perfectly, I hugged him as I've never put my life in someones hands like that before and then I said I wanted to go again. I'd do it again tomorrow. It was an (I hate to say it again) AWESOME experience. If you haven't done one, do one! Sitting behind a desk doesn't thrill, jumping from a plane at 15,000 feet sure as hell does!
Once we landed I found Betsy and asked if I could get a copy of the video she took. Amazingly she agreed and did me a free copy, so now i have a personal DVD of my dive and one that she did from her perspective! Bonus. It made the 180GBP all the more worthwhile.....
Climbing hills at 1am
Next day we made a call and decided that instead of meeting Sandy in Gisbourne, a surfer we met in Wellington, we'd head for Mt Maunganui, a pretty nice place on the East coast. We arrived pretty late on so we dumped the van and headed out for Stevie Boy's birthday. We found a really nice bar and ordered the best food we'd eaten in a long time. Steve also made the waitress aware that it was his birthday so we got a couple of rounds of free mojitos... always good.! We hung around until closing and then headed back to the van. Now, for some reason I've had Mt Maunganui as a note on my cellphone for ages. Someone at some point on this trip told me about it.
So as we were there, and the next day was going to be spent surfing and driving, I thought there was no time like the present for a bit of climbing...... This is something I'd have said to an ex girlfriend was a great idea and very romantic etc.... Anyway it was 1am, and armed with my trusty North Face wind-cheater, camera and maglite I headed for the Summit. It was a very easy climb and I arrived at the top around 20 mins later. The views were fantastic so I hung around for an hour or so and then headed down, once I noted a huge cloud coming my way! Unfortunately, it was too late and my descent was a rather wet affair... After all it's about making the most of every second, right! ;)
Next day we found a surf shop, hired a couple of boards and attempted to surf waves that were either non existent or very short-lived. We frustrated ourselves for around 2hrs and then headed back to the shop. We dumped the boards and hit the road once more, headed to our final NZ destination, Auckland.
We met up with a girl we'd met in Fiji for a couple of drinks and then stayed out of town at a motor park; our last night in trusty Megatron! I also dropped the keys one last time and they fell onto the ledge of a drain in Auckland. What is it with me and the damn car keys!!!! Anyway, we´ve now dropped the van off and saved $80+ dollars due to a bit of bargaining on my behalf. It was sad to let her go after having travelled a total of 5,372Kms.
From camper van to 4-star luxury
That brings me to today, and as I had a credit note from a hotel booking I'd not honoured (from my ill-fated nearly Australia trip), I decided to use it and treat myself to a nice hotel. After 1 month living in a camper, I decided a bit of 4-star luxury was definitely on the cards!! I'm staying at a fantastic place, a stones-throw from the Sky tower and Queen Street called Rydges. I've emptied my bag, had a mega-long shower, chilled out in front of the TV, sorted everything I need to post home (another parcel coming your way mum!) and I'm meeting my cousin for a couple of drinks tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to get a long overdue haircut and a few last minute bits and pieces ahead of our flight to Santiago! We're also on the same flight as Becky, the girl we met in Fiji.... small world.
We also cross the date-line on our 11hr flight so we arrive into Santiago at around 11am on the same day that we leave Auckland. It's going to be one loooong day!
Anyway, I hope everyone's well!?!
Paul - gutted you can't make the Inca trail
Mike, Gav - give me dates in June you guys can't do and I'll see what's available!
BIG hello to Nanny!
Bry, Carlos - hope you guys can make it over in July!
Nikki - why are you in London!?!?!?! You have an amazing country right here!
Hello to everyone else - I have to leg it as I'm going to be late!!
Photos - HERE or cut and paste: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesaharrison/
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