X

When Ed was younger (and not too much younger at all), some of his friends convinced him that the world was going to end. Facing imminent death, he chose to spend his last hours going home, making tea for his parents, and sitting in front of the T.V. with them awaiting Armageddon.

01 - Ed about to empty the toilet

It's interesting to see what you'd do when you're faced with death. And New Zealand, I suppose, is the place to do it. It's got loads of 'Extreme' sports. A lot of them are so extreme that you have to drop the first 'E' and just call them 'Xtreme'.

Rotorua is a good place to start. It's a nice town and the first thing you notice is the smell. Sulphur, is it? And there's loads of smoke coming out loads of holes all over town. It almost resembles the end of the world. I don't really mind the smell but some people offend it. A guy who was born here told me he doesn't notice it, and that other 'normal' towns smell funny to him. Xtremely funny.

02 - Rafting

So we started the Xtreme stuff with Zorbing, which isn't too extreme. It's like a giant hamster ball with a bit of water in it. You climb in and get pushed down a hill. Like a waterslide that bounces. Great fun.

Then we did a swoop. Kind of a really big swing. I can't really describe it so it sounds scary, but I was without a doubt the most petrified I have ever been in my life. And it's not even too Xtreme. I'm just a big girls blouse. I had entertained the idea of doing a bungee jump here, but I'm fairly certain my pants would be extremely brown.

Then we did a white water rafting trip. This was the most petrified Lynn has ever been. Hilarious. It was a grade 5 river, which I think is bad. But it was absolutely amazing. The most Xtreme bit was going down a 7 metre waterfall, which is possibly the highest commercial waterfall in the world. Possibly. Either way, it was Xtreme.

03 - Rafting

Now we're off to look at some hot springs and volcanos and other Xtreme stuff, before we drive down to Taupo to meet Maxi and co. and try and do a skydive. It's very likely this will be my last Xtreme thing because I'm crap. A nice cup of tea and sit down sounds good to me. I might even have a cookie. If I microwave it first that's kind of Xtreme. Maybe just Extreme.

04 - Rafting

05 - Rafting

06 - Rafting

07 - Lynn with Shamoo in the background

08 - Some beach

09 - The Steaming Holes

10 - Orla, as vain as ever

Jack