Current mood:

happy

12,000 feet
What an amazing thing to do - why did I wait so long to do it? This morning (about 11:30am) I jumped out of a plane (ok I didn't jump the guy I was attached to did the work) at 12,000 feet. For about 50 seconds or so we were free falling at about 200 kilometers per hour. As we tumbled out of the plane we did some somersaults and then the drag chute went out and we did all kinds of spins and stuff. Then at about 4,000 feet he triggered the chute and we spent the next 5-8 mins floating down to the ground. It was FABULOUS.

So far everything has been great but this has to be a highlight. I think I'm going to try to do it again when we're down on the south island over the Remarkables which is a huge mountain range there.

We spent a full day here in Taupo (and 2 nights) so I headed to the grocery store to stock up on some supplies. It's hard to buy stuff to cook in the hostel kitchens when it's just yourself and you're leaving early the next morning so having 2 nights here made it a bit easier to get sandwich stuff to try to save a bit of money. I got some cereal (bulk musli)and some milk, dried apricots and dried dates, bread, pb&j that don't have to be refridgerated and the makings for my new fav sandwich - corned beef, cheese and mustard pickle spread. I did not buy the butter that they traditionally spread on sandwiches here and in Australia however.

At night in Taupo all the backpackers end up at a place called the Holy Cow. If you go in and are on a Kiwi Experience bus you either get a stamp from the driver or you go to the bar tender, tell them your drivers name (they know which ones are in town) and they give you a stamp. This allows you to get a beer for NZ$2 (about $1 USD). The trick is (you knew there was one) that the guys MUST get the stamp on their forehead. The women have to be stamped somewhere between their shoulders and their bellbutton. The big thing however is that once things get going there folks start dancing on these two very long huge picnic tables they have near the dance floor. Before going to the HOoooooly Cow (how you say it) you go in to Mulligan's for a drink. The first drink is a dollar off after that for every subsequent drink you play rock, paper, scissors with the bar tender. If you win you get a dollar off the drink if you lose you pay full price. So I went there first with a group from the bus and then we went up to the HOooooly Cow, snagged some stamps, snagged a beer and ended up dancing most of the night either on the floor or on one of the two tables. It was a bunch of fun and I cut out about 2am in light of the fact that I had to be ready for pickup for the sky dive at 10:20am. I didn't really drink that much, a cider at Mulligan's and a beer or two from Holy Cow. So I didn't feel that bad this morning, just a slight headache probably from dehydration. But Dodgey (the Kiwi bus driver) was right - the sky dive is a great hangover cure. Now I want to learn to sky dive so I can do it myself. What a rush!

Tomorrow morning we head to River Valley Lodge in River Valley, New Zealand. It's supposed to be a very relaxing place that looks like it's in the middle of nowhere. I'm trying to decide if I want to a) spend tomorrow morning relaxing before we leave at 2pm, b) go horse back riding - a 2 hour ride or c) go white water rafting. We leave River Valley and head to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand where I hope to spend 2 nights before heading on a ferry across to the South Island.

My back has finally stopped hurting in the burn spots which is an upside, the down side is it's itching and starting to peel. Ah well that's the way it goes right? I guess I should wrap this up and head back to the hostel, catch up with folks, figure out if I'm going to make a sandwich or grab some takeaway - I'm craving some fish and chips in a bad way. I've only got the makings for one more corned beef sandwich which I may save to make for a picnic lunch tomorrow on the way to River Valley. We've got a 2 hour walk planned for Mt. Raupehu before going to River Valley so I need to make sure I have lunch stuff.

oh I think I mentioned it before, but if I didn't I'm totallly loving my Brita Fill and Go Water filtration bottle. I fill that up every day (it's about 28 oz but you get 24 out before you go too low for the filter) and my Nalgene 32 oz bottle and just refill the Brita with the Nalgene as I need to. Then as the Nalgene gets low I just refill from taps around NZ. It definitely rocks and I haven't had any problems staying hydrated!

Kia Ora!