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Here's an update about our first six days on the North Island in NZ:
We were up early on Monday so that we could check in for our ferry over to Wellington at 7. The ferry departed at 8, and took an absolute age to get across to the city, arriving at about 12. There wasn't a lot to do on board, so whilst Jo and Joe napped, I finished reading my paper and listened to my IPod. Wellington seems a cool little city, although when we first arrived it seemed huge to us (coming from the South Island), and seemed to justify its capital tag. I think it's got a lot of character, overlooking the sea and with the majority of the buildings on the hillside. We ventured around the shopping areas, went to a cool cafe on Cuba Street (the heart of alternative culture here) for lunch and then got the bright red cable car up the slopes to a lookout over the city and the nearby Botanic Gardens. As it was Joe's last night with us before his long journey home, we went out for a meal to say goodbye, and as an early birthday treat. We ate at Tolsi, an Indian restaurant, and had a slap-up meal of poppadoms, curry, rice and naan. It wasn't the best meal ever, but it was good to feel really full and warmed up afterwards...we've found Wellington does really live up to its nickname of 'Windy Welly'!
We just had time on Tuesday morning to drive along the coastal road, checking out Wellington's suburbs, beaches and bays, as well as Lord of the Rings sites, peninsulas and rock formations, before we nipped back to the YHA for lunch and then took Joe to the airport. He flies to Auckland today and then eventually back home tomorrow, arriving on Thursday. It felt a bit strange to be without him after ten weeks together! Jo and I spent the afternoon at Te Papa, NZ's National Museum, perusing the various exhibitions. All the various galleries were really interactive, and it was a fun and informative place to stroll around, with exhibitions ranging from NZ's volcanic activity right through to the impact when people first arrived on the islands 2,000 odd years ago. The highlight, however, was definitely the colossal squid, which measured over four metres and was preserved in a glass tank. We got to learn all about its anatomy and how it ever came to be caught!
On Wednesday we began the long drive from Wellington up to Tim and Caroline's (friends of my Mum) farm, which sits in the King Country near the Whanganui River. The drive took a lot longer than we were expecting, although we were late setting off at 8:45. We got there just before 2. The final twenty kilometres or so to the farm was down a dirt track road which we weren't too sure our little Daihatsu was going to make! The farm is in an absolutely spectacular setting, in a deep valley with beautiful views over the surrounding hills and the odd bit of farmland dotted about. The house is also really nice, and it's obvious Tim and Caroline have put an absolute stackload of effort into doing it up, clearing all the debris and making it look pretty from when they first bought it. We felt really lucky to get the opportunity to get out into NZ's back of beyond, which is truly the middle of nowhere. Tim and Caroline arrived at about 4, and we had a good catch-up whilst walking around their land, stretching the legs of their dog, George. Caroline is a really good cook, and we have been gorging ourselves on food that we've definitely missed over the last ten weeks cooking in hostels.
We spent Thursday at the farm, getting stuck into a load of different activities. We walked George over their land again, this time climbing up a steep hill to a little shed where an eccentric ex-owner used to while away his days, according to local legend! We had to walk past loads of inquisitive cattle, who proved to be especially interested in George. Next, we had a go with the rifles. First we shot a smaller gun at some cans. I got my first on my first shot, then turned awful, and Jo (after she had lain on the floor) proved to be really good. With the bigger rifle, we both hit a bucket at a further distance on the hill, the first time of asking. In what proved to be a really active morning, Tim then got out the quadbike. Jo and I jumped on the back and went riding around the surrounding roads and fields. We both had a go, and Jo really loved it, flying through mud puddles and ensuring we all got completely splattered with mud. We went to a spot where a stream had been diverted through a tunnel, allowing the road to be built on top of it. After slipping down a very muddy bank, we could walk through the tunnel and get some great pictures. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we had lunch outside, then spent the afternoon relaxing indoors, reading and playing darts.
Yesterday we spent the day visiting the nearby sites. After getting up early, we headed out to Tongariro National Park. It was another fantastic day, without a cloud in the sky, and we've realised how fortunate we are to be getting such good weather. Tongariro has three mountains which suddenly loom upon the horizon, the most impressive being the conical Mount Ngauruhoe, which starred as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings, Both this and Mount Ruapehu were covered in snow, which made for a dazzling contrast with the blue sky. We drove to Whakapapa ski area, near the top of Mt Ruapehu, for great views of the valleys below and over to Mt Ngauruhoe and Mount Tongariro. We also squeezed in a short walk before it was time to head over to Taupo. On the way, we stopped by Lake Taupo near Turangi to eat our picnic lunch, with more awesome views. 2 o'clock loomed, and it was time to get ready for what we'd been thinking about and dreading for ever since we arrived on the North Island...our skydive! After getting kitted up and choosing which height to dive from, we jumped into the plane for a 25 minute flight. It was the flying up and up and up when it really began to kick in for me what we were going to be doing...especially when we already seemed to be really high and my tandem jump instructor told me we'd only gone up 1,000 feet! At 15,000 feet the doors were opened, and it was time for us to jump from the highest commerical height allowed in Australasia. I was second out and Jo was fourth. I had literally no time to think before I was sat on the edge and then thrown out by my instructor. The freefall part at the start feels like a blur, it happened so fast, and the next second I was trying to suck in air as my goggles almost cut into my nose and my hat buckle dug into my neck! It was a totally surreal and exhilirating experience, and the views, once we felt comfortable enough to take them in, were breathtaking! The parachute went up after over a minute of freefall and it didn't take too much longer to land on our bottoms back on solid ground. We both felt mightily relieved to have done it, though it still doesn't quite seem real that we have. After our adrenaline rush, we had some 'r n r' at Taupo's hot pools, before the long drive back to the farm. When we got back Max and Annabel (Tim and Caroline's son and daughter) were there with Emma and Taylor, their respective other halves. We had a great roast lamb dinner, chatted with them and relived the jump that evening.
Today was our last day at the farm. This morning we helped Tim, Max and Emma on a log-running mission. We went to somewhere up the road where we had seen some trees that had fallen and used the chainsaw (both Jo and I had a go) to chop them up and load them in the back of the van. Back at the farm, we got out the axes and chopped them down into smaller pieces, so they are ready to use as firewood. Before lunch, we also got out the automatic clay pigeon trap and shotguns and all had a go with these. Everyone else demonstrated (Tim and Caroline were really good) before it was Jo and my turns. Jo went first and piled the pressure on me by hitting the best shot of the day, almost immediately after the clay had left the trap, on about her third or fourth attempt. I managed to hit a couple come my turn too, though I missed every time when we moved down into the dell to shoot. We had lunch outside again and got to sample Max's special chocolate 'platter', a tasty assortment of various chocolate treats. This evening we had a bonfire going in a brazier and each got about three sparklers to play around with. Tim and Max engineered a firework display and we had tasty sausages and chicken drumsticks from the barbecue.
Tomorrow we're heading back through Taupo to Rotorua, where we're going to be spending the next three nights, as we start heading into our last week in NZ.
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