New Zealand
February 8-15 2005
February 10:
We've recently arrived in New Zealand and are staying in a town called Taupo. I'm staying with four other girls from LaCrosse. There is beautiful countryside here and there are sheep everywhere. Our original plan for the day today was to do a volcano hike, but instead, WE WENT SKYDIVING! The view was amazing, blue skies overlooking a lake with mountains in the distance. My ears popped really bad and the harness hurt my legs but I couldn't be bothered.
February 11:
Today we went white-water rafting on the Tongariro River. On the way out to the site we saw the location they used for Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings. It was pretty.
The water was low and we kept getting stuck on the rocks. However, our guides were cool so we still had a great time. During the trip, Heidi fell out of the raft, I got whacked on the helmet by a paddle, Marie got flung on top of me, our guide lost his paddle, and we all jumped off a waterfall. It was the best rafting trip I've done yet.
When we returned, we all sat in a hottub and looked out at the mountains.
February 13:
We hit the sack around 2:00a.m. after returning from the hostel's dance club. In the morning, I got to wake up to one of my older male roommates jumping off the bunk above me, clad in only blue speedo-style underwear. GOOD MORNING TO ME!
