Thursday 26 July 2007

You won't believe it!!!!

Hello again everyone, we're trying to be a bit better with blogging more regularly so that you don't have as much to trawl through each time! We've done a few bits since we last blogged, but not too much, so we'll just jump right in, to a hopefully relatively short post for once!!

SUNDAY 22nd July

Last time we posted we were due to go to the Tamiki Maori concert and hangai (a meal where the food is actually cooked by being buried underground with white-hot rocks and lots of water to create steam - it's the traditional Maori method of cooking). We got picked up at 19.00 and driven out of Rotorua to the re-created Tamiki Maori Village. On the way, our driver gave us the low-down on Maori customs etc and explained how we would need to behave during the evening. When we arrived we all collected around the entrance to the village. We had elected 'chiefs' how stood at the front. Just after arriving our presence was acknowledged by one of the villagers sounding a conch and then the warriors came out of the village and did war-style dances and generally acted slightly intimidating towards us. One of the warriors then left a peace offering on the ground to see if the invitation would be accepted - one of the chiefs did indeed pick up the fern leaf offered and after the warriors had re-entered the village we were allowed to follow the chiefs. Once inside there were traditional Maori dwellings, although we couldn't go inside any of them, there were villagers dressed in traditional garb outside of them, doing or talking about traditional activities of the Maori people. Steve and I felt we didn't have enough time to wander around the village and ask questions etc, as we were only given about 10 minutes for this and were then being called over to the meeting house to watch the Maori concert. During the concert, we watched them play games (which were used to improve flexibility in the use of battle weapons), sing Maori songs, use battle weapons, dance and also do the Haka dance too! It was pretty good really and Steve was snapping away, so we've hopefully got some good photos to explain it all better when we get back! We then went to the dining room and had non-traditional Maori food cooked in a traditional manner (hangai)! It was really nice and we were able to eat as much as we wanted (so you can imagine that Steve made sure we got our money's worth)! We also got to see how a hangai was constructed and used, as they had a 'sample' one outside. The evening ended with some singing and also some children from Tahiti (where the Maori believe they originated from), performing some traditional Tahitian dancing.

MONDAY 23rd July

We didn't manage to get up for ages today, as we hadn't gone to bed until 00.00! So once we'd finally managed to drag ourselves out of the hostel, we walked to the tourist information centre to see about going to Te Puia - it's another Maori cultural village, but there's also geysers there and nature walks, as well as other bits and bobs. However, we had to change our plans, as the ticket price had doubled to $50 each, so we felt it was too expensive, especially as we'd already done something similar. So instead, we walked for an hour to the Skyline Gondola and Luge! It was so much better than the one in Queenstown! First of all it was cheaper and second of all the luge tracks were so much longer and we had a choice of 3, rather than just 2! So we bought 5 rides each and raced each other a bit. We were fairly ruthless at times, but Steve managed to win 3 times and I only managed 2. By the time we'd finished on the luge, we had to head back into town, as we still needed to buy dinner and go to the laundrette - both of which were at least 30 minutes walk from the hostel! So we didn't get back to start cooking dinner until about 19.00 and we were pretty tired!

TUESDAY 24th July

Today was quite cool. We were collected at 07.30 and taken to Waitomo, where we took part in black water rafting. First of all our guide took us around the back of the centre to get us fitted into wetsuits - I think he was being a bit kind to me at first, as I got stuck part way into my first wetsuit and had to get it exchanged for a slightly bigger one, but because I'd been pulling so much, I manage to wear a layer of skin of of my knuckles, which was rather painful! So when I was mostly into my second wetsuit, Steve and the guide had to literally bounce me into it by grabbing the wetsuit and then lifting me up and down! So once we were finally kitted up in wetsuits, jackets, shorts, boots, wellies, gloves and helmets we hopped in a van and got driven to the caves. Our first task here was to find a tube which we snugly fitted into and then we had to practise entering the water by jumping. To do this, we had to stand on the edge of a platform, with the river behind us, hold the inner tube around our bottoms and then jump backwards into the water and blimey that water was cold! After this we had a short walk to the entrance of the cave, where we had a safety chat and then we were off into the cave system! We did a mixture of walking, floating in our tubes and jumping to get around inside. Our guide had made me nervous, as he kept saying we were jumping off of waterfalls - but it turns out that they were just tiny little blips in the water really, so I managed to do them with no problems! So we made our way through the cave system and spent quite a lot of time without our lights on so that we could see the thousands of glow-worms on the roof of the cave, which looked like little glowing stars (even though they are actually slimy maggots and the shining in their bottoms is a result of a reaction which occurs during their digestive process - nice)! We also had lights out when it came to finding our way out of the cave. This part was pretty disorientating, as everything was just so pitch black and all you could hear were people paddling, but with no sense of direction as the sound echoed around! But we made it back out to daylight and had a short walk back to the van, which took us to the centre, where we were able to get out of our kit and have wonderfully warm showers! There was also complementary soup and bagels waiting for us inside the cafe, to help us warm up. After getting warmed up, Steve and I took a 30 minute walk down to the road to the Cave Museum (we had free entry, as we'd done a black water rafting trip). It was an OK place to look around, but between us, we already knew most of the information on display, so it wasn't the most informative of things to do! But it was nice to wander around and then we sat out in the sunshine and got surrounded by hungry finches, who seemed to be expecting food from us and were pretty brave at coming up and exploring the table etc! Soon enough the bus arrived to take us back to Rotorua, so we collected the people who were doing the longer trip from the centre and headed back for the evening.

WEDNESDAY 25th July

We got absolutely nothing done today! We got packed up etc first of all and then had to wait until 10.50 for the bus to arrive and take us to Auckland. We had a few stops on the way and finally made it to Auckland at about 14.30. We got dropped off fairly near to our hostel, so we waddled there with all our backpacks (which are getting heavier every day I'm sure) and then found out that nobody could check us in until 16.00, so we sat around chatting and having a cup of tea whilst we waited. By the time we were checked in and sorted out, it was too late to go and explore Auckland, as everywhere would be shutting and also it would have been getting dark very soon. So we sat in and got comfy by the fire playing Scrabble and Monopoly!

THURSDAY 26th July

Well, what a day today?! You will honestly not believe what you will shortly be reading (lucky we have photographic proof hey), but we''ll start off with the mundane stuff first! We had to catch the bus at 06.45 this morning, but they ended up running really late and so weren't there until 07.00 and then we didn't leave until about quarter past! But anyway, we then had 4 hours being stuck on the KiwiExperience bus with some real plonkers, so it wasn't the best journey in the world! But luckily we arrived in Paihia eventually and went to a booking office to pay for some activities we're planning to do whilst here - we'll be horse-trekking on Saturday, but the thing you won't believe is that we also got booked in for a SKYDIVE today! Yes, that's correct and about 20 minutes after arriving, we got picked up by some people from the skydiving centre, who drove us a little way out of town to the airfield. It turned out that the prices had been jacked up quite a lot more than we expected, so they gave us some extra discount off of our jumps and we decided that I should have the DVD and photo package as well! The other thing was that we could only jump one at a time, so Steve volunteered me to go first (thanks), so I got suited up and fitted into my harness, with one of the guys videoing what was going on. Then we had to go out to the plane and my jumpmaster talked me through the position I needed to use whilst in the freefall etc. By this point I wasn't feeling too bad, but was pretty scared, but we got loaded into the plane and my jumpmaster began to strap me to him. We spent ages circling around, as another plane had come in to land on the airfield so we had to wait for them and then all of a sudden they opened the door we had to leave through and the wind was rushing in and it was so scary! Panic began to flood over me, but before I could even think of protesting we had been launched out of the plane and were free falling towards the Earth!!! I just kept my eyes fixed on the cameraman, to stop me looking down, but I can say, without a word of a lie, that I in fact screamed for the entirety of my freefall (about 45 seconds), I also managed a couple of weak smiles, but it was flipping horrible - all those people that told me it wouldn't feel like you're falling are complete liars, I could blooming well tell I was plummeting at a fair rate of knots! Eventually the chute was released and that was a totally bizarre sensation for a while, but then relief swept over me as our descent slowed down considerably! My jumpmaster got a bit adventurous and tried doing some stunts etc, but I screamed for him to stop as it was freaking me out! Before I knew we were coming in to land and I was tucking my legs up and then making contact with the wonderfully stable, solid ground once again! I was in a complete daze afterwards and I still can't believe I've actually done it!!! The video is so funny, especially the exit from the plane, as you can tell I'm terrified and I'm pulling the weirdest face!
Steve's being too stubborn to write about his skydiving experience, as he feels it's the same as I felt. So I presume he was feeling pretty nervous and scared before hand, but I know he couldn't have chickened out, as the shame of him not being able to do it, when I had, would have been too great! He really enjoyed it though and felt the adrenaline pumping as it got to the point of exit. He gave a few excited cheers of delight on the way down (rather than screaming in blind fear) and was pretty chuffed when he touched down again! So we finally managed it, after thinking about it for so long and having had our plans so rudely scuppered in Taupo! Now, we know no-one will believe that I, of all people, have done a skydive, so we're including some of the digital photos from the skydive in this blog for you to all marvel (and giggle) at!

That's all for now though, there's nothing else to fill you in on for the moment. We'll try and update the blog a bit more in these last few weeks, so you don't have too much to read at once! Can you believe that it's less than 3 weeks until we're home now?! It's just crazy, it's gone so fast, but then when we think about all we've done, some of it was just so long ago! Anyway, we can't wait to catch up with you all again soon and share all our photos etc! Missing you all loads.

Sammy - Thanks for the congratulations! We're really glad things are going so smoothly as well, and we can assure you that the camera has been on override for most of the trip (we've even had to buy more films, even though we came with just over 50)! I did indeed manage to get my Harry Potter book - I got it on the 21st as soon as it went on sale and I finished it on the morning of the 22nd (I would have finished it in one day, but we were waiting around to see if we could skydive in Taupo), so I'm reading it for a second time now! We'll definitely have to meet up when we get back, Steve's really looking forward to catching up with the chinwagging you've been missing out on!~

Mum - The Maori evening was really good, I'm not sure what my expectations were, but it was certainly fun. Like I said in the post earlier, it would have been nice to have had more time to explore the village, but even so it was still worth it. Glad Teresa managed to get all my stuff, Steve called on Sunday and she said she'd be collecting things that day. Glad the garden is shaping up so nicely, it sounds as though there's been a positive hive of activity going on - I can't wait to see all the changes when we get back! Glad you're enjoying your time off of work and that you're managing to prioritise things to do etc. Thanks for collecting things for me, that's really good of you. I'm glad I have some time to get myself sorted out as well before having to get stuck into it! We've heard and seen about the awful storms, glad yóu've not been affected, sorry to hear about Liz 2's place though - hope it gets sorted out ASAP for her. Liz and Emma have gone to Rome have they, when are they back, hope they have fun. It's been a real disappointment with the KiwiExperience bus and we are certainly hoping that coming back and doing it campervan style is on the cards! Yeah the film was quite good, but I agree that they missed too much out - the movies are never as good as the books though are they?! I really enjoyed the last book, I hope you're enjoying it too (if you've not finished it already). By the way, I hope school's been rreceivingall of the postcards I've been sending from Bear and we hope you enjoy the skydiving photos! Can't wait to see you in just over 2 weeks! Missing you all so much, send my love to everyone.

Click on photos for a bigger picture

"Blissful ignorance - we haven't even left the ground yet!"



"Sitting on the edge - no fear?!?!?!?!?!"



"Freefall begins - shear terror and panic set in as I plummet to Earth!"


"What have I done?! I want to get back in the plane!!"

"Yes I'm loving this! ... Honestly?!?!"


"I have absolutely no idea what's going on, is it nearly over?!"


"OK, so am I smiling and enjoying it, or is it just the wind gushing past me, making me look as though I'm smiling?"

"Yay, I can see the ground, it's almost over, I can almost touch it!"


"Woohoo!! I survived! Now, that wasn't so bad was it?!?!"

Now, just wait until you see the DVD as well - i't's so amusing, yet so toe curling to realise I really did throw myself out of the plane!!!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

No I wouldn't have believed it!! I am so proud of you both - well done. No doubt you are both now feeling very smug and pleased with your selves. Would love to experience the floating on a chute bit but I am quite confident that I could never make the step out of the plane - I'll just imagine what it must be like. Can't wait to see the DVD. The faces on the blog have already given us all a good laugh - one or two to enlarge and frame there Katie! I expect Steve didn't look too different especially if he can squeal at spiders. How did your 'partner' survive - is he now permanently deaf??
Can't believe you have almost finished in NZ. I expect the change in temperature will be welcome after the cold. Get used to it for coming home though as the weather is weird at the moment.
I managed to pick up a copy of the Harry Potter book in Tesco for £5!! Now getting suitable engrossed although can't really remember the previous book too well so keep thinking whats going on here. Will have to have a re-read.
Can't wait to see you both - 15th is getting ever nearer. Take care and enjoy the rest of NZ. Love and hugs & well done again. Mum XX

Unknown said...

those photos are absolutely fantastic kate, im gonna have one as my screensaver!id never have imagined you doing that- braver than me!!
cant believe its only a few weeks before you are home- i am going to give u the biggest hug imaginable!! and steves not going to get off lightly either!!
miss you both so much
love and hugs to you both
soph
xx

Anonymous said...

You pair of complete nutters! Katie, those were the funniest photos I have seen in an awfully long time! I'm glad you both got to do it finally, well done.

I've just got back from Rome with Emma and her parents. It was scorching hot and really good fun. Because our hotel was right in the centre of the city near the Vatican we explored the city much more and saw lots of different things that we didn't see when we went. Emma and I also decided to go to Pompeii together all the way on the train. It was great as we explored the side of the town with the amphitheatre that we hadn't seen.

The start of the week was a bit hard as both Emma, myself and Emma's mum had all had really bad foodpoisoning only a couple of days before we left, that was a 48 hour ride of vomiting and diahorrea that I don't want to repeat in a very long time. There was one particularly choice moment when Em was vomiting in the loo and I was simultaneously vomiting in the sink - note to self - don't have a chinese from the Peking Diner any time soon!

Looking forward to seeing you both soon, and I'm glad you're still having such a good time. Emma says hi, the kittens send you purrs and Belle says woof too. x x x x x x