Huka Falls

Taupo Bungy Platform

Day 9 (12/30): Another fun-filled day ahead. Consistent with our ever-changing weather, the day starts out under cloudy and rainy skies as we view Huka Falls and then trek along the Waikato river. The end of our trek leads to Taupo Bungy where some of us will test our courage. It's been a hotly debated issue during this trip, "who will bungy jump?" We even ran a pseudo-pool. My guess was way off as only Jo, Bill, Albert, Sandy and Tricia took the plunge. I decided to skip the bungy and take photos of Bill. After the bungy, the adrenaline junkies and the rest of us moved on to the Tongariro Lodge. Again we have splendid chalet rooms and a wonderful lodge atmosphere. Grab some lunch and it's off to go white-water rafting. Being a rafting novice, I can only repeat what I've been told. We have a fun two or so hour trip with a lot of class III rapids. Rapids are classified from class I, bathtub water, to class V, with class VI being suicidal (Huka Falls!).

We get geared up in a wetsuit, fleece, splash jacket, PFD (personal floatation device) and helmet. Bill and I lucked out and got in a raft with a lot of strong paddlers, which makes maneuvering easier and the entire experience more fun. We *LOVED* rafting! A thrill-filled afternoon passed with rapids, swimming, hi-jinks (Ken started it by splashing the other boats) and SUN. Later that evening we got to view and buy photos taken while we were rafting. Bill and I were grinning ear to ear in each shot. We enjoyed another delicious meal. Ugh! I think I've gained ten pounds. Well, it is vacation and the holidays after all.

Bungy Recovery

Rafting on the Tongariro River