David McDermott: A rush of air and an explosive gas canister!

(Firstly sorry about the delay, this is week 2 and we’re currently in week 5 of NZ...hopefully we’ll catch up in Christchurch as we’re based there for 5 nights which should give us time to finish a few more. Also, apologies for the length of the blogs recently, it’s difficult to keep them short!)

Waking up in Huntley we headed for the Waitomo Caves (famous their glow worms and black water rafting) via Otorohonga Kiwi House. Aside from the native birds of New Zealand, there were a number of different bird and reptile species within the enclosures, and after spending an hour or so at the house we moved on to Waitomo.

Arriving in the area we visited to I-Site where the lady working recommended we should freedom camp on a local park. Although it was called a park it wasn’t like a typical English park. With glorious countryside views and surrounded by sheep we set about on making some dinner. As this was our first night of free camping we decided to have our first go at using our gas cooker – an interesting experience to say the least! After lighting the hob and noticing that the flame was only tiny, I moved the pan on the hob thinking it would allow for a bigger flame, oh how right I was…in a wrong sort of way. Within seconds the canister went up in flames, obviously in my knowledge of gas fires I thought kicking it over would put it out, how wrong I was again. By this point both myself and Soph were acting rather hastily and decided it would be best to drive away…well, 10m away anyway. However after a few minutes of panic we eventually filled a pan up with water which put it out before the whole park went up in flames.

After a few minutes we did eventually manage to light the canister properly and cooked sausage and egg butties! Following our action packed dinner we were treated to another bit of excitement when washing up. The tongs decided to firstly attack Soph then myself, both ending up with sliced fingers!

As Tuesday arrived, we had booked to go black water rafting in the Waitomo Caves. After a brief introduction by our guide Rodney both ourselves, Ken and Kenny (a US father and son duo) headed out to the caves, wet-suited up and with rubber rings at the ready. Arriving in the caves, it was interesting learning about why and how glow words actually are so bright (it’s all in the poo apparently…). After seeing hundreds of the worms we headed into the main section of the cave. Crawling along an incredibly narrow section (about 30cm wide in some parts) towards one of the underground waterfalls. The trip continued as we got into our rubber rings and meandered along the cave’s river black water rafting in complete darkness with a few jumps and a slide at the end.

Deciding that our next destination was to be Rotorua (famous for it’s sulphur hot springs and mud baths) we headed there, with the main aim of getting a campsite with internet access as I had my PGCE interview arranged over Skype – technology these days aye! Arriving about 5 (having gone via Hobbiton – the town where much of Lord of the Rings was filmed) we had a bite to eat, more importantly steak and a jacket potato! As most of the campsites had hot pools available for free, we decided we would check ours out…unfortunately they were incredibly disappointing since there were 4 pools each the size of a large bathtub, not to mention the fact they we outdoors and it was bitterly cold, thus we decided to give them a miss.

Waking up on Wednesday, it was a refreshing feeling having completed the interview; however it was a shame about the smell that lingered over Rotorua…somewhat similar to rotten egg (because of the sulphur). However, not deterring us we headed to Wai-o-Tapo Thermal Wonderland…more smelly things woooo. At 10.30am every morning Lady Knox Geyser is artificially erupted by dropping soap into it…different but impressive. As we arrived with little time before the spectacle we decided to sneak into the Geyser (as it was separate to the main features). After watching the eruption (where boiling hot water was shot over 25m high) we decided we would go to the main park (which cost $35). However with both of us seeing an opportunity we managed to sneak in as a school group went in, obviously fooling the employee to think that we were either teachers or school children (most likely the former).

Having gotten into the park for free there were a number of incredible natural features ranging from boiling mud pools to fluorescent lakes. It was understandable why someone would pay to get into the park, however given that we had got in for free made it more worthwhile.

As evening arrived we visited the Polynesian Spa which was positioned with a view over Lake Rotorua. With 8 different pools ranging from 36 – 43 degrees it was a brilliant way to end the day. However not before meeting Queens biggest Thai fan. A Thai guy working in the spa was asking how we were, where we were from, when he responded with, “I no Leicester…Leicestershire?!” Obviously not sure why he knew Leicester, he explained that one of the members of Queen was born there and that he was also the youngest and only member not to be involved in 5ive’s version of ‘We Will Rock You’ (apart from Freddy of course), enthralling stuff. With things coming to a close, we headed for the showers…another funny story. With about 100 Chinese tourists also at the spa Soph experienced one of the more bizarre moments in life – she was surrounded by a swarm of hairy, naked, old Chinese ladies!

After another night of freedom camping, this time by a beautiful lake, we headed into Rotorua to the local library for some free internet time to check a few emails aswell as BBC Sport of course. We briefly visited the government gardens where we saw locals dabbing a hand a garden bowls.

Driving along highway 1 we stopped to see the Huka Dam which opens every two hours into an incredible gorge. As there were also cruises running along the Huka River we headed off to the boat to meet our captain for the day…Dave, great name I thought! Along the way we saw a number of native species of birds and ducks as well as local flora, where the Californian Pine trees were becoming more of a problem rather than a solution (which was what they were firstly intended for).

Arriving at the falls was magnificent. As the only major inlet into the river, it was like a never ending explosion as hundreds of thousands of litres of water passed into the river every second, it was an incredible site! During the cruise we met a really nice Australian family who were visiting as the husband was playing in a few music gigs. As the cruise came to an end we dived into the freezing water (we were warned!). We were amazed to see Dave’s (the Captain’s) dad, who must have been in his 70’s, also jump in. Fortunately there was a tiny tributary which brought in warm water – such a relief - as well as thermal outlets underneath the sand that we dug our feet into to warm them.

Before arriving at our campsite for the next two nights we visited a glass blowing gallery which was interesting, it was just a shame all he was producing that day was a paperweight, although still impressive. Eager to get to the campsite as the first Ashes Test had started we pulled up to see England struggling, no change there we thought…how wrong we were. In the evening we opted to have a barbecue which was probably the best meal of the trip yet - a huge burger each with a small salad and a large serving of chips.

As morning arrived we decided we would potentially do a skydive. After a very light breakfast we spent an hour or so wrapping a few Christmas presents for family back at home (I say we but as I can’t wrap particularly well, Soph did the majority!). With Taupo known as the Skydive capital of the World (over 30,000 jumps per year!) we headed to the airport complex where there were 3 companies to choose from, eventually we decided to go with Skydive Taupo! With our jump time set at 2pm, it was recommended that we should get some lunch beforehand. We headed back to the campsite where we each had a burger left over which was tentatively eaten as we pondered each of the outcomes of what we were about to do.

Arriving at the base we met the other 2 couples taking on a jump, one of which was staying at our campsite, Tom and Caroline, a really nice dutch couple who we happen to bump into a few more times in the coming weeks! We were shown a brief video before being sent off to our professional instructors who would be attached to our backs. Having got to know the welsh chap on the front desk he thought it would be funny to pair me with a Liverpudlian midget whilst Soph was pared with what they called the machine…and he was!

Getting into our boiler suits, for maybe the last time, we headed to our bright pink plane, firstly being interviewed for our video by our tandem partner. With 12 people crammed into it we gradually rose to 15,000 feet, one more interview and an oxygen mask later, we were off. Jumping 3^rd and 4^th we headed out to freefall for about 60 seconds. With a huge rush of adrenaline…as well as saliva, combined with the inability to breath properly created an incredible feeling as you just fall rapidly to about 5,000 feet before the moment of truth, will it or won’t it, and gladly as we are writing now, both parachutes opened. With about 4 minutes floating above Lake Taupo, an incredible view led to our descent.

After the jump we headed into the cinema which showed the videos from each of our jumps. With myself having maybe the funniest video (at my expense) as during the freefall my face looks as though I am morphing into a chipmunk! I’ll be sure to put in on Facebook as soon as possible (probably slowly based on the sluggish internet speeds here in NZ).

On Saturday we headed into town as there was the annual cycling race around Lake Taupo (160km) won in a time of just over 3 hours 30 minutes, not bad! It also gave us the opportunity to send our wrapped presents home (which cost nearly as much as the presents alone!).

We arrived in Napier early afternoon and wandered along the historical art deco streets before enjoying a hot chocolate. We bumped into the Australian family, who told us to head for Bluff’s Hill, the highest point overlooking Napier and its historical port, where I began to write my last blog from.

Arriving in Napier at 9.30 the next morning Soph departed on an art deco tour of the town, whilst myself not the biggest art deco enthusiast headed for the internet café to catch up on the past weeks events…mainly Saturdays football results. After meeting up an hour or so later we headed towards Wellington as we had our ferry to the South Island booked for Tuesday.