NZ/AUS EPIC HOLIDAY - Days 13-17

Day 13 - 10th Feb - Taupo to River Valley

It was to the delight of farmers everywhere that much of the entire country started to pour down with almost torrential rain. For many weeks New Zealand had been subjected to one of the hottest, driest summers in many decades and although the tourists were quite elated by the constant sunshine, many owners of agricultural lands were worried that the country was on the verge of drought and that the crops were in trouble. So I suppose it would be selfish to complain about the weather today! Besides, I feel I have been spoiled rotten over the last near fortnight by the near tropical heatwave.

In any case it really didn't matter all too much that it was raining, I had another bus to catch. We departed Taupo quite early and ventured south once again. Had the weather been better we would have stopped for a quick walk at the edge of Tongariro national park but since visibility was non-existent and the rain quite excessive, we carried on to our destination: River Valley Lodge.

The lodge turned out to be an exceptionally beautiful place, a secluded wooden building deep in the wild countryside and positioned next to a scenic...well river and valley would you believe? It was an ideal retreat from civilisation and I immediately put in my request to stay an extra day as soon as we arrived.

Outside the lodge and on the river was a perfect place to swim and cool off. Luck was on our side and the sun started to emerge again so it wasn't long before most people dropped off their bags and jumped into the water for a refreshing dip. The greatest feature of the River Valley Lodge, however, was a kind of makeshift rope bridge/pulley contraption that provided a fun way to cross the river, or simply to leap into the water from. Provided you got enough momentum on release it was actually possible to get up quite a speed, providing a fast moving platform to almost catapult yourself into the water from.

By the time I retired to the lodge itself I was covered in rope-burns, insect bites and scratches but satisfied nonetheless. I took advantage of happy hour and took some time to play some card games, socialise and basically drink and be merry with my fellow backpackers.

the rope/pulley bridge

Day 14 - 11th Feb - whitewater kayaking

I just couldn't resist signing up for this one. Due to the recent dry weather the river next to the lodge was too low to accommodate a full sized raft so today instead of whitewater rafting we used small one or two person inflatable kayaks that allowed us to squeeze through the narrower gaps and shallower waters. Although not as wildly intense as my rafting experience in Queenstown it still proved to be a fun day. Being in my own kayak allowed more control over direction and speed and added a greater sense of accomplishment that being on a guide driven raft. It also got me into some hilariously awkward situations as I misjudged a couple of descents through the frothing white rapids. I had a brief stint on a two person kayak but lack of coordination caused an entertaining capsize which threw me and my fellow rafter off down the river for quite an entertaining ride.

By midday we were done with rafting and while I bid farewell to most of the other backpackers as they left on the bus, I still had to decide what to do with my extra day here. I took a few short walks along the river and up to the top of valley ridges. I returned in time to greet the next wave of backpackers and enjoy another evening of drinking, games and merriment.


Day 15 - 12th Feb - River Valley to Wellington

After a lazy morning I boarded the bus and we were off towards Wellington, the capital. Despite the prediction for torrential rain all around the country, the weather around the River Valley lodge had been wonderful and it only started to pour down again as the bus started it's long drive to Wellington. It almost seemed as if the rain was courteously relenting when I was outdoors and waiting until I was on the road before letting itself go. Regardless of it's reasoning, the rain was absolutely drenching the landscape up to and including Wellington, which we arrived at in the evening. I had a brief look around town under cover of my rain-gear and decided that, even gray and rain-sodden, Wellington was a cool place. After a couple of pints in the hostel bar I one again retired to my dorm before I ended up spending too much money on booze.


Day 16 - 13th Feb - Wellington

Once again the rain, though expected, was thoughtful enough to abate during my time outdoors. It was gray all day and minor showers occasionally fell after making sure to check that I was inside at the time. I spent many hours at the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum admiring a wide range of exhibits, including Maori art and history, New Zealand natural history and some informative exhibits about natural disasters. I had no idea that earthquakes were so frequent in New Zealand and even Mount Ruapehu, the mighty volcano that I saw from a distance during the Tongariro crossing, erupted several times in 1995, spewing forth vast clouds of sulphurous, toxic vapour and debris that blocked out the sun and devastated the local landscape.

I walked around town some more before ducking inside my hostel so as to allow the rain to start again. It was getting late so I opted for another quiet night, determined to save money once again.


Day 17 - 14th Feb - Wellington

The weather obligingly reverted to the state of being idyllic again so I decided to explore the outdoor element of Wellington. I went on a few walks around town and it's parks, very nice. I was shocked though to notice that almost nobody else was walking on this fine weekend day. Still it meant that less people were cluttering up the place and getting in my way so it wasn't all bad.

nice day

nice view

SYDNEY/KIWI ADVENTURE-6: Extreme Watersports

Well it was quite an exciting day today because...wait, every day has been really exciting. This one however was no exception so that's still a good thing.


First things first was the legendary Shotover Jet boat ride. Apparently one of the fastest and most exciting speedboat rides in the world, this was my first activity for the day. This adrenaline pumping thrill ride is a heart pounding high velocity joyride through the spectacular Shotover Canyon reaching speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour/50 miles per hour! Darting in between narrow canyon walls and barely scraping the sides of the rocks it's a thrill that betters any roller coaster and provides amazing scenic views. The most fun moments of the ride have got to be the 360 degree spins that the boat pilot randomly performs at moments during the trip. I got a video of the ride recorded which perhaps I'll upload someday. It was a fantastic thrill ride but to say that my day peaked at that moment would simply not be true, for it was only the start of my adventures.


After getting suited up in wetsuits and life jackets it was now time to engage in part two of the adventure on the Shotover River: whitewater rafting. Whilst on the jet boat we only got splashed but now it was time to get soaked and this time, we were in control!

But first we had to get to the starting position. We had two choices: either take the bus there or fly. In keeping with the nature of this adrenaline packed day I chose the latter of course. We were picked up by helicopter and provided with beautiful views of the canyon which we would later be rafting down. Like so many of this adventure holiday's fleeting activities it was over too quickly and we were calmly waiting around admiring the view while waiting for the slowcoaches who were taking the bus. Eventually they arrived and we began to prepare the boats. We received a short safety briefing and boarded our rafts with 7 rafters and one guide who steered and shouted out commands. Our delightful guide was Sally, a spirited Kiwi who, like so many others, seemed to possess a lust for life that may be taken for granted in New Zealand but is always surprising to people like me (who has spent too much time around the stoic and uptight Brits).

We cast off and began to float down the river with Sally explaining the various commands to us: backpedal, forwards, back right & back left (each side paddling in opposite directions for a rapid turn), hold on!, and the most fun: over left or over right. The over left/right commands involved us all moving to one side should the need arise for us to put more weight on one side. As it happened we did use this maneuver at one point but more on that later. Right now we were enjoying our leisurely float down the river, preparing for the rapids that we knew were coming. We had been told that today was a particularly good day for rafting because the two days of rain had really flooded the river and provided us with some rapids that are usually only reserved for advanced rafters. But it's New Zealand and it's a great country for throwing inexperienced people into the fray and hoping that all their body parts remain intact!

After some time we reached our first rapids and got ourselves sufficiently wet (which was something of a relief considering the fact that we were in big warm wetsuits) but then it was another little stretch of quiet floating. Now normally you would expect the calm moments between the rapids to be quiet and serene, with an opportunity to let the view sink in and relax. Not in New Zealand though. It wasn't long before we were playing games with the other boats (5 in total) ramming them, splashing then and even boarding them and dragging their rafters either onto our boats or into the water! It was all about as crazy as things could get and frankly I was loving every second of it. People were even leaping off their boats and floating down the river to cool off! There really was a party atmosphere on these boats and it proves just how much fun people like to have in New Zealand! At one point our guide Sally abandoned us by leaping off our boat and onto another one in order to tackle one of the other guides! At one point we even knocked another rafter off their boat and stole him, using him to paddle along on our boat and gain some extra speed! Those krazy Kiwis!

A few moments later the horseplay died down as we were reaching the first of the advanced rapids. We made it though them quite easily, although we were holding on for dear life and whilst getting soaked in a perpetual spray of water we crashed and pounded our way through several rapids including ones that were given names such as "The Toilet, The Mother, Oh Shit! and The Cascade" to name a few. After making it through all those ones intact we were a little bit disappointed that no one was thrown off the boat and into the frothing, churning rapids below so our nutty guide Sally ordered a hard over maneuver (everyone to one side) and deliberately capsized the boat! We floated along for a while in the water before clambering onto the upturned boat and gloating to the others that we were actually hardcore enough to deliberately flip the boat over! After a while we flipped the boat the right way up again and prepared for the final and most intense rapids.

First things first, we had to go through a long underground tunnel, apparently one of the only two places in the world where you can whitewater raft through a tunnel and just after that we were treated to a final plunging drop that got us all spectacularly soaked in the process. It seemed that our rafting trip was at an end. We beached our rafts and then carried them to the rafting station and bid farewell to the staff. It seems that yet again I can tick off another activity that was "the best thing I've ever done!" (incidentally I seem to have done hundreds of things that are the best things ever and each one is just as good as and better that the others, don't ask me how!)

So there you have it, I cannot recommend this enough, if you're ever in New Zealand you have to try...Bungy Jumping, whitewater rafting, glowworm cave exploring, jet boating, aah screw it, I can't name everything. And believe me, I'm not even close to being done, It's just day after day of craziness here in New Zealand.


In fact, speaking of craziness I did one last thing today. I was wondering whether or not I should have a drink or go out for a walk. I decided on the more cost effective latter option and started to walk around town. As I approached the skyline cable car I decided that since I have my season pass I might as well go up! After all I've been up every other day of my time in Queenstown, why break a good habit? As I neared the cable car station I arbitrarily decided to walk it instead! It was going to be getting dark soon but that didn't matter. After reaching the top and nearly exhausting myself I was able to get a few nice snapshots of the mountains as the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon. Then I decided to do something even more ridiculous. I ran down! Yes that's right, it took me about 50 minutes to walk up non stop and I ran down in 12 minutes! After I reached town I could barely walk and was in a mild state of delirium, talking to myself and swaying around in a mild daze. I collapsed in a chair and started to type, I'm sure once I'm done here my legs won't work at all, they feel like they're been chewed off, regurgitated and then reattached the wrong way round! But I feel great nonetheless.

And that's all for today folks!

dusk over Queenstown