Taupo to Rotorua
Friday, September 19
Friday morning, despite an iffy weather forecast, greeted us with a bit of sun and warm temperatures. Jamie and I were up early to try and have one last adventure before it was time for us to leave Taupo. The adventure we had turned out to be a lot more exciting than either of us expected!
But first it needs a little explaining… Jamie is currently living with Karen and Greg up in Brooklyn. Greg’s godson, Courtney, happens to work at the Taupo Bungy. Greg knew Jamie was somewhat interested in bungy jumping, so he suggested Jamie give Courtney a ring to see if she could get some kind of deal.
Jamie and I figured it couldn’t hurt, but we also didn’t want to walk all the way to the bungy in case we couldn’t get a deal. Neither one of us really wanted to pay over $100 to bungy jump – especially not me, because I’d already done it before. So we found the phone number for Taupo Bungy, and Jamie called to ask for Courtney.
The conversation started out: “Hi, my name’s Jamie, and you don’t know me, but…” But Jamie worked some sort of magic (or perhaps it was really thanks to Greg), and Courtney offered one of us to jump for free! Meaning we could split the other jump half and half, and only pay $55 a piece. Before we knew it, we were being picked up in the Taupo Bungy van, heading for the river.
Jamie was freaking out. She’s afraid of heights to begin with, and certainly hadn’t been expecting to actually launch herself off a cliff that day. But I have a feeling it was better that it was so unexpected – it gave her less time to think about it.
When we got to the bungy site around 9:30, there were only two others preparing to jump at the same time. We got weighed (an ordeal in itself), and found out that, along with a free jump, Jamie was going to get a free photo/DVD package. We decided to split the price of a second one for me, which brought our grand total to $75 each. Not bad.
We actually met Courtney right before our jump. It was slightly funny that Jamie was using one of his “family/friend” passes but had never met him. We went out onto the half-bridge (the Taupo Bungy is on a ledge hanging high above the Waikato River) to wait and watch as Courtney and the other bungy worker tested the cords with a weighted bag. I joked with Jamie that it was the body bag they’d put her in after her jump.
The other couple who were jumping that morning joked around with us, and did their jumps first. Then it was Jamie’s turn. I was very proud of her for jumping without hesitation.
She had wanted to touch the water, but didn’t quite make it. As I was sitting at the top, having my ankles strapped into the bungy cord, I could hear her squealing “You missed!!” from below.
I found myself minimally nervous this time around. I didn’t actually feel the butterflies until I was standing on the ledge, looking down into the blue-green water. Jamie was down below on dry land, yelling “You look ridiculous!” up at me. By then, of course, it was too late for fear.
I jumped promptly after the “3, 2, 1, bungy!”, swan diving into thin air. It’s a very strange, terrifying feeling the moment you realize you’re free-falling and can’t turn back. But the adrenaline rush is intoxicating.
I was the first one of the day to actually touch the water. I went in up to my elbows, then swung for a minute or so over to river. The sun was shining, and it was beautiful, even hanging upside down. I don’t know whether I can say it was better or worse than my first jump in Queenstown – both were exciting for different reasons.
After almost being dropped into the water as I was lowered into the yellow raft that picks you up after you jump, Jamie and I climbed back up the cliff to the bungy office. Courtney let us watch our jump DVDs, and tried to call his dad to have him show Jamie and I around Taupo. He didn’t get a hold of him, but the gesture itself was nice.
We eventually caught the shuttle back into town, and decided on Friends Café for lunch. I think I ate there last time I was in Taupo, because something seemed very familiar about it. After lunch and gelato, Jamie and I took another walk along the lakeshore, this time making our way down to the fishing boat harbor. We walked back along the beach, and watched some old men play the “Hole in one challenge.” The “challenge” is to drive a golf ball onto a tiny island floating out in the lake. Out of at least 100 golf balls, only one made it onto the island. But they were amusing to watch.
Friday, September 19
Friday morning, despite an iffy weather forecast, greeted us with a bit of sun and warm temperatures. Jamie and I were up early to try and have one last adventure before it was time for us to leave Taupo. The adventure we had turned out to be a lot more exciting than either of us expected!
But first it needs a little explaining… Jamie is currently living with Karen and Greg up in Brooklyn. Greg’s godson, Courtney, happens to work at the Taupo Bungy. Greg knew Jamie was somewhat interested in bungy jumping, so he suggested Jamie give Courtney a ring to see if she could get some kind of deal.
Jamie and I figured it couldn’t hurt, but we also didn’t want to walk all the way to the bungy in case we couldn’t get a deal. Neither one of us really wanted to pay over $100 to bungy jump – especially not me, because I’d already done it before. So we found the phone number for Taupo Bungy, and Jamie called to ask for Courtney.
The conversation started out: “Hi, my name’s Jamie, and you don’t know me, but…” But Jamie worked some sort of magic (or perhaps it was really thanks to Greg), and Courtney offered one of us to jump for free! Meaning we could split the other jump half and half, and only pay $55 a piece. Before we knew it, we were being picked up in the Taupo Bungy van, heading for the river.
Jamie was freaking out. She’s afraid of heights to begin with, and certainly hadn’t been expecting to actually launch herself off a cliff that day. But I have a feeling it was better that it was so unexpected – it gave her less time to think about it.
When we got to the bungy site around 9:30, there were only two others preparing to jump at the same time. We got weighed (an ordeal in itself), and found out that, along with a free jump, Jamie was going to get a free photo/DVD package. We decided to split the price of a second one for me, which brought our grand total to $75 each. Not bad.
We actually met Courtney right before our jump. It was slightly funny that Jamie was using one of his “family/friend” passes but had never met him. We went out onto the half-bridge (the Taupo Bungy is on a ledge hanging high above the Waikato River) to wait and watch as Courtney and the other bungy worker tested the cords with a weighted bag. I joked with Jamie that it was the body bag they’d put her in after her jump.
The other couple who were jumping that morning joked around with us, and did their jumps first. Then it was Jamie’s turn. I was very proud of her for jumping without hesitation.
She had wanted to touch the water, but didn’t quite make it. As I was sitting at the top, having my ankles strapped into the bungy cord, I could hear her squealing “You missed!!” from below.
I found myself minimally nervous this time around. I didn’t actually feel the butterflies until I was standing on the ledge, looking down into the blue-green water. Jamie was down below on dry land, yelling “You look ridiculous!” up at me. By then, of course, it was too late for fear.I jumped promptly after the “3, 2, 1, bungy!”, swan diving into thin air. It’s a very strange, terrifying feeling the moment you realize you’re free-falling and can’t turn back. But the adrenaline rush is intoxicating.
I was the first one of the day to actually touch the water. I went in up to my elbows, then swung for a minute or so over to river. The sun was shining, and it was beautiful, even hanging upside down. I don’t know whether I can say it was better or worse than my first jump in Queenstown – both were exciting for different reasons.After almost being dropped into the water as I was lowered into the yellow raft that picks you up after you jump, Jamie and I climbed back up the cliff to the bungy office. Courtney let us watch our jump DVDs, and tried to call his dad to have him show Jamie and I around Taupo. He didn’t get a hold of him, but the gesture itself was nice.
We eventually caught the shuttle back into town, and decided on Friends Café for lunch. I think I ate there last time I was in Taupo, because something seemed very familiar about it. After lunch and gelato, Jamie and I took another walk along the lakeshore, this time making our way down to the fishing boat harbor. We walked back along the beach, and watched some old men play the “Hole in one challenge.” The “challenge” is to drive a golf ball onto a tiny island floating out in the lake. Out of at least 100 golf balls, only one made it onto the island. But they were amusing to watch. 
Around 1:30, we went back to collect our bags and wait for our bus outside the i-site. We were supposed to leave for Rotorua around 2:15, but a flat tire on our bus set us back nearly 40 minutes. Jamie and I used our extra time to sit and enjoy the afternoon sun, which had decided to shine full-force after all, despite the weather forecast.The ride to Rotorua was only about an hour long, and we were there before we knew it. And how did we know it? We could smell it as soon as the bus doors opened. Rotorua is known for its geothermal activity, and also for its strong sulfur odor.
The predicted clouds had rolled in by then, but even under a grey sky (and accompanied with such a stench), Rotorua is a pretty city. Jamie and I checked into our hostel (Blarney’s Rock Backpackers), then headed back to the i-site to book a geothermal tour for the next day. Then we decided to take a short walk to kill time before dinner.
We walked down to Lake Rotorua first. It doesn’t really compare to Lake Taupo, but the atmosphere was nice. There was a little park, thousands of bright orange and red tulips, and a few ferry boats moored at the dock. There were also at least 30 black swans, and hundreds of little black peeping ducks. They had orange eyes, and were both cute and creepy at the same time.After the lake, we walked back through town in search of someplace to have dinner. We stopped in a few souvenir shops first to buy some postcards and odds and ends, then decided on Hennessey’s for dinner. We watched some rugby and shared garlic bread and pasta. Then it was more gelato. I just realize now that I had gelato twice that day... no wonder I feel fatter!
By that point, both Jamie and I were exhausted. We decided just to head back to the hostel and chill out for the rest of the evening. We watched some America’s Funniest Home Videos on the TV in the hostel’s lounge, each of us sprawling out on a large red leather couch.
It wasn’t long, however, before we started having trouble keeping our eyes open. We went to bed early, hoping for good weather for Saturday.
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