Taupo

After our skydive adrenaline rush we all were all a bit like 'nothing can beat that today'. We drove to just outside Taupo to Huka Falls, this long fast flowing river in between a gorge. It was really cool and  the water was so clear and looked turquoise in the sun. At the bottom of the gorge there was a big waterfall, so there we admired it for a bit and decided to do a walk along the river for a bit. We walked along to a bridge hoping to arrive at the dam, but realised it was a bit further than we had hoped, so turned around and came back. We thought we'd try and drive to find the dam the following day.

In the evening we all got pretty hyped up and started drinking early and playing cards. The place we were staying was a hostel but had sites for campervans, so it was different to what we'd been camping at throughout New Zealand. We ended up going out to a bar called 'element' and made it home in the early hours of the morning. It was an eventful night to say the least, but we all had a good time!

The morning after the night before, everyone was a bit delicate and we slowly got up and Jen and I made ourselves feel a bit better by making a uni hangover breakfast consisting of a sausage sandwich and a large cup of tea! We eventually made a move given that it was gone midday and decided we'd drive to the dam to see the Aratiatia Rapids. It wasn't too far and we were just in time to watch the dam be released, which happens four times a day at the moment. It's a hydroelectric dam, which isn't very impressive, but when the floodgates open the water from the Waikato River fills the rocks below. It was quite impressive watching the water rise and rise for fifteen minutes and once the dam closed it slowly drained the water out from beneath it. I really wanted it to be like something out of a film and have the water gush out from the dam, but it sadly didn't happen like that! After that the boys were pretty hungry so we all got our picnic chairs out and sunbathed in the sun and had some snacks.

We then headed to Spa Park Hot Spring just off Spa St. after being directed to different areas by the locals. We eventually found it though and parked up and headed with our towel and swimming gear in hand down the hill. The hot thermal waters of the Otumuheke Stream meet the Waikato River at a little pleasant spot under a small bridge. The free natural spa bath varies in temperatures; the further upstream you are the hotter it gets. We ended up staying there for a few hours without realising it was getting quite late! We were pretty tired and went to the shops to grab some dinner. Me, Micky H and Jen fancied a pizza and went to Pizza Hut for a cheeky $8 pizza. It was definitely what I needed! Amazing feast! Couldn't finish it! So we were in the campervan and it was about 10pm and we had to get to the campsite which was an hour away. We drove to the Tongariro National Park to a DOC campsite; the one we'd been to the previous week when it was pouring with rain. We went to make hot water bottles in the boys' campervan and ended up chilling in theirs until the early hours.