Travels with Sarah and Fred

Back in January Sarah and Fred escaped the bad weather in the UK for a two week trip to NZ. I was so excited to be seeing Sarah again; she is one of my best friends and we always have a great time together. They had their own holiday plans, but we did manage to spend some time together. Firstly in Auckland, where we all stayed with Harriet and Anthony and the girls for the weekend. After lunch on the Saturday we all headed to the Skytower for some beautiful views over Auckland, and the experience of standing on the glass floor and looking straight down to the ground far far below. Our plans for an exciting evening were scuppered as both Fred and Sarah fell victim to jet lag that night.

After a great Sunday breakfast with the Chengs, the three of us took the ferry over to Devonport for a wander around the town and the gun emplacements at north head. We had a great day, stopping for refreshments in Devonport and back in Auckland before heading back to Harriet and Anthony's for a delicious dinner. The following day saw Sarah and Fred heading to the Coromandel and myself driving south to Hamilton, awaiting their arrival in a few days time.

That Friday, having finished work, I got a text from Sarah saying they were in Te Awamutu. She didn't say where in town they were, but I had a hunch I'd know right where to find them and headed to the pub! Lo and behold – I found them just in time to get a drink off them! We spent a lovely couple of days at Paul and Carole's, including a brilliant day at the beach in Raglan – sun, sea, views, a picnic and some kayaking in the river estuary made for a blissful day out. We also experienced what would be the first of many adventurous activities over the next few days by going black water rafting at the Waitomo Caves with Alice. This involved squeezing into a damp wetsuit and with the aid of a rubber ring floating through the freezing water in the Waitomo Caves system with the luminous glow worms carpeting the cave ceilings like bright constellations. The trip was beautiful and peaceful at times, but did have its fair share of fun moments; including three waterfalls you have to jump down backwards into your rubber ring to land with a satisfying boom-splash into the water below!

On the Monday Sarah, Fred and I headed off for an action packed few days in Rotorua and Taupo. First on the list was an early morning drive to north of Lake Rotorua to take part in some white water rafting. The trip, down the Kaituna river, has the distinction of having the world's highest commercially rafted waterfall on its route – an epic 7metre drop!!!! The weather was pretty cold and miserable, and as we changed into our wetsuits, I couldn't help wondering if this would be a cold and miserable experience to boot! I needn't have worried; our Japanese guide Hiro was so brilliant and funny we were laughing before we even got to the river! The rafting was so much fun – we enjoyed the beautiful scenery in the calmer sections of the river, and did some screaming and hollering throughout he adrenaline pumping rapids. We flew and bumped our way down through rapids and over two pretty high waterfalls, before pulling up just short of the big one. Hiro began talking us through what to do before listing the three options that could happen; 'Option one: we go down, finish the right way up – yaaaaay!!! Option two: we go down and capsize – its okay just swim back to the boat. And option three: we go down and get stuck under the waterfall for a while – no problem just hold your breath!' Feeling more and more apprehensive following this pep talk we watched as the raft ahead headed towards the edge of the falls, before tipping up almost vertically and vanishing from view. There was silence apart from the thundering water as we waited to hear what had happened..... 'They capsized!' came the shout; 'all clear!'. And it was suddenly our turn.

 We paddled strongly towards, before dropping down and holding on as instructed as the raft tipped and flew straight down the waterfall. As the boat hit the water my head was whipped back with the force and we fully submerged. Underwater it was difficult to know what was happening so I focused on holding on tightly, before, all of a sudden, we popped back up the surface. We whooped and shouted in jubilation – we had just rafted a 7metre waterfall and come up the right way up! The rest of the trip was a bit gentler, with some rapids and a few games whilst we paddled our way to the pick up point.

We three adventurers then headed into Rotorua for a victory lunch and to do 2 of the must-dos when in “Roto-vegas”; the skyline gondola and luge track, and one of the thermal parks. Sarah and Fred were, dare I say, blown away by the lugeing – which allows you to hurtle down the side of the hill on a toboggan, with bends, jumps (if you go fast enough) and the space to overtake those slower than yourself. Fred and I sped down with Sarah following at a slightly, shall we say, more sedate pace! It was then onto Te Puia thermal park, for some up close views of bubbling mud, hot pools and geysers. 

 Onwards we drove that afternoon to Taupo, to spend a couple of days by the lake. Alas the weather was not very amenable and sometimes it was difficult to be sure there was a lake there at all. It was a shame for Sarah and Fred as the cloud-line didn't allow them to fully appreciate Taupo's beauty or size – the lake could fit the entire city of Singapore inside it!

The following day we were due to go kayaking to see the Maori carvings on lake Taupo, but the weather had not lifted and the trip organiser had rung and cancelled the expedition. Stranded for a rainy day in Taupo we got ourselves organised and booked onto a boat trip to the carvings which would still allow us to get up close to the rocks without as much hard work or dampness. With time to kill we headed up to see the Huka falls, although our time to take in the view was shortened after Sarah had a few cicadas dive bomb her, before heading to the bars and pubs for some lunchtime drinks.

 

The boat trip out to the Maori carvings was great fun, although I was surprised at how far away the carvings were (and secretly glad we hadn't kayaked all that distance!). The lake scenery was beautiful, and we were lucky that the weather lifted in the afternoon, allowing us better views and a spot of well-missed sunshine. The stone carvings are a pretty cool sight – looming over you at over 10metres high, although not as old as you first think; they were carved in the 1970s as a gift to the town and lake.

 

Our final day in Taupo was, thankfully, better in the weather department, allowing us to add two more adventures to the week's tally. First up was a helicopter ride up above the Lake, town, Waikato river and Huka Falls. I had never been in a helicopter before and it was very exciting to be swooping around in the skies, and the views from above were spectacular. The trip was over all too soon, but I will never forget the experience!. On a high and buzzing from our helicopter ride we headed to the Taupo bungy for one last experience. The helicopter pilot had flown over the bungy, telling us that a friend of his has the honour of being the only person to ever fall off the bungy platform – despite a few broken bones and bruises he lived to tell the tale! Not put off by this story we booked in; me for my second bungy, and a Sarah and Fred for a tandem swing (Sarah had ankle surgery last year so bouncing by her ankles wasn't really an option). I took the plunge first – just as mind-blowing and thrilling as last time – and then it was Sarah and Fred's turn. They were harnessed together and suspended out over the edge of the platform with the river far below. The guy in charge asked them if they wanted a countdown to being released or a surprise. Sarah had barely time to think of a reply before they were released – free-falling towards the river before swinging out high and wide. It looked like so much fun and Sarah was grinning ear to ear after the experience!

After a celebratory lunch, celebrating having survived caves and ice cold water, 7m high waterfalls, a helicopter ride and a bungy/swing, we parted ways – Sarah and Fred towards New Plymouth, and myself to the bus station to catch a bus back to Hamilton. It was a great few days and I am so happy to have had adventures with my sister on the far side of the world!!