Three seasons in one week

Taupo, New Zealand

A definition of irony: "We've had no power because of the snow. I haven't even been able to run my freezers!" A farmer quoted on New Zealand's channel 3 news.

As we were leaving Rotorua we had been reliably informed that we would only get as far as Taupo, the next town. This didn't matter as we wanted to stop there but basically all roads south of Taupo had been closed because of heavy snowfall. We had no idea when we would be able to leave the town. We were hoping it wouldn't take too long to get those roads cleared.
Taupo is a town on the edge of New Zealand's largest lake making for a beautiful setting. It is also close to the countries first national park with it's volcanoes and stunning scenery, where Mordor was filmed in Lord of the Rings. So we really wanted to do one of the day walks there and take in the stunning scenery. This however was the first place where the weather stopped us from doing something. All the snow meant the track was closed and we wouldn't be able to do it. Such a shame as I am sure that a snow covered Mordor would have made an amazing sight.

Taupo was also a centre for other outdoor activities including bungy jumping. Mik decided he was going to do one. I have to say the location for the jump was beautiful. He would be jumping off of the end of a cantilevered platform 47 metres above a crystal clear river. I have to say it made me feel better that it was above water but it still didn't tempt me in the slightest. Off I went to the photo taking viewpoint and Mik headed off to get a big rope tied to his ankles! He looked quite calm but apparently he was, and I quote, "Sh*itting his pants" Still, off he leapt and I'd love to show you photos of him plummeting towards the river but unfortunately the camera didn't play ball and I missed him! Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Sorry Mik.

Another popular activity was tandem skydiving and for reasons I can't recall I had decided that this was something I wanted to do. The decision to do it in Taupo was made not only because of the splendid view one would get on the way down but also because Taupo was the cheapest place in the country to do it. So it looked like the time had come. Some may suggest that flinging yourself out of the plane of the cheapest operator wouldn't be the wisest choice, but hey why spend a lot of money on something you're not sure you are going to enjoy.

We booked ourselves in before I could change my mind and when the time came the weather was perfect. Damn! I was most nervous in the motel room before we set off. Once we got there however we checked in and had to wait a while for our turn. I had thought this would make the nerves worse however we got to watch others landing after their jump and this seemed to reassure me that you could do it and survive! I was actually surprisingly calm as we kitted up, to be honest I don't think I really realised what I was about to do.

We were teamed up with a professional. The guy that was going to be pushing me out of the plane was called Andy G and had a leather hat complete with fake mohican, how reassuring!! He was great though and seemed to be very thorough doing up the straps and buckles, which I certainly appreciated! Mik was teamed up with a guy who had actually been working at the centre in Kent where Mik had done his first jump, and at the same time - small world and all that. So there were 6 of us jumping with our respective professionals and a few extra cameramen, all of whom had to cram into a rather small plane. I knew I didn't want to be the first out but ended up getting on the plane first therefore was going to be the last out - hmmm!

Off we set climbing to 12,000 feet. When we leveled off the door opened pretty quickly and I started to get a bit nervous. People were rapidly disappearing in front of my very eyes and it was a very surreal experience. The worst was obviously seeing Mik sat in the doorway of the plane one second and just gone the next. My guy was great though and did a good job of trying to distract me with songs, as far as I can remember, about gumboots!! The next thing I knew I was sat with my legs out of the plane with the wind whipping at them. They chose this point to make you pose for a photo! But I guess it is a good distraction. I just knew I couldn't look down or I wouldn't want to do it.

So that was that. Suddenly we were falling out of the plane and tumbling through the air. I hadn't expected to find myself upside down and this scared me somewhat. Soon enough we were the right way round and all I could see was the ground coming at me at an alarming rate, so I felt much better! You get tapped on the shoulder and have to put your arms out whilst trying to make a 'banana' shape with your body, i.e. feet up and bellies stuck out. I have absolutely no idea if I was doing this or not. I was just struggling to scream as the force of the air against your face makes it pretty difficult. You only freefall for 45 seconds (falling 7,000 feet in the process) but it actually felt like quite a while. Once the chute is released you slow right down and you can relax and enoy it. I could even see where I was. It was amazing, as we were the last out I had thought we would be able to see parachutes below us but most were already down. The whole experience only lasts about 6 minutes but in that time I got to steer the parachute and look out over the lake towards the mountains on the horizon. Fantastic.

I have to say that for someone who suffers from vertigo I thought I did very well! And I will definitely be doing it again. I have to say though that it's one thing to get pushed out of a plane with someone strapped to you, but quite another to throw yourself off a platform with just a rope attached to you so well done Mik.

For a bit of relaxation we headed to a local park where we first wandered round the geothermal areas and then hit the hot water stream. Having enjoyed the hot water beach so much we thought we'd try it again. And no need for spades! We found a natural pool complete with mini waterfall, and climbed in. It was a glorious and sunny day so no stripping off for Mik this time as the passers-by might have had a bit of a shock!

Napier, New Zealand

Luckily when it came time to leave Taupo the roads had been cleared and so we set off east for Napier on the coast. We found ourselves another lovely motel straight out of the 1970's complete with yellow formica kitchen surfaces! They are of course the cheaper motels but hey they throw in a pint of milk too so you can't complain! The town itself is famous for it's art deco buildings built after an earthquake practically destroyed the town in 1931. Once we had seen them and had visited a lonely dolphin we moved on.

Wellington, New Zealand

Arriving in the NZ capital of Wellington meant driving on motorway for the second time on the island! It is the capital afterall, but with a population of just 250,000 they don't exactly have UK style traffic problems! Their motorways are therefore very few and far between and are also very short pieces! It never ceases to amaze us just how few people actually live in New Zealand for it's size. It makes for magnificent views of unspoilt countryside and quiet roads as well as cities which aren't overcrowded. Nice.

We would be catching the boat across to the south island from here but also wanted to stay a day to visit Te Papa - the Museum of New Zealand. There was a Lord of the Rings exhibition on here which was excellent. They had costumes and weapons from the film and showed just how they made the hobbits etc look so much smaller than the others. The amount of work that went into the films is just staggering. We also took in a world news photographic exhibition but that was about it. Blimey I nearly forgot to mention the fish and chips! We found a place which did proper handcut chips instead of the frozen ones Mik had been complaining about. He, needless to say, was in heaven!

Cara