Taupo Bungy...and Thank You's

Hey!
So we're getting pretty extreme these days! Probably has something to do with the fact that our trip is coming to a close and we are less likely to run out of money now. Before I get into the bungy experience, We'll fill you in on how we got from Motueka (which is near the top of the South Island) to Taupo (in the middle of the North Island).
After we left our Canadian friends, Tristen and Alex we headed east towards the ferry. If you two are reading this, thanks so much  for the hospitality at your place, it was great to see you!
 We spent the night in the Marlborough Sounds in a little DOC. Such a lovely place, so peaceful.

View from the Queen Charlotte Drive (a very twisty highway that connects Havelock and Picton)

We took the ferry over the next day. It was lovely to take it during daylight hours so we actually got a chance to see something!

Some cows joined us on the ferry! I was quite happy about this. Backstory: there are two ferry companies; Interislander (which has a terrible commercial) and Bluebridge. Interislander was started first, it is a crown-corp. When the NZ farmers wanted to send their stock to and fro, Interislander said no, and the farmer's reply was to create the Bluebridge ferry. We took Interislander over, and as you remember they were delayed and as a result didn't see any of the voyage in the day time. I wanted to support Bluebridge, so we went with them on the way back and I was doubly pleased to see we would be travelling with some bovines. 

Views on the ferry

Good-bye Picton..... 

.....Hello Wellington!

That night we went out for dinner with Jimmy, one half of our UK couple friends, and stayed at their place. We went out for breakfast with Cal the next morning as they had conflicting work schedules. Work is such a buzz kill! If you two are reading this thanks again so much for your hospitality, we feel so lucky to have met people like you along the way!

From Wellington we headed for Mike and Pip Taylor's place. We only made it about half-way, and stayed at a DOC along the way. When we got to their place the next day Mike was moving sheep:

We headed out on the sea in the boat and had a great old time catching cod and the odd kahawai. We didn't get any pictures (what were we thinking?) so you will have to believe us. Thank you Mike for taking the time out of your day to go out in the boat with us, and to the Taylor's as a whole for your hospitality! On the way to Palmy we stopped at Castlepoint. Even though we have been there before, it is such a beautiful place to be.  

We also saw a rather large collection of sheep in someone's yards as we drove by...just had to take a picture! 

Like I mentioned we were heading for Palmy. We had Thai with Alex and caught up with her. It was lovely to see her! Palmy, as usual, not much to see there. 

Last and certainly not least on our whirl-wind friends trip was Hannah and Rex. We worked with Hannah at Taumarunui Vet and got to know her fiance Rex as well. I was looking forward to this trip very much because Hannah and Rex had a little baby boy on March 5th. His name is Jack and he is incredibly cute. He was pretty well behaved while we were there. Thanks so much guys for putting us up, especially with a new baby in the house! 

Ok, let's get to the bungy! 

We had it booked for 10 in the morning, which is good because at least I wasn't nervous about it for an entire day. However, I had been apprehensive for days leading up to it. Everything seemed to go smoothly until we were standing right there on the platform. There I was, strapped by the ankles to the cord, Jared by my side. I looked down and said out loud: "I can't do this!" I started freaking out, poor Jared having to deal with me. The bungy workers were also trying to calm me down. It was a Level 6 freak-out. So much for skydiving being the most scared I have been in my life. Looking back. I can't really explain how it happened but the girl counted us down and we both just leaned forward. This was followed by a series of large screams and then a combination of laughing and crying (me, not Jared). The video pretty much sums it up:

Here are a series of pictures too:  

The view from the top 

I CAN'T DO THIS! 

Ok, We did it! 

Off 

We 

Go! 

AaaahH! 

The boat picking us up

After getting off the boat we climbed back up the hill and laughed the whole time about how ridiculous I had been, and the fact that we had actually done it! It was quite a rush, definitely more scary than skydiving in the sense that you have to jump yourself, but it is over a lot faster. Who's kidding who, I was terrified for both!

That afternoon we drove out to Aratiatia Dam and watched the dam open and create a rushing river. It was a beautiful vantage point. 

                            Before                                                          After

We headed to Orakei Korako after that. It is a geothermal park with all the fun geysers, boiling mud pools, silica terraces, etc.

We took a ferry across this little river to start the tour

Ruatapu Cave 

Elephant Rock (like it Jocy?) 

Thanks for your attention during this very long blog :)

Until Next Time!

Skydiving above Abel Tasman National Park

That's right folks we did it!
I wasn't too sure if I would ever be able to say it but I went skydiving. And it was awesome. We went out of a town called Motueka, which is right at the foot of the Abel Tasman National Park. From the sky we could also see Kahurangi National Park, Farewell Spit, the Southern Alps, the North Island. There were also tons of orchards to see from up there, as this is a big fruit-producing area. We had a gorgeous day, couldn't have asked for better weather. Here is a video that pretty much sums up the whole skydive experience:

As you can see, right before we were about to jump out of the plane I was absolutely terrified! I have never been so scared in my life. Jared and I had a pretty good laugh after, watching the video and seeing how scared I was. Jared had been skydiving once before so was not nearly as big of a chicken. It was so unbelievably windy up there, hence why I look so ridiculous in all of the pictures.

Here are some still pics in case you couldn't get the video to load:

Jared wasn't scared....

.....I was!

Is it too late to turn back at this point? I am so terrified right now

Out we go!

Sweet As!

Safely on the ground

Jared too!

Celebration!

While in Motueka, we met up with our Canadian pals, Tristen and Alex. They are picking Kiwi fruit in an orchard just outside town. They put us up for the night and of course, gave us some Kiwi fruit.
The next day we went into Motueka with Tristen and Al and checked out the Farmer's Market. It has now been 3 days in a row that I have had RealFruit Ice Cream, and I am quite pleased about that.

Until Next Time!

Baby Seal Party in Kaikoura

Hi guys!
After we left Chch (Kiwi slang for Christchurch), we headed north for Kaikoura. The original plan was to do a whale-watching tour but for some reason every time we go through there the weather is garbage. It was rainy and none of the tours were running so we kept driving north. About 15 mins north of Kaikoura is the Ohau Stream Walk, and this is about a 10 min nature walk up to a waterfall. We did the walk back in February, but this time it was infinitely cooler! Why, you may ask? Well the baby seals that were born in December and January have grown up enough to go out on their own (but not too far). So as a way for the parents to go off hunting all day and not have to worry about the kids, they swim/waddle up the stream to the waterfall and play there all day long. It's also good for the babies because they get to practice their swimming, playfighting and rock-climbing. It's amazing for us humans observing because you come around the corner on this nature walk and there is 60-80 baby seals swimming around in a pool at the base of a waterfall. Ok, enough talking you get the jist of it, here's some videos and pics!:

Turn your head to the left when you watch this

Playfighting!

The seals up on the rocks were fighting off anyone that tried to take their place

See the little guy to the left that wanted to be part of our picture?

Until Next Time!