No, I did not tell my mother I was going bungy jumping. It was all part of my plan.
I knew that if I told her I was planning to bungy jump a few things would happen. First, she would be worried. Second, she would tell me that she was worried. Next, she would express her concern and fear of me jumping. And lastly, I would become nervous and worried because my mom had told me how nervous she was. I thought it through, and it wasn’t worth it. I knew I would be fine, and why would I put her through the stress and worry?
The day before I jumped I wandered around the town and out to the spot to see just how high and scary it was.
I wish I needed to go to the bathroom just to say I used the SuperLoo!
The platform from where I will jump! Pretty high and pretty scary!
An open house for 45 minutes? Really?
The sunset on Lake Taupo.
The next morning I got up, didn’t eat breakfast, and immediately went to jump. I signed my waiver, paid my fee, was weighed, and was given my pass.
The guys working the jump asked if I wanted to dunk in the water. After asking my options for the dunk, I chose only to dunk my hands and my head in the water. As I waddled to put my toes over the edge the guy with the hat told me just to fall forward. I thought he was kidding! He wasn’t even going to count for me?! My heart started to race. I waited... and waited... and waited. After I felt I had waited an eternity, I fell.
Here is the video!
As I have already been mocked for, yes, I screamed “Oh my gosh!” as I fell. And then I giggled. Guilty.
And no, I didn’t end up being dunked in the water. I guess it isn’t a perfect science.
After receiving my certificate and DVD, I was off to spend the rest of my day exploring.
I walked on a trail along the Waikato River toward Huka Falls. I came across a hot spring feeding into the river. The steaming water provided the perfect hot tub for a group of people to lounge and drink beer. It looked quite pleasant, but without a bathing suit, I kept walking.
2.8 kilometers later, I came to Huka Falls, the most visited natural attraction in New Zealand. While the falls are only about 9 meters high, the amount of water rushing over the falls is what makes it so impressive. 220,000 liters per second, or enough to fill 5 olympic swimming pools per minute, pass over the falls.
I was most impressed by the color. The water was crystal clear along the river, and bright blue at the falls.
Can you see how clear the water is?
My new friend, Rene. He came with me for my jump and to Huka Falls.
After the falls I continued walking. I went out to Craters of the Moon, a strange geothermal area. It seemed almost movie- like as I walked into the park. Steam was rising from all directions. And as I walked along the trail I could hear hissing, bubbling, and groaning from deep below the ground.
On the walk back it started to rain, and it wasn't very fun anymore.
But seeing the falls again was pretty nice!
And finding silly signs like this one is always fun!
Another two days well spent.
No comments:
Post a Comment