The Road to Rotorua ... and Mt. Doom!

K: Extreme adventure sports in New Zealand are just unbelievable. Bungy jumping was invented here in the 1980's. Now it is extreme bungy jumping (134 meters over the Nevis River in Queenstown), the "swing", sky diving, paragliding, hang gliding, jet boating, white water rafting, sledging, rope walks and the Zorb!

The Rotorua and Taupo areas are home to some of the most crazy extreme sports in NZ. On the road to Rotorua, we stopped in to witness the Zorb. Basically, one or two people are put into an inflatable sphere (with or without water) and hurtle down a steep hill. While somewhat enticing, we took a pass.

In Taupo, we witnessed bungy jumping and the "swing" over the Waikato River. Despite Viggo's best efforts, I took a pass on the "swing". It was probably a mistake, because the next option for a "swing" is in Queenstown. I think that swing is twice the drop, which doesn't please me.



Bungy Swing



Maori statue in Rotorua



Zorb



Stare-down with an emu



Beautiful waterfalls



Crazy volcanic rock winter ski hill



Not Bilbo, nor Frodo Baggins ...

Lake Taupo island	Huka Falls
Bungy drop
Ladies playing croquet in Rotorua
Zorb
Shop entrance in Tirau
Allium flowers are everywhere!
Mt. Ngauruhoe, aka Mt. Doom, in Lord of the Rings!

V: Once again, I like being Karen's chauffeur, on the left-hand side of the New Zealand roads, of course! It is fun driving major "motorways" that are really just a little more than rural Minnesota paved county highways.

I had an urge to do the solo bungy jump in Taupo, but, really, I'd much rather do the tandem 'bungy swing' with Karen, just because ... so I hold on to hope that we'll do it down the road, somewhere in the South Island, perhaps Queenstown.

The Zorb, well, just not that much thrill for me to think of going head over heels down a hill, rolling in a plastic bubble.

And, oh my, how nice and warm and relaxing were the thermal spa waters of the European Spa in Rotorua. The area is called the Sulphur City, and the Maoris were attracted to the mud baths and geothermal pools, which now attract huge numbers of visitors from all over the world. We had nice soaks in four pools, varying in temperatures, being perfect endings to the day.

Hey, who are those people all dressed in white? What a treat it was to observe some teams involved in lawn bowling matches on Monday night, and, Tuesday morn, people dressed in whites playing croquet. I must say, some version of croquet, for the wickets were not set up in the formation as we play it, and there was just one stick, so . . . I guess I need to learn their rules, to play it properly, clad in white, of course.

Oh, and really, isn't lawn bowling just curling on grass?

Yes, we got to see Mt. Doom of Lord of the Rings film fame, Mt. Ngauruhoe. There are gorgeous mountain passes and beautiful mountains in the middle of New Zealand, on the way from Taupo to Wellington. Easy to see why such country inspired those filmmakers.

I am excited about our upcoming three-day kayak cruise of the outer Charlotte Sound by Picton, South Island. It should be great to just get out there, in Nature. We will, though, be out of touch with technology until we get back onshore.