Sky dive, bungy jump, cliff hanger, jet boating, paragliding, you name it. Of course, not forgetting the iconic Lake Taupo, which is practically the size of Singapore. Yes! It is THAT huge! Lake Taupo is great for trout fishing too but you need a license though.
As we were there, we definitely cannot missed visiting the crystal clear water of the famous Huka Falls and Aratiatia Dam. The rapids are a sight to behold. The water were clear with greenish colour to it. Aratiatia Dam will open the door to release water everyday at 10am, 12pm and 2pm. It last bout half an hour. It's really quite a nice view too when you see the clear calm water of Waikato River (the longest river in NZ) where you can see the bottom of it. And the next minute when the door was open, water gushing into the river disrupting the calm water.
Definitely a sight to behold. And it's free entertainment too^^
I went to Huka Honey Hive too to sampled their honeys and also their infamous fudges and premium honey ice cream^^ Gosh the Puhutukawa Honey Ice Cream was definitely sinful!!!! It was absolutely delicious that you felt like you were in heaven! Absolutely amazing! It was slightly expensive though for a single scoop (small) it's NZD4.00 . But then again, bear in mind that this is a premium ice cream that's home made everyday. You can't get it anywhere else! Definitely worth a try if you are there.
Their honeys weren't cheap though. Pretty expensive actually. However, they do have other special honeyed stuff such as honey mead and honey alcohol. I didn't managed to sampled any though as the staff there were busy serving "adults". We probably looked too young in her eyes to have any alcohol. So I can't vouch how it tasted like, sorry guys^^
Other than sight seeing and food tasting, we did do some extreme stuff. Most of us paid a lump sum to terrify ourselves with crazy activities such as skydiving and bungy jumping. Yeah I know, we are a bunch of crazy tourist ;p
Initially, I was adamant to just jump off from plane at 12,000ft only. I mean after all, it's just for an experience right? So I don't really have to fork out another 100 bucks to jump at 15,000 ft right? RIGHT??
But then, my friends all took a combo package for bungy and skydive and their package was at 15,000 ft. DAMN!!!! How? how?? should I just jump alone or should I upgrade my package to 15,000ft as well in order to be able to jump with them????
Damn dilemma lor. I really don't want to be alone as it starts to feel pretty scary the whole sky diving thing. Finally, I upgraded my package to 15,000ft as well to "be with them". At least until the last moment? What the heck, if I wanna die, I might as well die properly.
The people at I-Site said that people here in Taupo is more friendly and attentive compared to South Island so we decided to jump here. And it's slightly cheaper too. But heck, not really lor. The people at the counter IS friendly, but our tandem instructor weren't THAT friendly and attentive lor.
I mean, for first timer, I'm sure you can imagine our apprehension and fear. Not only that, we have no knowledge whatsoever so we definitely need people to guide us right? Of the three of us who signed up, ONLY Twister's tandem master was really nice and attentive. She, yes SHE gaves pointers and tips for Twister which I stayed nearby to eavesdropped blatantly. Reason being was because I can't locate MY tandem master yet. He's out there jumping off a plane.
Yup, apparently pretty much all the tandem masters and cameramen were jumping off the plane again and again and again. Over and over again ever hour, depending on the crowd.
So when my tandem master touched the ground, my camera man introduced him to me and we barely exchange pleasantries, he already lead me to the plane. Damn I just had to be sitting nearest to the door. Means I will be the first to jump off.
Gosh it was really quite a scary ride in my life but my tandem master was singing and making jokes like we were taking a stroll in the park. My cameraman was even eating snacks! Talk about nonchalant!!!! Here I was fearing for my life and cursing myself for doing this, there they were goofing around and eating. Seriously, if they offered me food, I wouldn't be taking it either for fearing I'll throw up due to nervousness.
Finally at 12,000ft, some people jumped off the plane and I get to see it right in front of my eyes. That didn't allay my fear at all. If possible, I get even more nervous. When you see the ground from 12,000ft in the air, AND you think you'll be jumping off a plane - utter madness!
Despite I have always said that I wanted to skydive over and over again. When I'm on the plane, I can feel that my bravery has deserted me little by little. The higher we get the more anxious I get. My tandem master did have small chats with me but I think its not enough still. I actually hoped to be able to bond with him so that I will feel less nervous but alas, I probably hoped too much.
After all, these people jumped off the plane over and over again. They probably jumped 15x a day so what's my jump matter to them? It matters greatly to me because it's my first but them? it's their everyday thing-.-" My tandem master did give me some pointers and instruct me this and that, well all basic simple stuff. I think I'm still lucky though because Dinosaur's tandem master barely even spoke to him. I think his bond with his tandem master is almost zero.
The moment he said, "this is it, let's go!" I was like, SHIT!!! WHAT??? SO FAST???? ME FIRST??? WHY????? GOD I'M SCARED!!!!!! HELP!!!! MOMMY!!!!!!!!
Of course, all these are played in my mind only. I didn't utter a single embarrassing words like that ok? But I seriously am feeling that. Paiseh to say that hurhurhur. When we take exit photo before we jump, I was really really nervous especially I know I'm strapped to my tandem master only and I'm hanging in the air literally.
Trying to maintain my cool and smile for the camera, once it clicked suddenly I felt a push and I'm floating in the air!!!!!! WHAT????? I've jumped off the plane and now falling at 200mph down to earth!!! WTF!!!!!
According to Twister's TM, 60 seconds of freefall is photography time so have to look out for the cameraman and capture as many photos as possible whereas once the parachute is released, then it's time for sight seeing. Things like this my TM didn't mentioned to me, luckily i eavesdropped on Twister lolz.
So, eventhough I'm scared shitless, I still have to try and maintain my cool and look at the camera and smile, goddammit! When the lady strapped on my harness gear on the ground, she mentioned that if we smile then our photos will turn out better as our cheek wouldn't be wobbly due to the strong wind. And I took her words to heart and smiled throughout my freefall.
Except that when the photos were released, I doesn't looked like I was smiling. Instead, I looked like an idiot with my mouth open which barely resembles a smile. I looked silly. When I showed my photos to my friends that night, they laughed like there's no tomorrow -.-" It is bad enough that the photos does not resemble me I don't know why but it's true, Dinosaur actually commented that I looked like a chipmunk-.-"
My life is ruined. My photos were ruined. My video is darn stupid. My whole experience captured on camera looks like a joke. I feel so damn depressed actually. I paid a hefty fortune but i felt like I was at the end of a joke. This was supposed to be a proud moment to shared with others but instead, I can't bring myself to show mine to anyone. It's just too ugly. Mad hideous!!! No, I won't show you my photos or videos! Don't even think of it
That apart, once the parachute was released, finally I get the time to take a view of my surroundings. The view was breathtaking. The lake looked gorgeous from up above and the snow capped mountains. It was really brilliant and the weather was perfect. That's when I said to myself, "I can't believe I did that! I did it and I am so proud of myself."
I used to think that this is an exciting experience which I will not missed it for the world and will attempt it with gusto.
Don't get me wrong, I still think that this is an exciting experience that I would not trade it for anything in this world. I'm very proud that I did it and at 15,000ft some more at that. However, I think crazy things like this once is enough. Don't think I'll ever attempt it again though. My heart isn't that strong I think. lolz
True to my words then and now, I will attempy sky dive but not bungy. I did not try bungy. Even though many people said "hye, since you jumped 15,000ft already, what's a couple hundred feets means to you?" I know, bungy should look pale in comparison to sky dive but I still can't make myself to do it. Looking down from the cliff suddenly that couple hundreds of feets is so damn high.
I'm proud of them who did it though. I wished I could be braver and attempt it but alas, I'm not that brave. Too bad^^
No comments:
Post a Comment