Yesterday (April 17th) was yet another exciting day in New Zealand; we went white water rafting in the Tongariro River!
As our adventure didn't start until 12pm, we took the opportunity of sleeping in until 9am. For breakfast we had some of our exceptionally good grain-y bread, jam, and hazelnut spread (sounds much healthier than Nutella, doesn't it?). By 10am we were on our way to Turangi, a nearby town where the white water rafting started from. We were there within 30 minutes, so we had lots of time to sit and drink coffee and be nervous about the rafting. For once, I was the one that was the least nervous. Maybe all these activities are desensitizing me?
We checked in, met the rest of the group, and got all the equipment we needed. They provided us with two fleece sweaters, a wetsuit, a waterproof jacket, a helmet, and a life jacket. The whole ensemble was very attractive. We were very excited about the two fleeces... Or rather we were excited about the possibility of not freezing today!
Once we were all geared up, we got some safety instructions on how and where to sit and hold on, and what to do if you fell out of the raft or if the raft flipped (heaven forbid).
We were a fairly small group (10 people total). In addition to our guide, Lee, we were on a raft with Leah and Will, a couple from Sydney. The other raft had the other 5 people: two girls from the UK, a couple from Germany, and a girl from Melbourne. The two other guides, Brett and Jay, were on the other raft. Three guides for ten people. I like that ratio!
After carrying the boat down to the river, we were told all the things we needed to know. The commands were very easy to comprehend: paddle forward, paddle backwards, hold on, get down. We had a few practice rounds, and had them all down. Easy peasy.
Our guide, Lee, was was incredibly nice. He always ended every command with "team" (i.e. "paddle forward, team"), which I found very charming. Between commands, he would tell us about random things like Maori culture, our surroundings, and rafting in general. He definitely knew what he was doing! We would do paddle "high fives" between the harder rapids. We were such a great team!
Do you remember the movie "The River Wild" from 1994 with Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon? I remember seeing this movie heaps of times as a kid (for some reason it aired often on the Norwegian channel TV 3). Gail, the main character, takes on a pair of armed killers while navigating a spectacularly violent river. She explains how dangerous the waters can be, and is very serious about everyone obeying her instructions. Having never rafted before, I was expecting the guide to be shouting at us and being terrified of falling out in the water the whole time.
Our trip was really nothing but fun. We went on a Grade 3 rafting trip, so the water wasn't too rough and the drops weren't too extreme. We spent about 2,5 hours on the river, and traveled approx 14km/8.7miles through more than 50 rapids. After the first few rapids, we were all just having a blast, and not nervous at all. We were actually hoping for more action!
The rapids had pretty interesting names.
- "Leg Breaker" (no explanation needed)
- "The Bitch" (a very difficult part of the journey)
- "Sheep Rapid" (a few years back, a sheep was found here and taken back to the base)
- "Grandad's Green Undies" (a pair of green boxers were found stuck on the mountain wall after the river flooded)
Below you can see our route:
Warm showers, beverages, and hot dogs were waiting for us once we got back to the base. Lovely!
Our next stop on our road trip, Taupo (pronounced toe-paw), was about 50km/31miles away. The BAC (blood alcohol content) in Norway is 0.02, which pretty much means that you can't drink anything and drive afterwards. Not even one beer. We were informed by the guides that if you were over 21 years old, you could have a beer and be fine to drive afterwards. The norm of "no driving after drinking anything" has become pretty ingrained, so we decided to kill some time before driving on. We ate some more at a local restaurant, and went grocery shopping before heading to Taupo. It was raining cats and dogs on the way here, so it was probably wise.
Bertha found the hostel Taupo Urban Retreat for us once we for to Taupo. She's so helpful! We checked in to a comfy four bed dorm. The last bed was empty, so it was only the three of us. Have I mentioned how impressed I am with NZ hostels? They're so clean - rooms, linens, and all!
Oh! I got a pleasant surprise when I checked Facebook last night; my friend, Tonje, informed me that I had reached my $250 fundraising goal for the MS 10k Sydney and I will be running. I hadn't checked my fundraising page in a few days, so this was really a perfect ending to a great day. A total of $385 has come in so far. Your generosity makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Thank you SO much!
There is still a good amount of time until Sydney and I lace up our Asics and run around the city of Sydney (44 days to be exact). I decided to change my fundraising goal to $1000, which is four times my original goal. Go big or go home, right? After the first goal being reached so quickly, I have confidence that this goal can be reached, too! If you would like to donate, please visit this link:
http://register.mswalk.org.au/2014-MS-Walk-and-Fun-Run-Sydney/susannabjerke
We're headed to the Lilliput Farm Fun & Animal Park, followed by a stop at Taupo DeBretts. The first destination has all sorts of cute animals, and the second destination has hot spring pools and a spa. I'm exciting for a relaxing day!
Love,
Suzy
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