This Bird has flown to new heights!

February 8, 2009

What a difference a day makes. On a scale of 1-10 – this day was an 11 many times over!

My morning started with the overwhelming sound of cicadas buzzing in feverish unison, periodically interrupted with delightfully chirping song birds and punctuated by the undeniable sound of squirrel feet scampering across my little “cabin in the woods” rooftop. At least I’m hoping it was a squirrel – did not go out to check.

We started the day in Tourangi – dead centre of the north island and deep in mountain land. The plan was to head towards Napier on the east coast by evening. The journey, much to our delight, included many unexpected adventures along the way.

Tourangi is also at the bottom of the largest (of two) fresh water lakes on the north island. It reminds me very much of Lake Okanagan in Kelowna – minus the frigid glacier waters. FACTOID: Lake Taupo has 32 rivers flowing into it and only one flowing out – hence the size, depth and crystal clear freshness. Locals tell us you can drink the water right out of the lake – I decided to just take their word for it :)

First stop on the way to Napier was a fast flowing river stream known for the best trout fishing in NZ. Again, the memories of fast moving glacial rivers in BC came flooding back – minus the frigid temperatures. We hike over the river rock on the edge of the water and got some great pictures of a fly-fishermen (and dog) out in the middle of the white-capped waters working his craft – talk about a Kodak moment - very serene.

Onwards up the shore of the lake to the town of Taupo, we spotted some colourful skydivers gracefully hurling to the ground enmasse. John and I quickly looked at each other with a sparkle in our eyes and both said in unison – let’s do that! 30 minutes later, we were suited up in red flight suits with black harnesses and boarding a plane missing a door on one side. See, this is the type of thing you have to move fast on before logic and fear take over. It was definitely a “carpe diem” moment. 20 minutes later I was 12000 feet above the ground – strapped to a kid younger than my son – focussing on my “happy place” to avoid engaging in the reality of what I was about to do. I chose to be the first one out of the plane as I basically thought if I actually witnessed someone jumping out of a perfectly solid, safe airplane, my nerve to do the same would likely vanish in an instant. I opted for the “ignorance is bliss” methodology of sky diving. I did not want to know the odds of failure or death. I placed my faith squarely in the parachute of my 19 year old tandem partner Chris – who promised me that he had done at least 1000 jumps without much grief. I didn’t pry into what he considered grief. So, I was indeed the first one out of the plane – which wasn’t much of a problem, until I actually had to dangle there momentarily while my partner swung his legs out of the plane. Seconds later we were hurling to the earth at 200 km’s per hour in a freefall with arms, legs and bodies tumbling over one another (I’m fairly sure we did some kind of summersault - perhaps a few). Gotta admit – it was a bit of an adrenalin rush blur. Chris pulled the chute and then proceeded to be a skydiving tour guide of New Zealand for me. We were up so high we could see BOTH coasts of NZ. He pointed out Mount Doom and the other highest peak of NZ. We were higher than both of them. He talked about the fresh water lake beneath us and other local niceties. Not gonna lie – I actually don’t remember everything he said – I was just abundantly happy that the “flight” was playing out as he said it would. The landing was textbook and the rest is documented very well in a video. I am actually thrilled we did it – checked off one of my own personal bucket list items :) The spontaneity, adrenalin rush, breathtaking views of NZ and sheer joy at the experience made the adventure beyond worthwhile.

Where do you go from there? Back into our lovely green vehicle and continuing up the shore of Lake Taupo. A brief stop to enjoy the wild life up close and personal and for me to get bitten by a black swan (long story), we then dropped into a famous tourist site to view the Huka Falls – some EXTREMELY fast moving water that channels down a short gorge and drops 11 meters into the river that drains out of Lake Taupo. WHERE was my kayak when I needed it!!!! Just joking ... although, some nuts have actually traversed the intense rapids and waterfall and lived to tell the tale. This is also the place where Tourism NZ set up a booth to record free “video-postcards” to send to friends. I have it posted, along with some choice pics, on FB for those of you who want to see it. Very cool idea and technology! After trekking around the waterfall in the mid-day sun, the call of LakeTaupo could no longer be resisted. We donned our bathing suits and proceed to take a plunge in the most refreshing, clear, delightfully satisfying fresh water lake I have been in for months – even nicer than our Canadian Muskoka lakes – yep – I said Muskoka lakes – get the picture yet?

Finally headed back to the car for last leg of the day to Napier. Passed some gorgeous vistas of rolling hills and valleys dotted with NZ livestock. Discovered, to our amazement and delight, that our hotel in Napier is located directly on the beach – that means tonight we will have the sound of the South Pacific Ocean waves lapping at the shore to lull us to sleep. Does it get any better than this? Hard to beat even on the best of the best of days!

A few factoids for those who need to know:

• NZ has the highest number of flightless birds in the world – go figure!
• Lake Taupo was once a volcano that last erupted in 186 AD and is big enough to fit Singapore inside it
• You can freefall drop from a plane 7000 feet in 45 seconds
• Population of NZ 4.1 million people – 47million sheep – 70 million possums
• NZ has no squirrels ... which means it was likely a possum that ran across my roof this morning – good thing I didn’t go look!

Finally, what I learned today:

• It’s very important to look to the right AND the left when crossing roads in NZ – I’m still fairly backwards in my driving orientation – some scary close calls
• Some of the best laid plans are no plans at all
• Some of the least expensive and most tasty meals can be found at the “Returned Serviceman’s Association” aka in Canada - the local Legion!
• Oh ... and one more ... having a "happy place" to go to in your mind enables you to do the most illogical, non-conformist, life-on-the-edge adventures that most sane people only dream about!