not looking too happy at the marokopa falls - 4th largest in nz

we left waitomo today for taupo, but the driver made a small side trip out west so that we could view a couple natural things. the first thing we checked out was the marokopa falls. while walking toward the falls, i realized that my video camera might be broken. it displayed a strange message about something being locked and to remove the battery. i did this three times with no improvement. then i decided to play my tape to review it and it was black. i tried to rewind it but i could not. i could only fast forward. this sucks. yesterday my bag did fall off a shelf and my camera was in it. i think my video camera got fucked. FUCK! i hope i can get it fixed and that it won't cost too much. the cost of a new one here is outrageous and it's the wrong format for me. it would be much cheaper to beg someone in america to buy a cheap one and ship it to me express. this incident ruined my mood for the rest of the day.

the next thing we looked at was the mangapohue natural bridge. it looked really nice and i was cursing myself for my video camera not working. at least my still camera is still working. i better not drop any more sensitive equipment--i can't afford to!

mangapohue natural bridge (above)

mangapohue natural bridge (below)

we reached taupo and checked into the rainbow lodge hostel. the front desk lady was a little bitchy. i couldn't walk into reception with my backpack on. they have internet stations but she said that i can't use my laptop for internet. i felt like walking out right then. feeling down in spirits as we walked to get some quick food (missing lunch again) before my sky dive. that's right, i decided to give it a go after all. a price too low for me to resist. it's got to be one of the cheapest skydives in new zealand. i'm feeling very much like bilbo in "the hobbit" since i keep thinking about how i'm missing a meal. oh yeah, i finally finished reading "the hobbit" last night!

getting suited up and in the plane

posing in my suit and (looking scared?) in the plane

all about my sky dive...
it was with freefall. i was really surprised that we didn't partake in any sort of safety or training. not even a video. nothing. just suit up and the tandem jumper guy told you a little something like keep your head back, feet forward, when i tap you you can get go, etc. my tandem jumper guy was charlie from portland. he was nothing like the charlie i know. good to jump with someone from the west coast though, i must say. a bit more like home perhaps.

sky diving took up all afternoon. most of it was spent waiting. waiting for my turn to jump, then waiting for the dvd of my jump to be ready. to just jump at 12000 feet cost $179 kiwi. but it cost another $160 to have a camera jump with you to take video footage and still photos. i wasn't gonna jump and not have evidence! so i paid for the video package. the dvd is probably not a region free dvd and in pal format, but that's ok because i have a region free dvd player at home. we got to watch the dvd at the sky dive center before we went home. the footage is not just me, but also of the others who jumped during the same flight and who paid for the video package as well.

the view from the plane and while parachuting down + my leg in the bottom corner

for the tandem jump, you really don't have to think about anything as the tandem jumper does all the work. you just have to relax and remember to breathe! and enjoy the view of course. the initial part when you are freefalling before the chute opens is the worst part. that first second is one of fear. oh god, i'm really doing it and there's nothing to hold on to sort of thing. not like roller coasters where your ass is sitting down and you have something to grip onto. when you tandem jump, you hold on like holding onto overalls and your head is on the tandem guy's shoulder. once the shoot opens, you can let go and take a look around. i was able to bring my camera with me and take photos, so that was cool.

others landing and me back safe on the ground

the freefall part is one where you really can't breathe, the air is so thin up there. going through clouds is very cool. your face is also being ripped apart from your head. you look like trent reznor in the nine inch nails video for "closer". once the chute is open and out, you're just floating along and enjoying the view. you have a hip pouch attached to store your camera in. at this stage you can pull out your camera and take some snaps. needless to say, i was very nervous about dropping my camera! the floating part lasted a lot longer than i thought it would and i was getting impatient, "c'mon let's land already!", but it was a pretty good experience. if you have the opportunity and the price is right, i say don't pass it up.

after sky diving, we went to buy some groceries for dinner. while walking back to the hostel, i got a call that pissed me off so much i really couldn't speak at the time. i will share the details because i think it was a bad business practice, hence i don't want this guy getting anymore business. 1 month ago i had booked online to kayak out on march 12th to the maori rock carvings on lake taupo with wilderness escapes. i wasn't sure where to meet for this trip but i thought i wouldn't ask until i was in taupo so that i could have a sense of how the town was laid out and where i would be staying was in relation to everything else. now that i'm in taupo, i give the kayak company a call and left a message. the guy called me back to say he's booked full. i told him i had a reservation. he was surprised and asked how i had gotten it. i told him through email, through the internet a month ago. he said his email was down now but he's sure he doesn't have a reservation for me and tough titties but i'm gonna have to go with another company. alright, so now my taupo plans are fucked. i planned on being here for a few extra days so i could do this kayak and take my time in taking in the sights. fuck all that now. i'm scrambling to make other plans. such as, perhaps rent a car to go out to the tongariro national park on go on a lord of the rings tour.

a few facts about taupo that i might have jumbled up in my head but i hope that i am close enough: lake taupo is the largest (or second largest) crater lake in the southern hemisphere. it is still classified as an active volcano. its eruption in 186 was the largest eruption in recorded history. the sky darkened for 2 years according to chinese and roman historians of the time. waikato river runs through taupo and is only 1 of 2 rivers in the southern hemisphere that flows from south to north.