Taupo Travel Blogs | Travelogues | Travel Journals

I put it to the testI'm in second gearI get it of my chestI won't quit or restI will feel no fear, no fear!Let it go, let it flowThrough my mind and through my soul It's all adrenaline, yeah yeah yeah yeahLet it go, let it blowFrom my vains up to my brainI need adrenalineTo take controlAnd I wonderHow far I'll goBut it kills meI need to knowI put to the testI'm in second gearI get it of my chestI won't quit or restI will feel no fear, no fear! Di-Rect - Adrenaline[record label unknown] 2002 ...

unedited video from the skydive company part 1: on the ground with the whole load (5 people) part 2: the jumps - my jump is at 03:50 (remaining time in the youtube window, 06:10 minutes from the start)... watch out for the retarded looking guy, that's me! part 3: the landing & cheering have fun and don't laugh until you have seen yourself in the same situation hehe

Today we wandered around town for a while and checked out what the gypsys had to sell. Mick & Nicki took the kids to a fun park and Andrew & I went for a drive. We like to see the type of housing that people live in. After a while we bought fish and chips and sat by the lake to eat our lunch. It was a lovely day, a bit of a cool breeze but the sun was shining. Then we went back to the cabin and spent a bit more time with our friends before we all went out for dinner. It was daylight s...

Got one of my  must-do-list items done, for New Zealand - a bungy jump.  Taupo Bungy is where it's at - http://www.taupobungy.co.nz/  cost $99 and my stiff-neck now appears to be much better.Now, to wait for the clouds to clear enough for a parachute jump.

My father once told me that traveling alone will either kill you or sharpen your wits... how is it that i have to test his theory every time i travel?

I caught to bus from Wellington to Taupo and arrived in Taupo at 2 o'clock. I checked into a rather shabby YHA hostel. Before I have time to blink at about 3:30 I find myself sat in a small light aircraft looking at the runway speeding away beneath the wing of the plane. I'm harnessed up with a silly looking hat on and blue jump suit. Inside the tiny aircraft are about ten other people ready to throw themselves out of the rear door whenever the plane reaches the desired height. I really had...

Hmmm.... I wonder why I was the only one on the 15000 feet jump?? Everybody else was doing 12000 feet...  As we were strapped into the plane and the plane rised up over the magnificent Taupo Lake the air started to get colder and the houses by now look like little blocks of Lego that a child had played with and the cows like little freckles on the ground... 12000 feet.... everybody else jumped.... me and my tandem partner put on the oxygen masks. The air was by now freezing... okay it wa...

Today I walked and walked and walked some more!I set off early on the Aratiatia Walk along the ridiculously clear Waikato River to the Huka Falls, where a river that is 100 metres wide and 4 metres deep get forced through a gorge 15 metres wide and 10 metres deep. It’s an impressive sight and sound to behold.Next I made my way the few kilometres up the side of the mountain to the 'Crater of the Moon' - a geothermal park full of active geysers and mud baths. It was merely okay, and definitel...

Well even writing this I still cant believe we have done a skydive from 12,000 ft, about 2 miles up! It was absolutely amazing. i was quite nervous beforehand but the instructor was really calming and put my imnd at ease. There were about 7 of us jumping and one of them was a 70 year old lady, how brilliant is that, I have so much respect for her. I was the last to jump and everything was going smoothly until the bloke before me couldnt bring himself to jump. He jump held onto the plane and w...

Today I hiked the Tongeriro crossing. It is an active volcano and part of Lord of the Ring's Mt. Doom. We left at 5:40 AM and hiked streight until 2:30. The first part consists of an hour and a half verticle boulder field called Devil's Staircase which was unbelievably exausting. However, the views were amazing. Steam radiated bellow us from the volcano as we walked over it. On the downhill we basically had to ski down a peak of verticle rocks and dirt. It was one of the hardest hikes that I ...

Ahhhhh....New Zealand....is the air fresher there or is it me? Are the Stars more brilliant? The scenery is just so breathtaking...it is completely worth the lonnng flight to see this beautiful place.

A short 4 day visit to the North island of New Zealand, visiting Auckland and the area around Taupo. Will definitely have to come back to visit the South island!

Spent a week in a campervan travelling around the North Island of New Zealand. Went sky diving, absailing, caving, black water rafting.......

Me and my friend studied one semester in Auckland,NZ. Although we were really busy with uni and it rained a lot we love NZ ! NZ rocks but Auckland sucks ;) !

Up until 4:00 pm today, cows were to take center stage in today's blog... more on that later. This morning we headed to an extraordinarily active geothermal area north of downtown Taupo.  I don't have the place's name handy, but it was another Maori name.  (I would venture a guess that 80% of the place names on the North Island are Maori in origin.  Miller, Sheldon, and I have ceased our futile and slightly embarrassing attempts to pronounce them.)  To recount the th...