When I eventually got off to sleep, my dreams were interrupted by ABBA. The band weren’t actually in my dream. Perhaps I should clarify, Uncle Boy’s wake-up call was ABBA music.
I got up and ate in silence. I was too zombified to even consider stringing together a coherent sentence.
Today’s activity was rafting but hardly anybody signed up for it. Thankfully one girl had already pre-booked it and another guy signed up for it as he doesn’t have to pay (because he works at a Base hostel). It meant that I wouldn’t be going it alone as it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a while and never had the chance to do in Australia.
Everyone smelt Rotorua before we even arrived. It is commonly known as Sulphur City due to the thermal activity there.
Mud dropped us off and took the others further in to Rotorua for a village visit.
After introducing ourselves to the workers, one of the guides briefed us about what we were going to do. He raced through it comically as the sooner we were done with that, the sooner we’d be out in the water. It took a few minutes to take it all in. Numerous rapids, a one and two metre drop…and wait…how big is the waterfall? Seven-flipping-metres. Now I’m officially scared.
We were kitted out in solid gear which reassured me. A helmet to protect my noggin’ and a life jacket to ensure I don’t drown. As well as that, we wore a wet suit, booties and a waterproof jacket to keep us warm.
Up until this point I was pretty laid back about rafting. Of course I didn’t think it’d be a gentle cruise but it hit home that I’m going to get battered by water. I hate getting water in my face, what am I doing here?
You may laugh but there was a woman in the group who couldn’t swim. There is someone madder than me after all.
It took a bus ride to get to the river. Along the way, one of the guides went through some safety measures. What to do if you fall out of the raft, if the raft capsizes, if you fall out during the waterfall drop…and so on. None of it sank in so I hoped that I didn’t get thrown out as I’d have no idea what to do but scream!
When we arrived at the river, the large group was split into two groups of six and one group of four. I got to stay with the two people from the bus which was good.
Before we entered the water, we all took our positions in the raft and went through various actions. The process of what to do when the guide yells, “Hold on!”, is easy enough. The steps when he yells, “Get down!”, are slightly more awkward as you need to get yourself tucked up in the boat.
With that, we entered the water and started to paddle. Getting the right rhythm was sometimes difficult and a bit awkward. My timing was off quite a few times but the raft was moving and that’s what counts!
The rapids were easy to tackle and the first two drops were thrilling more than terrifying but I knew what was coming.
We had enough notice until the waterfall drop but I was so slow lowering myself into the raft that I got bashed around by the water. We didn’t capsize and I didn’t fall out so there was nothing to worry about.
I grew a bit more confident now that I knew the big drop was out of the way. Our guide asked if anyone wanted to go for a swim. Jonny (from the bus), an American guy and I all jumped in. The water was freezing and the current started to pull me away. We swam back to the raft and the guide told us to hold on…ok…
Argh! The raft went into a rapid and I got thrown around, again! I fell for that one hook, line and sinker. Deary me, I’m so gullible. At least I wasn’t the only one who went in so I didn’t feel like too much of a wally.
Whilst we paddled around the course, a guy was taking photographs to buy at the end. There were a series of stops to pose.
At one point, the guide told me to get in the front of the raft. Although I knew something was going to happen, I was game. We came up to another rapid and he steered the raft straight into it so I was submerged and generally battered with water.
Surprisingly, I was smiling in all the photos so I must have loved the water really. It was great fun and not as scary as I thought it was going to be. Between the drops the rapids were quite tame so I wasn’t consistently terrified that I was going to fall out of the raft.
When we got back, I found out that there was only one person who fell out of the raft. Can you guess who it was? Yep, the woman who couldn’t swim.
Back at reception, we got changed and went to look at our photos. I was happy that the only parts of me that were wet were my hair and my feet. The wet suit did a good job!
I decided to hop-off at Rotorua and spend two nights there. I want to do a sky dive at the next stop in Taupo but I didn’t want to do it the same day. Rafting is enough excitement for me in one day. I have five weeks to spread out my activities and I’m in no rush.
Unfortunately, I probably won’t see anyone on that bus again as they’re on shorter timescales than me. I did make loose plans with Jonny to meet up the next day in Rotorua as he was driving back up from Taupo with a friend. However, I had no phone and he had no internet. I took his details and tried to call him later using the payphone. I put in $2 but that only gave me around 30 seconds. It wasn’t enough to make definite plans.
In a last ditch attempt, I sent a message on Facebook. It’d be nice to meet up with people and do something fun in Rotorua. They have zorbing and luging here which would be awesome to do.
I checked in and rested for what was left of my day. The past couple of days had been so hectic so I was fine with doing absolutely nothing.
Later on I met my dorm roommates. One girl, Catlin, looked around my age and gave me a bit of information on what there is to do which was really useful. We ventured out later on to visit the night markets which are open every Thursday evening.
I’ve been to many markets before so I was really looking forward to it. Even though the leaflet said the markets were open between 5pm and 9pm, at 7:30pm, it was dead. There were hardly any stalls and some that were there had started to pack up. There weren’t that many people there so perhaps this week was a bad time to visit.
I spent the rest of the evening writing and thinking about what I’d do the following day.
*****
It had been a few days since I’d had a decent night’s sleep so I thought that I deserved a lie in.
I’d not heard anything from Jonny. I managed to meet Maluen in Kyoto with no phone or internet so I didn’t write it off completely. I checked online and at reception to see if a message had been left but there was nothing.
It wasn’t to be so I decided to go for a walk. I didn’t fancy doing the activities I mentioned before on my own. It’s something that would be fun to do as a group but not something that I’m so keen to do, that I’d go it alone.
Rotorua has enough beauty to keep me occupied so I wasn’t disappointed. I walked the streets to seek out something to eat. I grabbed some food from a café and started to make my way across to the thermal area.
Along the way, I stopped off at the library and found this stunning doll house.
I want one!
Over the next couple of hours I’d seen and smelt enough of Rotorua for the day. The sun was shining again and I had to take my scarf and jacket off because I was too hot. I knew I had to enjoy that moment as the south island will be the complete opposite!
A beautiful day.
This does not help me!
Phew, it's a bit hot around here.
A lovely viewpoint.
There are plenty of things to do in Rotorua. I didn’t visit Whakarewarewa - The Thermal Village as I’d already engaged in the Maori culture in Maketu. I didn’t visit the thermal pools either as I think I’ll be going there on Saturday when I hop back on the bus. Both of those were a bus ride away and I was happy to relax and take a break. It’s nice to have some time alone.
I’ve enjoyed my time in Rotorua. My next stop is Taupo for the sky dive. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I’m petrified, excited and nauseous! Wish me luck!
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