Surviving the Rangitikei River
I mentioned in another entry about staying in River Valley the other night but there were a few important things I left out of it. First of all, I gained a greater appreciation for how ridiculous I looked flapping my arms and legs at 10,000 feet when a bunch of us watched my skydive DVD on the lodge's big screen. Second, I have to add how incredible it was to relax in a hot tub at the foot of some of the North Island's most lush greenery.
Ok, that's obviously not what I wanted the point of this writing to be but I'm just not sure how to convey what it was like whitewater rafting about 12 km down the Rangitikei, one of New Zealand's most intense rivers. I set out with a few other brave souls from the lodge early yesterday in the morning for the river's Grade 5 rapids, the most intense level of rapids rafters will take novices (or tourists) out on. I feel like I've exhausted all of the original vocabulary I could possibly use to describe my adventures so I'm afraid I have to drift on over to clichéd territory. It was fun. I had a great time. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Seriously, the trip was awesome. It took a little over two hours, since we stopped every so often to practice safety drills and take quick dips in the water. I was determined to finish my swing around the North Island with a bang and I'm confident I succeeded.
Most of us on the tour bus went our separate ways this morning in Wellington. I unfortunately didn't have much time to enjoy New Zealand's capital city but if I ever come back here, I would undoubtedly start in Wellington and head down across the South Island. It's back up to Auckland for me in the morning and then to the airport in the afternoon. I'm not going to get emotional, since I've definitely done enough of that, but it's strange to think that my next entries and episode will be done 10,000 miles away. The trip home will be long but that's ok... it will have been completely worth it. I'm going to try to get some photos uploaded tomorrow but, if not then, definitely at some point during the week.
I've got eight minutes left on my machine here so, as usual, I'm going to try and stall. I could say more about this hostel! Nah, that's OK, anyone with an interest in backpacking or student traveling knows what they are like and would probably agree with me that they are the best way to go while abroad. I'm wondering now if we have facilities like these in the US. Obviously, I wouldn't have any reason to know about that but I'm sure we do. It's sad for me to think about the fact now that, for the past five months, I've been enjoying this crazy and international lifestyle. I wish the US were a little bit more like Europe or maybe like here with currency exchanges everywhere and this atmosphere that screams, "Welcome to our country!" I suppose I'll have to get to work on that, won't I?
P.S. If you're interested, please remind me to post what it was like visiting a small town called Bulls. More on that later!
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