Taupo-Rotorua-Waitomo

Hey everyone! I just wanted to write about my latest adventure which included us travelling down to Taupo, New Zealand and to other places. The bus ride from Auckland to Taupo took about 6 hours but it was totally worth it! We got there and the water was beautiful and the landscape was just breathtaking! We checked into our hostel and walked to the hot springs which were amazing! We got to sit in the river which was as warm as a bath! Then we continued our really long hike to Huka Falls which was incredible! The water was a color I've never seen before! The next day we woke up and Ashley and I went for a run down by Lake Taupo (the largest lake in Australasia). It was beautiful! Then we just went to the beach and a nearby park and spent the day walking around and exploring. On Thursday morning, we boarded a bus to take us to Rotorua. It smells like sulfur there because of the geothermal activity in the town. We walked around and saw Redwood trees and some hot springs that were literally steaming. It was so cool! Then today we went to the Waitomo Caves. It was the most amazing experience I have ever had! The Waitomo Caves are the only place in the world where you can see glowworms so it's amazing! We took a tour called the Abyss which was pretty physically demanding. We got all suited up in wet suits and helmets and began our tour! First, we got to abseil down into the cave. It was about 9 stories deep so it was pretty scary to have to repel that far down into the cave. Once everyone got to the bottom, we walked through the caves for a while and then got to go on a zip line through the dark caves! It was pitch black and we were sailing through the caves! Then we continued walking until we got to the tubes. We jumped 15 feet off a cliff into the water in the caves. I didn't really like that part because it hurt when you hit the water but it was definitely interesting. Then we got to black water raft down the river and then we came back to where we started. We put our tubes back and started walking through the water. Since you couldn't see the bottom and the ground was uneven, we all fell a few times until we decided that it would be a better idea to swim through it. There were parts that we went through where there was only a foot of space between the water and the rocks that we had to squeeze through. Since there was a lot of rain today, the water level was extremely high. It was amazing! We got to stop for some hot chocolate that the guide had brought with him because it was freezing down there! We spent the rest of our time swimming through the glowworm caves and sliding down waterfalls. At the end of the tour, we got to rockclimb up two waterfalls. This was my favorite part because I enjoy rockclimbing. It was really hard though because the water was so forceful and was pushing against me as I was trying to climb up. When I got to the top of the second waterfall, I was all alone in the cave because my friend Mike had already exited the cave and everyone else hadn't climbed yet. That part was pretty scary because I didn't like being alone! When I exited the cave, there was just a beautiful sight waiting for me. Everything was so green and the rain just made it so much prettier! It was, by far, the best experience I've ever had in my life! We have pictures but I can't put them on here just yet because I don't have my laptop with me. Tomorrow we're going to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Park to view a geyser, some mudpools, and other geothermal activity. It's going to be great! Then, were heading back to Auckland tomorrow afternoon to start orientation on Monday! I'll write more soon!