Mike's Day 9: Taupo and Wellington

Woke up rather early and met up with the gang for breakfast at a restaurant right on the lake.





Chowed down and then took off to cheer on Brindha, who was about to jump herself out of a plane...








All of a sudden things get serious...



The nervous nellies waiting on the ground...





Hee hee!!! We were having trouble identifying which of the many parachuters was Brindha, until we heard her giggle in mid-air.

The post-jump ride home

Stopped off to see the crazies do some bungy jumps on the Waitomo River.

After lunch we headed for the Barbary: a sailboat once owned by Errol Flynn which you can hire to take you out on Lake Taupo and to see the Maori carvings.

Skipper of the Barbary

Mt Ruapehu in the distance

view of Taupo from on the lake

Shipmates Brindha, Natalie, and Jerry

Maori carvings on Lake Taupo (done in the 70s by Pakeha (non-Maori) master-carvers)

Driving home from Taupo

Mt Ngauruhoe

Me and Mt Ngauruhoe

Parting shot of Mt Ngauruhoe