Day 77 – Taupo to River Valley, River Crossing
Since the walk was cancelled, I did not wait for my bus and went away in the morning. There are busses every day so you are constantly switching drivers and people – not necessarily a bad thing. We did a walk through the National Park and then stopped by some Waterfalls where various people, including the driver, scaled a fence and jumped off a high cliff in a waterfall below and swimming against the forceful current at the bottom of the nearby waterfall. I was glad I got that experience over me soon after college cliff jumping near Willow Lake in Nevada. No need to experience the thought of possible paralyzation again.
We got to a most amazing area full of bumpy hills and rolling valleys. Lots of sheep pastures. There are 68 million sheep in NZ. That is a 17:1 sheep to people ratio. We pulled into River Valley Adventure Lodge for the night. A swiss friend and I went to find the “walktrack”. A succinct 30 minute stroll we were told. Within minutes we were scaling down the side of mountain using a rope. Walk track my arse – it was like bloody Jurassic Park. Not sure anyway has been on that path in years to be honest. I was more worried about getting back up the vertical landslide I had just descended than finding the destination but we battered on. We wakled along the riverbank and came into an great canyon. The water was so incredibly clear – you could not tell if the depth was 1 foot or 10 feet because the pebbles and stones on the bottom looked like they were right in front of you.
We made it back in one piece and found a river tram. One of these metal cart pulley deals where you climb on board and cross the river by pulling the rope above you. It was so neat – felt like the wild west, pulling yourself across this river suspended midair on a piece of plywood. Sweet as. (NZ slang for cool – getting hooked on my new vocab)
Tags: Travel
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