White Water Rafting

First raft in the water - all dry so far

Two rafts down - not wet yet...

Third raft at the end of the journey - Not so dry...

Raft four - very wet

Defrosting in the Takoona hot pools :)

Arriving at the Marae

A fantastic view of lake Taupo

Our Queens for the Day

The Marae at Otukou

Rubbing noses with the Elders

The Elders share some of their stories with us

Imogen's Space

Imogen’s space

On the 31^st July, day 11 of the class trip, the countdown began. Waking up at 6:15, freezing feet already, frost on the grass, and cold water to wash with, we got ready for white water rafting. I thought my feet couldn’t get colder, wearing two pairs of socks on the bus ride there, but I was wrong, an unlikely occurrence. The drive there was dismal, the sun had barely risen, leaving all the grasses and shrubs in a covering of white ice. Things didn’t look up. We got there, and it was wetsuit time. Due to my accident skiing, my knee was a tad screwed up. Putting on the wetsuit was a challenge, with two bandages on under my thermals, I gently pulled the wetsuit on. After a while, it was on, and I looked sexy if I say so myself… not really, wetsuits are not made to look good unfortunately. We all looked rather hilarious! Also added to my ensemble, was a knee strap, which Stefanie kindly leant me. After we were all rugged up, two fleece tops, waterproof top over, and wetsuit booties, we took to the road. After arriving at lake Taupo from the white water rafting headquarters, we got into teams, and had a little practice run. I was unfortunate enough to be stuck with: Joaquin, Julian, Emma, Akael, Meg, Jess, and our instructor Ben. Poor Ben... he was stuck with me up the back, squealing with pain and delight. On the first rapid, it was a very small one too, someone fell out. It was not her fault, for the guide had just recently come out of a 4 year retirement, and this day being his first back. Poor Emily fell out, onto a rock sneakily hidden out of her instructors view. We went through 65 rapids, all putting me in pain. Although I did enjoy the rafting, each time we went through a rapid, my bad knee would be knocked around, and it would hurt. It was silly of me for going! A lot us complained of the cold. I must agree, my feet had no feeling left in them! They were freeeeeeeeeeeeeezing!!!!!! Sitting in the cold 5⁰C water the whole 2 hours of rafting, you can only imagine the feeling we had left in them… NOTHING! Poor Ben and the others in my boat were subjected to… ME. I was screaming and squealing, shouting, complaining, but I was not the only one. But I must say I was the loudest J My group was nick-named the SCREAM TEAM, and Stef’s group, the YEE-HA’s! Akael rather enjoyed himself, feeling at home in the water, being the duck he is. Once the 2 hours of screaming and pain was up, we jumped into the water and carried the rafts over our head, out of the water. Then the bus ride back to headquarters, and we could finally get out of the wetsuits. Many were freezing their asses off, chattering teeth was all to be heard on the journey back. But they gave us some hot tomato soup with bread before we made our way over to the deliciously warm Takoona Hot Pools to defrost.

Imy x:)x

The last of Ruapehu in pictures

Class 10 on the morning of our departure from Whakapapa ski area (day 10)

Our rockstars coming into the limelight

Looking a little snow blown on Friday morning

Impressions from the top of mt Ruapehu

Mount Ngauruhoa (aka Mount Doom) on our way out

Claire's Space (part 2)

We arrived at the marae near lunch time (we got there sooner than I predicted) as soon as I got out of the bus I saw the great mountains behind the buildings. It is such a beautiful place, the flat plains rising into the great snow capped mountains.

I was nervous because I knew we had to perform a song to the Maori elders and exchange gifts. We started, the girls went first through the gates but we had to sit at the back. The Maori elders first said their speeches and songs, and then us. Daniel got up and was one of the speakers for our class, he said his speech and then sat down. Then Meghan said her speech and gave the gift, then sat down. All the girls got up and we did the song, it was quite good, the elders were humming along which was a great sign. We sat down and they did another song. They asked us to get up and we did the nose rub one at a time.

Claire

Stefan's space (part 4)

Day 9

We are blessed with sun for the entire day and I organize a guide for a dedicated team to venture to Crater Lake near the summit of Mt Ruapehu (2755m).

At 1pm we meet our guide, John, at the base station and get equipped with avalanche tracking devices, shovels and probers. We catch several chairlifts and t-bars to get to the highest slope in NZ. But instead of skiing down we take our jackets off , shoulder our boards or skis and start our ascent to Crater Lake.

The view is breathtaking , so is the climb. We march on. Claire shows great determination and when her shin starts hurting half way up she soldiers on, the mountain is calling.

After 1 hour and 25 minutes we reach the top of the saddle and the peak comes into sight. The walking suddenly becomes easier, we are almost there, we’ve almost made it… finally the crater lake appears. The water is steaming (30 degrees Celsius) surrounded by ice and snow and there is a subtle sulfur fragrance in the air.

A drink of water, a chocolate bar, a group photo, another look around and we turn back, this time on skis and we challenge ourselves with runs on icy patches and free terrain skiing.

At 5 pm we get back to our hut, happy, tired, inspired and ready for a shower. My compliments to those kids going the extra mile in this incredible landscape and especially to Claire, who is holding the flag high for the girls.

The long road up (part 2)

Claire on her way up

Josh & Nick at the crater lake

The Team: Joaquin (Sebastian's brother), Claire, Stefan, Josh, Jaiden, Elias

John (our guide) in front of the second highest peak