26DEC2019 – DAY 13: THE RELIEF

I woke up a bit before everyone else and headed over to the breakfast area in the main building of our quaint lodging. I downed two bowls of rice crispies to start the morning before heading back to my room to grab my suitcase. I returned to the breakfast area and walked around idly while waiting for everyone else so we could start on our way to Lake Taupo. Once everyone had gathered up, we headed out. Before we made it out of Ohakune, we made a brief stop at a most interesting place: Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park. This place was both hilarious and informative to walk through, though we only had 10 minutes before we had to be back on the bus. The park had many statues of anthropomorphized vegetables! My favorite was the one I called Mr. Carrot, but the 7.5m tall carrot was definitely a sight to behold. As we left Ohakune, the tour leader put on Disney’s Moana for us to watch on our way to Lake Taupo. The movie ended just as we were pulling into Taupo. We were dropped off a little bit before noon to walk around and get some lunch. I went straight for the pharmacy to grab a few tubes of aloe for my burns as well as some SPF50 sunscreen. I was originally going to title this day “The Search For Aloe”, but it wasn’t that difficult to find the pharmacy 1.5 blocks from where the bus dropped us off. The soothing effects of the aloe were felt almost immediately and I continued to apply it regularly for the remainder of the trip. A few of the guys rented scooters and rode around for a bit while I sat in the shade in a small park trying not think of my still painful burns. After lunch, we were brought to the Huka Falls overlook where we got to view the rushing rapids of the falls flowing through the canyon. Back on the bus, most of the group was dropped off for a small nature hike to view some hot springs and I was dropped off a further downstream for a jet boat ride. This jet boat ride was similar to what I experienced back in Glenorchy on the South Island but a bit more rigorous and thrilling. In the jet boat we sped up the river with all kinds of twists, turns, and sharp maneuvers, often coming seemingly close to hitting just about everything around us. Eventually we ended up at the large pool at the base of Huka Falls where the roaring rapids were emptying into. The jet boat driver got us up nice and close to the rushing waters for a breathtaking personal view! After a few more spins in the large pool, we sped back to starting area with the same sharp maneuvers as on the way out. The tour bus driver came to pick me up and we made our way back to the center of town where we met back up with the others. After grabbing dinner, we walked around a bit while some of the guys checked out a few bars. I decided to take it easy and just relax while I let the aloe soothe my burns until we were brought to our hotel for the night.