Day
3: Taupo to WellingtonFriday, April 6, 2001
Having been the last one to get in the night before, Stuart and John were the first ones up and out to breakfast. I was a bit slower to get going. I ended up walking around nearly the whole complex until I found the entrance to the reception building where a buffet-style breakfast was being served. Despite having a lot to drink the night before, I was feeling pretty well, albeit slightly tired. There were a small number of people who left us for a ride on the HukaJet for the morning, as they missed out on it the afternoon before while they were doing the Rock 'n Ropes.
The rest of us after breakfast, had our luggage loaded on the coach and were off on a quick sightseeing tour of Taupo and to see the Craters of the Moon, which was another large area of geothermal activity, in the Wairakei Tourist Park. There was a walking trail around the area that took us literally right beside steaming geysers and boiling mud pools. For many of us, it was a nice brisk walk around the area to get the blood flowing and work off the effects from the night before. We then headed off to see the Huka Falls. It wasn't an actual waterfall in the normal sense. Here, the Waikato River flows down a slight incline into a small opening, creating raging rapids. We went back into Taupo where we had some free time until we all met up and boarded the coach for the drive to Wellington. Colleen sat beside me on the coach, when we all found out that she had far too much to drink the night before. Put it this way, the maids were not going to enjoy cleaning up the room she shared with Indrani and Jane back at the hotel... She had braved the HukaJet that morning despite the night before, although for the whole drive into Wellington, she had her travel pillow and her head wrapped in her jacket in darkness. She would be known as "Colleen the Machine" for the whole trip.
During the drive, there was some activity at the front of the coach. We looked up to see a car in front of the coach and someone mooning us form the back seat of it. The mooning continued on for quite a while, when a few of the ladies on the coach walked up to the front and flashed the men in unison. We got into Wellington in the late afternoon, with a drive around the city and Gavin pointing out a few places of interest that we may want to check out during our two night stay in New Zealand's capital. We then drove up to Mt Victoria, where we had a great view of the city. Mark was leaving us after tonight and flying out the next morning. So with only about a minute left on his cassette in his video recorder, we all gathered at the lookout point where he recorded us all as a group waving our goodbyes.
Group bonding on Mt Victoria
Again, I was rooming with Stuart and John for the next two nights at the Quality Hotel on Willis St. We had a couple of hours until we would meet for an optional dinner out at a local pub/restaurant, where gourmet pizza was on the menu. We sat on a patio at the back of the restaurant and were served with platters of pizza, one coming after another. I found the pizza to be excellent, although there were mixed reviews from the group. There were also plates of chips/fries as well, and we each had a coupon for a free alcoholic drink. Of course, most didn't stop with the free drink. There was also a big screen projection television inside the pub, clearly visible from the outside patio. Being shown on the television was a rugby game, the teams playing were Australia and New Zealand. So obviously, the pub was fairly full and the people watching the game were very passionate about it, to say the least! We remained there for quite a while, until Gavin would take us to a nightclub called The Fat Ladies Arms to, again, "party like a rock star". Since tomorrow was going to a relatively free day for most people and we didn't have a coach to catch, most were up to having a big night ... again. It was also kind of a farewell night to Mark as well.
When we got to The Fat Ladies Arms, there were doormen checking for identification. A number of our group actually got stopped and were nearly denied entrance. But eventually, those of our group who decided to come, all managed to be let in. It wasn't very busy when we arrived, but again, it was still relatively early. There was an upper floor that overlooked the dance area, had more tables, another bar and a couple of pool tables. But for the night we all were on the ground floor, having taken over a large picnic table in the corner. There was also a large screen just above the dance floor where the accompanying music videos of the songs were also being played. There were drinks a plenty and even lots of conversation among everybody, including Gavin. It was nice to see Gavin, all through the trip, really getting involved with the group he essentially had to take care of for two weeks. As the night went on, the number of people dancing increased until the floor was packed. The tequila shots were also being bought up in a frenzy. And as usual, when our morning song, "I'm Outta Love" came on, our whole group yelled and rushed onto the dance floor. At around 1:30AM, our group was beginning to dissipate, with a handful of us remaining. Those of us left just kept on dancing and drinking even more than the previous night. The dancing even began to get more provocative. Mark even raised his fist at me after I showed some affection for his shaved head (it was his last night with us, after all). We eventually left, time of departure unknown and, literally, stumbled out onto the street, some more than others. Some required arm holding to keep balance. While walking back to our hotel, we stopped at a place called the Kebaboholic, where a few of the guys got some food into them to help absorb the alcohol in their system, while the ladies and myself waited for them outside. Since there was one more person than there were chairs outside, my lap ended being the extra chair ... I'm still trying to remember how that happened... Anyway, we got back to the hotel, where most of us were on the same floor. A few of us guys ended up in the wrong room that belonged to the two ladies. We eventually did leave (without incident, mind you) to go back to our respective rooms. When I got back to my room a few doors down the hall, John and Stuart were both already sound asleep in bed.
The Huka Falls
On the road to Wellington
Glenn and Mark take in a quick jetboat ride during a lunch stop
Chad and Chris take in a quick jetboat ride during a lunch stop
On Mt Victoria overlooking Wellington
Looking back at Mark and Vicky
At The Fat Ladies Arms: John (at the back), Chad, Sheree, Hayley, Alison and
Me
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