Taupo 9.29.2009

Weather predictions had been for continuous rain, but when I woke up in the morning, sun was shining. I quickly gathered my things and headed out the door on my way to the bungy platform over the river. I was the second jump of the day, right after a couple doing a tandem plunge. A friendly man handed me a release form to sign (the “if I plunge to my death I will not sue” variety) and weighed me to appropriately prepare the cord. He made small talk and then commented on my outfit.

“You are aware you’ll be hanging upside down in a dress.”

I nodded and stated that I’d thought it through and decided I really didn’t care. The fact that this skirt was my adventure skirt did not come up. It had been with me for a variety of adventures and I’d decided to give it the responsibility of holding memories in its threads.

“Just making sure because not everyone realizes that, you know.”

He wrote my weight in red marker on the back of my hand and

sent me off to the platform. A group of teenagers from a day camp had

arrived while the man had prepped me, now they all stood by the edge of the cliff watching.

Two men were on the platform waiting for me. One cuffed my ankles and attached the cord. He asked if I wanted to touch the water and, if I did, how far in I wanted to go. There are many factors that affect the jump and he said I may not reach the water. Hearing this and accounting for some leeway, I said to let me go in up to the chest. The other man directed me to walk to the edge of the platform, but with the bindings around my feet all I could manage was a penguin-esque waddle. He told me to keep my arms over my head and to lean forward, not jump off the edge. He counted down. I leant. And I plummeted. I ended up missing the water, but the fall was still amazing.

Possibly the best way to start off the day, I followed it up with a visit to the local history museum, a walk through the gardens and another by Lake Taupo. On the other side of the lake is Mordor, or rather, the Tongariro Mountains, which I didn’t have time to visit. The gardens, however were beautiful. They contained azaleas, rhodedendrons, roses, lilies and plenty more all in bloom. There was one small “scented garden” meant for the blind. Instead of dozens of flowers that were very pretty but all smelled similarly, this garden was full of very different aromas: lavender, rosemary, roses, fennel and so on.