The last few ports in New Zealand turned out to be a whole lot of fun. The ship offered a crew tour to go whitewate rafting in Tauranga, and several of my friends and I signed up. I didn't really know what I was getting into, my last rafting experience having involved no paddling or moments of high adrenaline. This tour took us to some class 5 rapids, and we were definitely all paddling! There were six of us in our raft, plus the guide. We got to go through some exciting rapids and culminated in a terrifying 7 meter waterfall. Umm.....what?? We made it over without flipping, but one of the other rafts wasn't so lucky and everyone in it got dumped in the river. People were falling out of their rafts left and right. It was quite a rush!! We were all grinning and loving it the whole time. After rafting, my friend Tim and I had just enough time to climb up Mount Mauao (I think I got the order of those vowels right...) which is right next to where we dock. Its only about an hour to get up and back, so nothing serious, but a beautiful view from the top.
I have been working for Shore Excursions all week, and finally traded in that time spent for some tours on our last two ports. In Auckland I climbed the harbor bridge, which was a really neat experience. I also happened to get to see my friends bungy jump from the bridge as I climbed back down it. We stopped to watch 2 or 3 jumps, and I got to witness Tim's face as he did his very first bungy jump. Classic. A lot of my friends are going to go again next time we're here, but I'm not convinced yet. It is actually really safe though. I know, Mom, you don't want me jumping off bridges, I know I know....
Today I was lucky enough to be able to have lunch with the captain, Captain Rick, and some guests in the dining room. Captain Rick does this with VIP guests fairly often, and they like to send someone along from the cruise division as well. This is the first time anyone's called me to do it, and I was happy they did. It was neat to be able to sit down to lunch with the captain and ask him questions, and fun to chat with and answer questions from the guests after he had to leave.
Tonight was a Beatles tribute band, which means we had the night off. Hooray! A bunch of us went to the show just for fun. The best thing about it was that we weren't playing in it. :-)
Mont Blanc
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3 comments:
No jumping off the bridge....and don't you forget it!!!! But what is involved in climbing up and down it?? I think I would enjoy walking across it. That sounds adventurous enough. (I'd enjoy having lunch with Captain Jack. Do you think you could arrange that for me?)
Skydiving, Rapids Riding, Bungie Jumping...pretty soon you aren't going to have anything interesting left to conquer! I'm glad you are having an awesome time!
Airplanes...Yes. Bridges...NO! Actually, airplanes are a "no" also (just speaking for myself). Airplane to Sydney, YES! (wishfull thinking). So, the best thing about the Beatles tribute was not having to play?!?
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