What a beautiful Sabbath we had! We awoke beside a hot spring-fed lake, steam rising with a foothill backdrop. We joined church members in Rotorua for Sabbath morning, then some hummus and cucumber sandwiches before tackling Rainbow Mountain.

Mountain climbing with a 2-year-old with short legs is a more leisurely activity, so we enjoyed discovering and experiencing all the clay deposits that give Rainbow Mountain its name: deep reds, light pinks, sulfury yellows, ochre oranges. My boots and paint legs brought some of the mountain back with us, as we slipped and slid through deep trenches worn into the track. We enjoyed the view from the top (and finding a “long-lost” geocache!), then turned back down to beat the darkness. Hot supper and “cuppa” (I had Milo, similar to Nesquik) before bed with my long johns on.

We made a point of keeping the fire going Saturday night, but the pre-dawn chill was an unwelcome alarm clock. The rising sun sparkled off frost-covered blackberry brambles as steam rose thickly off the lake. It took awhile for me to gather the courage to leave my sleeping bag. 🙂

Sunday held some more grand adventures! We got on the road earlier to head into Rotorua to experience the Skyline gondolas and luge. We’d attempted this adventure on Friday, but high winds had closed the luge. Prayers for clear weather were answered to the full, with nary a cloud in the sky and great visibility from our gondola ride to the top of Mt Rotorua. Darren took the boy and I tagged along for the first luge of the day.

The luge tracks are asphalt-paved, winding paths down the mountain, through both native timber and California redwoods. The luges are something like plastic toboggans with skateboard wheels on the bottom, and bicycle handles to steer/brake. After a crash (no pun intended) course in luge operation, we were on our way! I clearly needed more MarioKart experience as a kid, as I bounced off of turn banks and braked inadvertently as I turned corners. I couldn’t help but giggle and squeal as I careened down the mountain, coming to a chair lift at the bottom to haul both riders and sleds back up the hill to go again.

Nearing the end of the morning, I’d tackled the scenic route twice, intermediate route thrice, and was getting ready for my second run on the advanced track, my last of the day. I’d gotten enough experience to boost my confidence to take the corners at full speed, finally keeping up with Darren until I took a corner too wide and grazed the bumpers and lost speed. As I built up speed again, I zigged and zagged with great skill, already dreaming of my future fame on the Formula 1 track. I crossed under the banner notifying riders that the “luge track ends now”, unwilling to brake hard for fear of losing momentum to coast to the chair lift. Instead, I sped into the narrowing trackway, banked left, and careened into the wooden bumpers on the right of the track.

My momentum was sufficient. I had not braked and used it all up. Instead, the laws of inertia ensured that the momentum of my body, not fixed to the luge, would continue in a straight line vector. My hips and feet tried to stick to the luge, causing linear velocity to be converted to a spectacular sideways somersault and slide toward home base, all while the luge spun upwards and landed facing the wrong way outside the track. I sat up on the rubber mats and haybales, taking stock of my crash. It was GREAT. I had skid marks from my right cheek to my thigh and everywhere in between.

I hurried to put my luge back on the track and coast to the chair lift after checking to see the coast was clear. The luges are somewhat awkward to move, as they are braked when not being ridden. I got the luge lined up and heard the skateboard wheels of another rider coming down the track, so stepped back as he crashed into the back of my empty luge (and subsequently lost all his momentum – sorry!). This happened once more before I was able to get seated and unlock the brakes – and sit in place on the level part of the track. The three of us formed a strange sort of toboggan caterpillar scootch, without the benefit of slippery snow and with the difficult task of pulling back on the handlebars enough to loose the brakes while trying to move forward with one hand on the ground without pulling the steering off to one side and jamming up on the wooden side rails.

We made it to the chair lift, I got some fun video footage (to be shared when I find WiFi), and we had lunch. It was a GREAT MORNING.

After descending the mountain via a gondola ride, we drove in the bus 20 minutes out to Kerosene Creek, an aptly named river fed by a hot spring. We spent the better part of an hour braving the chill air and rock hopping down to waterfall pools to enjoy our warm baths (not hot due to recent rainfalls diluting the hot water). A wonderful way to unwind from the high speed chase of the morning.

We ended our day with a drive to Huka Falls (water gushing at 200,000 Litres per second!) and finally to Taupo for our night’s camping spot. After the chill of the night previous, I decided to arm myself appropriately for the night’s rest. I layered on 2 pr socks, leggings, shorts, long sleeve base layer, polar fleece, vest, and a buff balaclava before climbing into my sleep liner, light down blanket, and sleeping bag. I woke up warm! Albeit a bit stiff; I think my subconscious turned me to a mummy to avoid enstranglement by my multiple sarcophageal/bundling layers. 🙂

Now it’s Monday, and we’re in Taupo for our final laundering adventure before arriving back “home” on Friday. Hard to believe it’s been two weeks on the road!

Until next time… Go Pack Go! 😉