New Zealanders are lovely, friendly people, as genuine and open as you could imagine. They are also totally insane. Their leisure activities generally involve either putting themselves in danger (jumping off things, diving under things, crawling through things in the dark, etc), or putting small animals in even greater danger (we saw a hunting shop called Kilwell. Nice). These activities don't stop during the chilly winter months. Oh no, all Kiwis are under the mistaken impression that they live in a warm country. Outside doors are left wide open, people sit outside in cafes, no one wears warm clothes. One hotel owner in shorts and T-shirt remarked, "I'm toying with putting on a jumper", which was the only concession to the bitter weather we encountered.

Anyway, Taupo, on the banks of the huge stunning Lake Taupo, overlooked by snowy peaks, is the place to try these activities, year-round. Daniel tried aerobatic gliding (daredevil!), which was allowed. Bungy jumping was not (Isn't it great being surrounded by BOTH the women who want to stop you enjoying/injuring yourself - it means you have a legitimate reason to wuss out of scary activities). To start gliding you get dragged up into the sky by a small plane, and at about 9000 feet the glider is released. Then you have half an hour of falling gracefully. We managed two loops, and some other stuff, before Daniel vomited horribly into a bag (only a little bit on the harness). Let's just say the trip was cut immediately short after that. He then sat for an hour with the old pilots, trying not to be too embarrassed by the splatters on his t-shirt.

Celia and Carole went horse-trekking, and managed to keep down their lunch.