Para-Gliding at Te Mata

Te Mata Peak near Havelock North south of Napier provides an opportunity for par-gliding. Personally I found the experience absolutely awesome. I 'jumped' off the top of a hill by running along the top and being lifted off by the wind. At Te Mata you jump off the top of the hill. Get it wrong and......

In the air above the Peak

Above Craggy Range Winery

Landing

So Much to do in the Land of The Long White Cloud

When I was in New Zealand in 2005 I did lots of things that I never imagined I would do. I went para-gliding, white water rafting, heli-hiking up a glacier and tramping in one of the most beautiful National Parks in the world. And those are just the activities that spring readily to mind. I decided that when I went back for 6 months in September 2006 I would learn to para-glide properly, play Bridge again (there are excellent Bridge Clubs in the Napier area), see if I could sing and learn to ballroom dance, and so much more.

I'm still not quite sure how everything went quite so differently.

I was cycling through Napier Park and saw the Napier Petanque Club in full flow. I was called in and shown the game and from that moment I was a player of petanque.

A few weeks later I was driving past Whitmore Park and saw a board inviting people into an open day at the Croquet Club. A lady - Jayne who is a most enthusiastic Golf Croquet player - showed me the basics and I was absolutely hooked.

I started learning to sail as well.

Add to those activities my cycling and the general business of living and there was little time for anything else.

It was good.

You can see more of my white water rafting pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/rotowhenua/WhiteWaterRafting