Rotorua

For the adventure activity this weekend we went to Rotorua, which is about and hour away, to go luging and mountain biking. We all met at the guys house in the morning and made bag lunches (I felt like I was back in school) then packed into two vans and headed out.

We went luging first, and took this big ski lift type thing, the "gondola" as it was called, up a mountain to the luging tracks above. We all picked our helmets then got our tickets and got in line. There were three tracks you could take: intermediate, advanced, and scenic. The luges look a lot like a cart from Super Mario Kart, specifically the little one that Toad drives, though all it has is wheels, brake, and handles since you just let gravity do the work. We all started out on the intermediate track, and I only crashed into the wall a couple times though it didn't hurt at all. Then we get on a ski lift that takes us back to the top. The second time down I took the intermediate again because I wanted to get the  hang of it, and in the process I learned that I had been braking wrong and instead of pulling back, I had been pushing forward which creates a scratchy noise and probably damages the luge (whoops). That time went much better down and the next three times we went on the advanced track which was a lot steeper, and at one point you get a little bit of air. We didn't even bother with the scenic route. Me and this one girl for the last two rides on the ski lift entertained ourselves by spitting on people that would go on the track below. We got one guy pretty good.

After eating our sack lunches in a grassy patch, we drove to a mountain bike rental/guide place. After getting all of us outfitted with helmets and the appropriate bike, and after a couple warm up laps around the parking lot we headed down the road towards the Whirinaki Forest Trails. From what I hear, the mountain biking tails in the Rotorua area are some of the best, so we were all excited. Unfortunately, the first part was basically all uphill. I hung in the back and in several parts had to push myself along with my feet, or just straight up walked. It sucked and I was exhausted. I suppose it's to be expected, can't ride down a mountain if you don't go up it first. When we finally reached the top, the first track we went down was called "Be Rude Not To". Funny name, but it was essentially a thin down hill path with moguls and sharp turns, and surrounded by heaps (literal heaps, not just the Kiwi term) of broken sticks and dirt. It was a lot of fun even though I felt like I was going to hurtle off the edge several times. We then took another path in the woods up to another track, and I don't know the name of this one, but it was pretty similar to the first in terms of obstacles and steepness, and we went down it like 3 times.

It was good fun, though I was pretty tired toward then end. Aftere one final excursion though the woods, we had the option of doing another track that appeared to be up a steep hill, or taking the road, which was a coast downhill, back to the bike rental place. I, along with all the girls and a few guys, took the downhill path back to the rental place. When we were turning in our bikes, the rental shop owner's wife shared her chocolate covered marshmallow candy with us, which was really nice of her. Then we went to Burger King and I got fries before going home. Every good day ends with Burger King.