Nz Day 17 836am

We were awakened by our bunk mates as they were packing to leave. All our original kiwi ex. Bus mates are all gone and we're alone now.

Yesterday was a an exhausting day for me but not so much for Jamie, the fish. We did the Mad Dog River Surfing and it was a blast We had to put on very tight water suits (because of the really cold water) and tight life vests. We were given boogie boards, some instruction on how to surf grade 3 rapids, how to surrender to the water and have a good time.

If anyone hadn't notice, i'm about 250 lbs with a large percentage of muscle mass that don't float so good. While i'm no fish in the water, I can swim and do my best to "not drown", but it does require a ton of energy. Like the genius I am, I started my day with a bag of candy and a few cookies along with my protein shake and my vitamins. Had I just done the shake, I probably would've been okay. I didn't and I wasn't.

After going under a few waves, sucking in a few gallons of water and panicking for air a few times, we finally finished the rough river work.

We got a chance to ride on the back of a jet ski in an intertube-like fashion and it was pretty fun. Afterwards we took a hot shower at the river facilities to try and warm up again and to wash the river off.

As we waited for the rest of the crew to finish, we shared stories with some of the others that were done. It was good to know that I was not alone with my assessment of today's activity. All the others thought it was a tough day too except for one, Jamie.

She sat around saying how easy it was and how she was moving in front of our river guide and taking photos and how good she felt. I was grumbling under my breath, but you can't really knock a person for doing well in her element. She is a former swimmer afterall.

When we finally made it back into town, Dave and Greg, two of our bus mates, took off to go luging. I was too tire to do anything, so we just went to eat at this place called Ferburger's and had these huge sandwiches.

After dinner and an hour long slow internet session , we met up with others at the bar in our hostel for a "break-up" party since the rest of bus was leaving in the morning. We had a good time dancing to the non-live band tunes and watching the others drink and thye various hookups that were made along the way.

Now, we're left with an 8-person dorm room to ourselves until the next batch of people arrive. We'll probably try riding the gondola and luging today. We've even considered hang gliding...