Time out in Taupo

Today was a slow, quiet day – quite fitting after such an amazing week. When I woke up, I knew it was going to be a sad morning – saying goodbye to those of the gang who were leaving. We got up and went out to the bus, to wave everyone off. It was one of those moments when we all felt a bit flat afterwards, so I went for a wander into town for half an hour before going back to the hostel and finding those who had stayed.

Rebecca and I decided to go for a meander and found a lovely cafe to have some lunch, then went around the shops and discussed how interesting (or not!) the shops were. At least they were open, though, so we couldn’t really complain!

Back at the hostel, I had an unbelievable surprise – who should I literally bump into but Captain Silent and the Speaky Brothers! I couldn’t believe it! As you would expect, after about thirty seconds we ran out of steam with regards to conversation (plus I couldn’t actually remember their real names and could hardly introduce them to Rebecca as Captain Silent and the Speaky Brothers!), so Rebecca and I made our excuses and headed to the tv lounge where we started watching a movie. Before long, I realised I was falling asleep so nipped off for a snooze, until Rebecca came back to the room and we headed off for our next exciting activity - washing!

As we waited for the machine to work its magic, we sat and chatted to Charlotte and Ciara. Barry came back from his day out so we then sat and listened to all his stories about his trip – he’d had an amazing time. Rebecca and I sorted our washing and then we all went on a quick outing together to Pak N Save, for a few essentials. Back at the ranch we sat down and watched Avatar on the screen in the dining room, which killed quite a bit of time and was quite a nice way to chill out.

Rebecca pointed out that we had better pack our bags ready for our departure in the morning; we’d both ascertained that we both a) detested packing and b) were rubbish at it! We used the idea of a drink at the bar as an incentive to get it finished! An hour later we were done and went straight down to the bar. There we stayed and chilled out, joined by the others; making us the final five! We just enjoyed a quiet evening, laughing and chatting with a few beers before heading to bed.