Friday, October 2, 2009

Sunday Stills. the next challenge: Happiness is revisiting a time and a place when you have done something great.….







There were water falls during the rafting.



This is the tiny cave that the rafters emerge.

http://sundaystills.wordpress.com/
Sunday Stills. the next challenge: Happiness is….
Posted in Sunday Stills Challenge of the Week, the next challenge with tags Sunday Stills Challenge on September 27, 2009 by Ed

This should be and easy one, what makes you happy?

Hava great week…Ed

These two days, Sam and I made an impromptu visit to the Waitomo Caves in New Zealand. Some of you will remember in July, Sam and I went to Sarawak,and visited the World's biggest cave chambers. Waitomo is two and half hour hours away.

I have been to Waitomo caves a couple of times. Running the quarter marathon at 50 was the best thing I have ever done. At 45, I did the black water rafting in the caves of Waitomo. That would the second best thing.

This time round, I told Sam if he wanted to do it, he would have to do it with his friends because Mum was too old for this. It turned out Sam was too light to do it as one has to be 45 kgs. So we toured the caves inside of doing the black water rafting.

While we were bush trekking, we saw a group of happy rafters emerging from the caves. They had just done their black water rafting and feeling very victorious. I spoke with them, and told them that I did this ten years ago. May be they didn't quite believe me. Then I noticed their shoes. They were wearing shoes. When I did it with G, we were wearing gum boats. G's gum boots were too big for her, and she lost one of it. I was worried her foot would be cut by the rocks and she would get an asthma attack as she was feeling so cold. The water was freezing in the underground river

G's gumboots or lack of it because a family story. Today, I told the guide at that time, we wore only gumboots and my daughter lost her. He jovially joked," Oh, so it is your daughter who owe us $50." We laughed. They were all very obliging when I asked if I could take their photos. You see, ten years ago, they didn't take a "Survivor photo" for us, and we didn't have a photo in wet suits, miner's hat and gum boots.

Why did this encounter with the rafters make me happy? It made me happy remembering that ten years ago, I did something pretty invisible, like Helen Reddy sang, " I am woman, I am invincible." At that time there was an old couple from Israel older than me, there rest were mainly young adult tourists from Europe and America and Australia. And I was mum to the youngest kid.

This is a real New Zealand Adventure. There are two exhilarating tours, Black Labyrinth and Black Abyss. It is black because it is black inside the caves, and some places, you see millions of glowworms like stars twinkling.

Today, Sam and I explored the Ruakuri cave. We walked over parts of the river where the rafters would have floated past in their tubes.

5 comments:

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

The pictures are displaying real FUN!! ~bangchik

Chef E said...

Are you posting for FSO this week? E

~JarieLyn~ said...

These photos are fantastic. When I was in high school we used to go Tubing down the Kern River. It was a blast.

Magia da Inês said...

Olá amiga!
Conheci seu cantinho e amei mesmo!...
Lindo, criativo e muito interessante!
Parabéns pelo seu trabalho!
Espero você em:
magiadaines.blogspot.com
Beijinhos carinhosos.
Itabira - Brasil

WildBlack said...

Great pics & great fun :D