(written December 31st from notes taken previously)
Despite being in a place I very much enjoy, I spent a pretty good chunk of the day just in my van, not even going down to the falls. 😅
I did do a fair bit of rubbish collection, though.
Eventually, I did head down to the waterfalls, and of course, as soon as I did, I had to use the bathroom, so I hiked all the way back up, used the bathroom, and then went all the way back down.
I had never cliff jumped at Kaiate Falls before, but there were others enjoying the plunge, so clearly it was safe, so I joined in the fun.
I love cliff jumping. 🙃
There was a higher place and a lower place. The higher probably 7 or 8 meters above the water, and the lower probably 5 ish.
I think I must quasi-consciously rank it by value proposition? You often have to do the same climb out when jumping from a lower place as a higher place. You have to dry the same body and the same clothes. There’s a bit of adventure and adrenaline I get from jumping higher up, and… There’s not if I’m jumping from say… 10 feet.
Unless of course you add in trying to do backflips or gainers or something like that.
That’ll get my chemicals pumping a bit because I’ve never done them before.
If you’re just going higher up, all you have to do is maintain your form. Nothing special. So then it’s just the fun of the heights and the fall and the splash. 💦
🙃
Chatted with my sister Heather a bit. Every time I either accidentally swallow (while swimming) or purposefully drink (from my Lifestraw water bottle) fresh water from New Zealand, my throat starts to itch as if I’d eaten shell fish (I’m mildly allergic to shell fish), so we chatted about that a bit.
I think I noticed that maybe it happens sometimes even without drinking water? It definitely happens every time I swallow fresh water, but I wonder if maybe it’s a pollen or something that gets in the water?
I don’t know.
Three years ago, I thought it must be something in the snow/glacier-melt water because that’s when I first noticed it, but I don’t think we did much of any cliff jumping in the North Island during that trip?
Grabbed a bit more rubbish before heading back, and then, on the way back up, I spotted the biggest eel I’ve ever seen. It could have been 3-4 feet long? It was huge (at least, in my limited experience).
Unfortunately, it noticed me as well, so before I had time to snap a picture, it swam under a little rock ledge and out of sight.
A snapped a few pictures on the way back up, all repeats from three years ago, of course, spent the next probably couple of hours, or so, chatting with a young man from Germany named Max and charging my charge bricks with my solar charger.
Finished the day veging in front of my phone screen.
Lift the world.
~ stephen
Lift the World 