Day 41: Ooooh I like Luge

Bobby and Phil
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Well we got up after not the most comfortable night of our lives, had some breakie from the bakery, then went to pick up Phil from his hostle.  The plan for the day......LUGE!!!

So we headed over to the Luging place (ummm i presume thats spelt right) to see the prices.  $40 for 5 runs and the gondola up.....bargain!!   So we got on the gondola, went to the top of the mountain, watched someone do the SkySwing, then headed for the Luge.  The Luge is basically a board of wood with wheels that you steer down a winding slop with some handle bars (not the same as Ice Luging!).   First you do the beginners track (or Scenic track as they call it!), which was cool, but not too fast,  nice and easy all the way down.   So one track....no fatalities as yet!

Da Luge
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So after getting the chair lift back to the top of the hill, we headed for the intermeddiate track. Which is more winding and alot quicker......  You can really fly down it, a right laugh it is!!  After getting to the bottom we waited for phil (cos his luge broke down!), then headed back to the top again.

2 runs, no mishaps, so obviously this qualified us to attempt the adavanced track!  So we went flying down the advanced track (which is really bloody quick), and all was going well, till I took a corner too quickly and slid off the track onto the grass.....luckily the grass slows them alot  or I'd have been taking a shortcut via a cliff!!!  (dont worry mum it was only a small cliff ;)  )      I got back on the track and headed down to the bottom, making sure I slowed for the corners a bit more!

More Luge!
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So not much of a mishap, but I was determined to make it down the advanced track all the way without running off the track.  So we headed to the top and headed off again.  This time Bobby was leading the way (i'd been infront on all the other runs).   Big mistake.   Cos I wasnt first from the start I felt I needed to try and at least get close to overtaking.....and I nearly did it!!!    Nearly.    I was bombing along...i musta been going at least 10,000 miles an hour, I got round the corner i had come off last time, and was going down a really quick  straight.....again my braking wasnt   quick enough before the next bend, but likely (or unluckily) this bend had a barrier......,   which I managed to put a hole in I crashed into it so hard!!   I was vaulted up, but my legs hit the handle bars so amazingly I ended up on my feet, albeit with a bloody big bruise on my leg!!    It was still a laugh though, just the fact I'd put a hole in the barrier.  Anyhow, I got back on my luge and headed down the track again making it to the bottom to find Booby and Phil pissing themselves!!

Phil on the Luge
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So after using our last run on the Scenic track (i didnt trust myself anymore on the advanced one), we headed back down the mountain and into town to get a bite to eat.....fish and chips....Mmmmm!

After that it was a case of dropping Phil back to his hostel, and then doing the 1 1/2 drive to Taupo (toe-paw it's pronounced).

We arrived in Taupo quite late on, checked into a hostel  (2 nightsin a row in a tent didnt seem a very nice idea!),  then headed downstairs to the Irish bar below, because we had some cheap drink vouchers.   We got chatting to an Aussie bloke, Rob, who was in our room, and we just chilled with a couple of beers, had some grub, then went off and finished yesterdays bottle of Vodka on the hostel balcony.

The SkySwing
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It was a pretty early night in the end, after a pretty tiring day.

I love Luging!

**will add photies ASAP