River Valley and Wellington...

After 2 nights in Taupo we set off to River Valley stopping off on the way to take a walk through the Tongariro National Park getting a closer look at mount doom and after a picnic lunch we got back on the bus and arrived at River Valley later in the afternoon. The bus pulled up at a spot in the middle of nowhere, we piled our bags onto the back of a pickup truck and had to walk down a huge hill to our accommodation for the night. It was a lovely little place run by some strange but lovely people. We were in a 32 bed dorm which we were all curious as to how it would be, I don't think anyone expected what we saw when we entered the room, it was like a giant bunk bed with no real separation from anyone. We had a wander around the place, it was really pretty. We were completely secluded at the bottom of a valley right next to a river. The only way to get across the river provided some entertainment, there was no bridge just a sort of wooden seat on a pulley system. That night we had some drinks in the main room of the place we were staying and after quite a few games of giant jenga most of us went to bed soon realising that no one would be getting any sleep but it was one of the funniest nights I had had. The next morning a few people went off on a horse ride, others went white water rafting whilst me and a few other people thought we would try out yoga. I had had a few yoga classes years ago and had forgotten how hard it was and how funny it is especially when during our relaxation part at the end of the session when everyone was silent a bird decided to commit suicide by flying into the window with a huge thud leading to yet more giggles. After a relaxing morning it was back to the bus to head to New Zealand's capital city, Wellington.
It was Easter weekend so New Zealand had kind of shut down and as we arrived at our hostel pretty late we didn't really get to see any of Wellington. The hostel we were staying at opened its bar for guests only and as this was the last night for some of our group we went out for some drinks and said our goodbyes to those not coming with us to the South Island.