Allison with Whakapapa (pronounced Fakapapa) in the background on the N.E. slopes of Mt. Ruapehu on the North Island of New Zealand. The large blue roofed building behind Allison is the Grand Chateau. We wanted to stay there, but it was completely booked. We stayed at the Skotel, visible on the far left ("T" shaped white roof). We had a room with a great view (between the clouds and fog) down the slopes of Mt. Ruapehu. Our goal was to get to the snow for Christmas. We could see it, but not touch the snow. High winds limited our outdoor activity to short Hikes. We stopped at Waitomo (New Zealand) to visit the caves. There are over 400 caves in a few square miles. Sink holes everywhere. A spelunkers dream. Allison had never rappelled before, so we did a 100 meter rappel. I was impressed with their safety sense, the gear and the rappel setup. They could rappel 8 people at once. They move a lot of people through this cave every day. We also visited a glow worm cave. The glow worms are quite spectacular.
