Making Memories

Chapter 38

Before we go rappelling, I thought it'd be nice if we swam with dolphins. A calming activity before the heart pounding, scary one. I woke Woods up early so we could go see as many dolphins as possible. We get onto the boat and in the bottom of it, we change into our swimwear. It has a tail to attract the dolphins. The boat drives away from the dock and into the middle of the ocean. I can see the dolphins swimming and jumping out of the water. I take a couple pictures so I could remember this.

The captain of the boat told us it's safe to go into the water. Woods and I fall back, holding hands, and into the water. I have a go-pro in my hand, and so does Woods. We swim around and within five minutes, a whole pod of dolphins is surrounding me. I swim downward to see the whole pod. I really want to pet, but they advised us not to touch the dolphins. I hear the clicking of dolphins. They're truly a beautiful animal. It's a shame that poachers kill these amazing animals.

I spot Woods and swim over to him.
"So, what do you think?" I asked.
"This is beautiful." Woods said.
"Agreed." I said.
"It's time to get back on the boat, c'mon." Woods said.
"Okay." I said.
I follow Woods behind him. We watch  the dolphins as we head back to the docks. When we get back to shore. We have to go to our hotel, then head out to Abel Tasman National Park at South Island. We get a boat back to South Island, then another boat to Abel Tasman. We arrive and were advised to wear clothing that we don't mind getting wet, then have a wet suit for the whole thing.

We arrive at Abel Tasman and meet our professional guide. His name is Gunner Dean. He has messy dirty blonde hair and greenish blue eyes. We shake his hand and we begin our adventure. It's time to get started. Gunner gives us a lesson on abseiling and what to expect on this journey. Not only will there be abseiling, but also jumping, sliding, and swimming through the river that runs through the canyon. This has me pumped as I've never done something like this. Woods is excited, but also a little nervous, which I understand. This stuff is scary.

We get to our first cliff to abseil down. It's about 20 feet, so it's good for beginners. Woods and I successfully abseil down our first cliff. We continue on, following Gunner to our next place. This is one of the jumping ones. We'll be jumping off a 40 feet cliff into deep water. We drop our backpacks down there first. Good thing they float. Then, we have chuck our ropes over to the rock in front of the pool of water. Woods goes first, jumping off the cliff and splashing into the water. I go next and fall into the slightly cool water. Okay, scratch that, it's not cool, it's cold. I'm shivering as I resurface. I spot Woods and swim over to him. He told me to sit on the rock to drive off for a few seconds before we continue. We put our rope in our backpack, then we have to swim to the other side of the pool. Carrying this heavy rope on our backs makes it difficult to swim, but we make it over. Gunner told us that we did a great job. Then, we continue.

We reach our next abseil cliff. This one is 60 feet. I clip on the rope and let myself go down slowly. I find spaces to fit my toes into so I'm not free falling. I take little breaks in between to warm up my hands. Did I mention that the rocks are also a bit slippery because of how wet it is in this rain forest? Well, that makes it harder to get a good grip on the rock. On top of that, I don't have the best grip strength, but I do my best. I get to the bottom and walk through the narrow alleyway. Woods follows right behind me. Now, for the fun part: the sliding.
"I'm just gonna do a little butt scoot." Woods said.
"Me too, but I think my suit is wet enough to just slide down, so is the rock." I said.
"I mean, you're not wrong." Woods said.
"Do it however you please." Gunner said.

We slide down the rock, making sure not to fall onto our faces. Knowing me, I'd be the first one to do so. I'm literally so clumsy that it would happen to me. Anyway, we go to our last jump before the gigantic 200 feet abseil down to the bottom of the canyon. There's no way but down from here, so here goes nothing. Every time I do something that has to do with heights, I always have to tell myself: don't think about how high it is, just jump, close your eyes, open your eyes, and realize you're still alive. We jump off the 198 feet cliff, very carefully because we have no supports. We land into the deep water. I see some fish swimming around and try to catch one.
"Babe, please keep going. It is absolutely freezing in here." Woods says, shivering.
"Okay, fine. I was just trying to catch a fish." I said.
"You can do that elsewhere. I'm just trying to get this over with." Woods said.
"Me too, I'm going, have patience." I said.
"Okay." Woods said.

We swim out of the water and make the trek up to the last giant cliff. I look down, big mistake. I scream for a short time. That is SO high. I don't think I can do this. I take a step back from the edge of the cliff. Woods reassures me that if I had done all the other ones, then I can do this one. If I stay calm, everything will be okay. Woods gives me a tight hug, then kisses me.
"You've got this babe. I'll be right behind you." Woods said.
"Okay." I said, nodding my head.

I clip myself to the rope that is said to save my life if I mess up. I've relied on through this entire endeavor, so this better work for this. I trust the high grade rope, so let's just get this over with. It'll be quick and easy. Or at least I hope. I climb down slowly because I really don't want to mess up. I take moments to rest to warm my hands. When I feel my feet touch the water at the bottom, I take a huge breathe of relief. My heart is pounding out of my chest. I did it! I did something that really scared me and conquered it. I see Woods climbing down and cheer him on.
"Yes, Woods. You've got it, you're almost there!" I exclaim.
"This is so scary!" Woods exclaims.
"I know, but it only lasts a few minutes!" I exclaim.
"Okay!" Woods exclaims.

He reaches the bottom, unhooks himself, and practically runs into my arms. He spins me around and hugs me tightly. We did that. We abseiled down a giant canyon. To celebrate, Woods and I start making out. We don't even care that Gunner is walking toward us to congratulate us.
"Right you love bugs. You did that. Congratulations, you are now considered abseiling masters. If you did that, then you can do anything." Gunner said.
"Yeah, thanks so much Gunner. You've been the best guide." Woods said.
"Thanks, Gunner. We had a lot of fun out there, even though we were scared out of our minds." I said.
"It's no problem. I hope you folk have a lovely rest of your time in New Zealand. Happy marriage to you." Gunner said.
"Thanks, you have fun too. We'll see you around." Woods said.

As soon as we got back onto the water taxi, we hit 'follow' on Gunner's page so we could keep in touch. Today has been amazing. From swimming with dolphins to the terrifying act of abseiling. Now, tomorrow morning we go back home. I can't wait to tell Sam and Cat all about this. They'll love to hear about all the things we did. I miss them a lot. Spending a week in a new country is a lot of fun, but it's about time we see our friends and family again. New Zealand, you were fun. Woods and I are out.