Rock Climbing...

What a fun things to do!!!! I love rock climbing. I'd never done it before coming to New Zealand, even indoor rock climbing, so it was a total adventure. We first learned how to rock climb indoors and that was neat. The very first time I went climbing, I loved the feeling of getting to the top and feeling so accomplished. It was a little bit scary to be so up high at the same time, but it's getting better as time goes on and I go climbing more and more. We had a lot of chances to go climbing both indoors and outdoors. The first time we went outdoors we actually didn't go climbing, but we were abseiling instead. That is what they call rappelling here. It was a very interesting experience for sure, because first of all it was pouring rain, pretty much the whole time we were at Bluff (where we went to go abseil). This was another first and was terrifying for me. Basically what you have to do is lean back over a cliff, step over the edge and hope that your rope will hold you. Then you walk down a cliff face. The hardest part is when you very first step over the cliff and you have to keep leaning backwards. It was also kinda scary because it was rainy and windy. The view was beautiful though because the cliff overlooked the ocean. Rock climbing is awesome though. I really love it because it's not a lot about physical strength (although that does help at moments) but it's a lot about problem solving. You have to figure out which holds to use, and how to use them, and the best way to get up the wall. It's really interesting because you can switch the way that your body is against the wall or just move one hand or one foot to a different hold and it gives you the leverage to get up the wall. It's very interesting, and much more complicated than I ever thought. Dave - Rock climbing instructor

I really want to continue to do it back home, which is nice because rock climbing is huge in Utah so it won't even be hard to do. Oh. The only bad thing about it is that no matter what you do climbing harnesses are just not attractive. Pretty much makes anyone's butt look huge.
Dave and Curtis - Our awesome teachers. I love these guys!!