At the start of the summer season a group decision was made to throw the summer staff a farewell for their long hard efforts of the summer months, (seen as they seem to miss out on all the other staff activities during the year social club events and xmas party etc). Anthea and Shannan decided to take the responsibility upon themselves and organize a little something with a catch, they decided to make it a surprise trip for everyone.

They just gave us this list of what to bring  
What we need to bring :
Towel - check
Toiletries - check
Spending money - check
Sporting attire - check
Swimming attire - check 
Casual change for dinner - check

We were all meant to meet at Taihape B.P 9a.m on the dot but as usual the organizers of the Summer Mystery Trip (Shannan and Anthea) were running late. Once they finally arrived about 40 mins later we were given our small briefing on the trip and some camouflage face paint and everyone was to don the paint for our first activity, we all pilled in the vehicles and were on our way.

It actually wasn’t long at all before our first stop, Waiouru Army Museum. It was the first time for some of the staff and we were in for a bit of a treat. Once we got inside we were introduced to Nicola Bennett the Marketing Manager of the Army Museum and Mark Hayes who is the Educational Officer for the museum and they both spoke to us about the history of the museum and some of the training the soldiers of the NZ Army have to go though in the early days of joining the forces. Once the introductions were over were given a helmet and an army uniform each and we were taken for a bumpy ride through the Ngamatea Swamp at the back of the museum in a M458 Armored Personnel Carrier which was awesome fun. After the ride we all headed inside to have a bit of a look around the museum which had a lot of info about various stuff from the New Zealand Wars in the 1880s to World War 2. After about 40mins of looking around we were on the road again and heading to our next destination.

Next stop was Turangi and Burger King for a quick lunch break and then (to what we thought was our next activity) Tongariro River Rafting, but only for a bit of a hello to the crew and then we were on our way to our actual destination Tokaanu Thermal Pools for a dip and a bit of a relax. After a few competitions of holding your breath under water and some synchronized swimming from the girls we decided to keep on keeping on to the next location.

After a bit more driving, listening to Steph and her constant hassling for information on the where about we were actually going and a bit of shut eye for Tremaine (who was crashed out in the back seat) we finally arrived at our final resting place for the evening Taupo. First stop in Taupo was one of high recommendation from the staff, with thirst on everyones mind some kind of beverage had to be organized for them or they would have started to get restless so the bottle store for a quick stop before we got to our place of residence for the evening Lake Taupo Top 10 Holiday Park. With everything you could think of here that would keep the family entertained from a Giant Jumping Pillow, Basketball and Tennis Courts and Trampolines for the kiddies and for adults Pedal Go-Karts, Thermally Heated Swimming Pool, Sky Room with 42inch LCD TV. After getting settled into our rooms we had a couple of beverages and proceeded to our next activity.

Rapids Jet, with there 500 horse powered 496 Chevy V8 engine which is connected to a Hamilton 212 jet engine took us for one hell of a ride up and down the Awa Purua rapids and Gazza (our driver) even gave us a bit of a history lesson about the Aratiatia Scenic Reserve. After an awesome ride and getting absolutely soaked thanks to Jimmy (who was driving the other boat) we hoped off the boat and shot up to the office to look at the photos of the ride. Once the coldness and hunger started to set in we then we headed back into to town to get all cleaned up and stared to get ready for dinner. Back at the holiday park we were joined by Nick and Mel and had a couple of hours to waste so all went down the tennis court and volleyball grounds and had a few team games before getting ready.

Once we were all ready to go we headed to town and went to Element where Scott,Vanessa and some of the Taupo Bungy crew (Daz and George) were waiting for us. After some poker, dinner and a few drinks at element we headed back to the Holiday Park for some much needed r & r for the drive home the next morning.
All in all a lot of fun was had by all staff that attended & heres hoping it wont be the last.

Thats all for now
Peace