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Paying to Climb Into a Washing Machine

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That’s what it felt like. Like getting into a washing machine.After leaving Wellington and heading north we had a bit of time to look around in Rotorua. I wanted to try Zorbing.After watching some videos and hearing everyone talking about it, Zorbing was definitely something on the New Zealand to-do list.  I had gone through Rotorua on the way south but the weather was horrible so I decided to wait until I was going north.Out of a bus load of people, Russell and I wanted to go. I’m not sure if everyone else was scared or were trying to save money. We got our certificates printed up, changed into our swim suits and headed on up the hilll in a ragged old 4×4.There are 2 runs down that you can choose from. One is straight and wide and the zorb gets moving a faster on the way down this one. The other one that I did zig-zagged down the hill and ended up in the same place as the straight one.The Zorb guy topped up the ball with some air and then shot a bunch of warm water into it. He turns to me and says run and dive in. Really? Ok!  After diving through the small hole in the side and feeling like a fish in a hamster ball, he zipped up the cover and opened the gate.I heard a tap on the outside of the ball so I was ready to go. Moving the ball is not as easy at it looks. I threw all my weight at the downhill side of the ball and I was off.My original plan was to try and stay standed up the entire ride. I had heard it was really hard to do and you find yourself on your ass as soon as you start moving. It was damn near impossible! I gave a couple of pushes in the right direction and then I was down. The Zorb gained some speed down the first stretch and then launched up and hit the fence in the corner. Both the water and I were up in the air. I came down first. The water decided to as well but in the general vicinity of my face.The rest of the way down I felt like I was stuck in a washing machine. I couldn’t tell which way was up. The water was sloshing around like crazy and up and over me. I couldn’t stop laughing the entire way down but in doing so ended up with a bunch of water in my mouth ever corner with all the water flying around.Coming to a stop at the bottom they unzipped the cover, snapped a couple photos and then I slid out feet first. I was lucky to land on my feet on the way out, most don’t. They come flying out with all the water and land on their ass.I had no idea what to expect going to Zorb. It ended up being one of the most fun things I’ve done on my trip and I’m definitely glad I went.[gmap]