*The Tongariro Crossing (aka How to Give Rachel and Terry a Heart Attack)
Well, you already caught up with the end of the South Island tour, as we met up a few times with the other group. Kayaking was a blast, the stroll was neat. Unfortunately we didn't really get to sail - mostly motored back to the final beach. But it was neat to jump into the ocean a couple of times. And I maintain that the second time jumping in was not as cold as the first time. Maybe the bay was a little warmer, or I was just excited about swimming to Split Apple Rock.
After we parted ways on Sunday, we walked back to our campervan to find one of our headlights had burnt out. It was only one bulb on one side (each side has two), but we went to two gas stations and were unable to find the correct bulb. Then we decided to just continue on and deal with the light bulb the next day. We drove until about 11:00 and then stopped at a campground for the night. Since we were out fairly early the next morning, we never did see the caretakers, but just left our payment under the door.
Monday we continued North to Tongariro National Park. This has three main mountains in a circle, two of which are active volcanoes. It includes the volcano that was Mordor in Lord of the Rings. This area include New Zealand's most popular day trek, which claims to last 7-8 hours. Halfway through the trek, at the top of the mountain are the emerald pools, left behind by the volcano to reflect vibrant colors. As we started the journey, I half-jokingly told Terry and Rachel that I wanted to walk the whole crossing. About 45 minutes later I had left them and was heading up the mountain at a slightly quicker pace. The crossing is such that we had about an hour and a half walk where it rose only about one hundred feet, followed by a short stretch where we climbed up the mountain. I was able to look out from further up that stretch and see them climbing the bottom. Thankfully I got a little bit of a rest on walking across a plateau, which Rachel and Terry also crossed a little later. It was amazing to look around throughout the whole journey and picture how the volcano had formed the area around it. There were fields of volcanic rock in various formations. The plateau was a muddy substance, yet I could tell it was from the volcano. After the plateau there were two more inclines, with a smaller plateau between them. I summitted a couple of the lower mountains, not any of the main three in a row. At that point, I almost turned back, but I wasn't sure how far Rachel and Terry were going, and if I would be able to meet up with them. The wind at the top was very strong, and there was almost no protection from the mountain. Not only that, but it was more like volcanic dust that I was climbing up, which gave no grip. But there were some views from the top that were definitely worth it. I got to see what they call red crater, a gorgeous deep red fading to black valley inside the mountain. Shortly after that I reached the highest point and was able to see the emerald pools below me. They were pretty, but nothing compared to the blue pools and other pure water we had seen on the south island. The initial descent was very scary, as I was descending very steeply on volcanic dust or snow. After that, however, the path was very smooth. The descent was either an easy grade or there were steps cut into the path. The distance I descended was about twice as deep, and twice as long as the ascent. Shortly after I passed the pools I met up with a guy from Germany who was heading the same way. His girlfriend was waiting for him at a hut halfway down the descent. We walked to the hut together, which was enjoyable. We spoke a mixture of German and English. The descent was interesting because I could see most of the trail ahead of me, whereas the ascent twisted around a lot. All in all, I travelled 17 km in 6 hours, and I don't remember the height, but it was specatcular. Terry and Rachel did the first climb and got across the main plateau before they turned back.
After picking me up on the other end, we came North the Taupo. We stopped for dinner at Hell Pizza, very interesting restaurant/marketing. They have everything fit the theme, including phone numbers. The pizza boxes were also quite interesting. They have a tear-out box within the main pizza box that is smaller for leftovers. The campground we stayed at last night just happened to be attatched to the Taupo Hot Springs, which we got a discount into. After yesterday's exertion, we thoroughly enjoyed spending an hour this morning in the different temperature pools, ranging from 17 C to 42 C.
We hope to get the opportunity to explore some Maori culture today or tomorrow.
Hope you all are doing well!
Serena (and Terry and Rachel)
After we parted ways on Sunday, we walked back to our campervan to find one of our headlights had burnt out. It was only one bulb on one side (each side has two), but we went to two gas stations and were unable to find the correct bulb. Then we decided to just continue on and deal with the light bulb the next day. We drove until about 11:00 and then stopped at a campground for the night. Since we were out fairly early the next morning, we never did see the caretakers, but just left our payment under the door.
Monday we continued North to Tongariro National Park. This has three main mountains in a circle, two of which are active volcanoes. It includes the volcano that was Mordor in Lord of the Rings. This area include New Zealand's most popular day trek, which claims to last 7-8 hours. Halfway through the trek, at the top of the mountain are the emerald pools, left behind by the volcano to reflect vibrant colors. As we started the journey, I half-jokingly told Terry and Rachel that I wanted to walk the whole crossing. About 45 minutes later I had left them and was heading up the mountain at a slightly quicker pace. The crossing is such that we had about an hour and a half walk where it rose only about one hundred feet, followed by a short stretch where we climbed up the mountain. I was able to look out from further up that stretch and see them climbing the bottom. Thankfully I got a little bit of a rest on walking across a plateau, which Rachel and Terry also crossed a little later. It was amazing to look around throughout the whole journey and picture how the volcano had formed the area around it. There were fields of volcanic rock in various formations. The plateau was a muddy substance, yet I could tell it was from the volcano. After the plateau there were two more inclines, with a smaller plateau between them. I summitted a couple of the lower mountains, not any of the main three in a row. At that point, I almost turned back, but I wasn't sure how far Rachel and Terry were going, and if I would be able to meet up with them. The wind at the top was very strong, and there was almost no protection from the mountain. Not only that, but it was more like volcanic dust that I was climbing up, which gave no grip. But there were some views from the top that were definitely worth it. I got to see what they call red crater, a gorgeous deep red fading to black valley inside the mountain. Shortly after that I reached the highest point and was able to see the emerald pools below me. They were pretty, but nothing compared to the blue pools and other pure water we had seen on the south island. The initial descent was very scary, as I was descending very steeply on volcanic dust or snow. After that, however, the path was very smooth. The descent was either an easy grade or there were steps cut into the path. The distance I descended was about twice as deep, and twice as long as the ascent. Shortly after I passed the pools I met up with a guy from Germany who was heading the same way. His girlfriend was waiting for him at a hut halfway down the descent. We walked to the hut together, which was enjoyable. We spoke a mixture of German and English. The descent was interesting because I could see most of the trail ahead of me, whereas the ascent twisted around a lot. All in all, I travelled 17 km in 6 hours, and I don't remember the height, but it was specatcular. Terry and Rachel did the first climb and got across the main plateau before they turned back.
After picking me up on the other end, we came North the Taupo. We stopped for dinner at Hell Pizza, very interesting restaurant/marketing. They have everything fit the theme, including phone numbers. The pizza boxes were also quite interesting. They have a tear-out box within the main pizza box that is smaller for leftovers. The campground we stayed at last night just happened to be attatched to the Taupo Hot Springs, which we got a discount into. After yesterday's exertion, we thoroughly enjoyed spending an hour this morning in the different temperature pools, ranging from 17 C to 42 C.
We hope to get the opportunity to explore some Maori culture today or tomorrow.
Hope you all are doing well!
Serena (and Terry and Rachel)
Labels: *, serenissima
posted by serenissima @ 11:25 AM
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