Tongariro National Park
July 29th
On Friday afternoon, after Scott finished school for the week (yes... in case you forgot, Scott does go to school here), we packed up Bertie and were on the road to Tongariro National Park. From Hamilton, it is about 210k, which took about 2 hours and 45 mins. It was a really nice scenic drive on some more very narrow, winding roads. We are starting to get used to the roads a bit more, but not quite used to the Kiwi drivers yet. They like to tail gate so close you can't even see their headlights anymore.
At 5:45pm, we made it to the Mangahuia campground where we spent the first night. The sun was setting fast, so we started making dinner. By the time we were ready to eat, it was dark and raining. Bertie provided a pretty good shelter while we ate.
July 30th
In the morning we woke up to frosted windows inside and out. But we stayed warm throughout the night. We made breakfast and headed off to Mt Ruapehu, the highest point on the North Island.
But through the clouds, we could see a glimpse of the snow covered peak. This is when Scott began his ski giddiness (all you skiers out there know exactly what I am talking about).
We got up to the parking lot and went inside the lodge to sort out gear and passes. A lift pass for a full day is $95 dollars (!) and the skiable terrain is about the same as 2 chairlifts' worth at Sunshine or Lake Louise. But when else are we ever going to ski on an active volcano right?
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| Beginner Runs |
The runs here are just seams in the rock where enough snow settles to cover all the jagged-ness. The slope is tame, but super variable with ice and then slush in the matter of a few feet. Huge cliffs prevent a really consistent fall-line too.
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| Mid Mountain |
That being said, it was a pretty
incredible experience to ski on a volcano on my birthday. We had brutal visibility for most of the morning, but when thing cleared up a little bit and we could see more of the mountain.
Half of the lifts were closed from the rain, so there wasn't enough to occupy us for more than a few hours. Overall an awesome experience that was totally worth the effort, but not quite like skiing in the Rockies.
After the morning of skiing, we decided we'd go check out some of the attractions in the area that were pointed out on our map. One in particular caught Scott's eye... called the Pillars of Hercules. How could that not be cool? So, off we went, on a hunt for the Pillars of Hercules, with the plan to stop to see whatever else there is along the way.
This resulted in Scott pulling over into the first pull out on the side of the road.
Nikki: What are you doing?
Scott: We said we'd stop at anything there is to see.
Nikki: Uhmmm...A field of cows. Ok. I'll take a picture then.
Then we saw the biggest flock of sheep of our trip so far. It was right outside of the Tongariro-Rangipo Prison. So... why not jump over the fence and start herding them?
Scott: Ohhh... It's the filming of The Hobbit!
Nikki: What!? (snaps a picture...) Is there anyone famous?
Then, we get to the road that we think is going to lead us to the Pillars of Hercules (according to the map). It was a 6km paved road, but no other cars anywhere to be seen. (finally, no one tail gating us). We contemplated turning around, as it appeared to be leading us no where. But we kept saying 'there has got to be something down here or why would they have a paved road'. We got to the end of the pavement, and onto a road that Bert didn't like too much, and then we saw this so we got out and walked:
Not too sure what exactly it is, but we climbed it anyways. It was overlooking a beautiful creek with some stunning views.
Since that was the end of the road, we turned back and came across a sign for the Tree Trunk Gorge Walk, which said it'd only take an hour. Thinking this has got to be the Pillars of Hercules, we put on our hiking boots and off we went.
The path took us on a ridge between two rivers. The path ended at the one river, but with no sign of anything that could possibly resemble the Pillars of Hercules.
On our way back we passed over a bridge over the beautiful Waikato Falls.
We found out after reading the sign that this is a very popular river to go rafting and kayaking. But you must exit before this point. No kidding.
After the slight disappointment in not finding our goal, but feeling satisfied in what we did find at the end of this random road, we made our way to the town of Turangi and stopped at the i-site to ask about where we could camp for the night. This is where we learned that the map we have has the Pillars of Hercules plotted incorrectly. Ahhh man!
The i-site lady also told us we could camp at the marina in nearby Tokaanu for free. Perfect. We had planned to go there anyways to go to the Tokaanu Thermal Pools. We decided to eat before going to the hot springs, so we just pulled out our gear in the parking lot and made some dinner. We did get a few weird looks for that one. After a little soak in the hot springs, we went to find Bertie his home for the night. The marina was right along the south end of Lake Taupo. There were two other campervans there, so we snuggled in for a chilly nights sleep.
July 31st
We woke up in the morning just as the sun was rising. It was probably the coldest we've experienced here so far...maybe got down to -3 overnight. We bundled up and walked down the pier to watch the sun rise. and feed the swans.
We had planned the day before that we were going to do a hike, so we needed to get an early start to the day. The area that we were in has 3 major volcanos, all in a row: Mt. Ruapehu to the south, which is the biggest and most active, Mt. Tongariro to the north, which is the smallest, and Mt. Ngauruhoe in the middle, which is an almost perfect volcanic cone and is what they used for Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings. The hike we wanted to go on was in the saddle between Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe (too tough to type and to say, so we'll just call it Mt. Doom). Sunday was perfectly clear.
Mt. Ruapehu, ski fields are right in the center.
The Tama Lakes are 2 craters caused by eruptions way back when. The hike is 17 km long, but doesn't gain or lose much elevation as it wanders through the ancient lava flow. It starts at the base of Ruapehu and ends at the base of Mt. Doom.
Mt. Doom, from the start of the hike. Mt. Tongariro to the left and in the background.
It was a tough day to dress for. The air temperature was right around freezing or just below; the sky was clear and the sun was very intense and warm; the wind was strong at times and very harsh. There was a lot of time spent putting on and taking off layers throughout the day. Anyways, about an hour into the hike there was a small cliff band and Taranaki Falls.
The path was well-maintained and easy to keep a good pace on. A tall, jagged ridge separates Lower Tama lake from Upper Tama lake, which you can see on the right side of this picture (about half-way to the lakes):
We had lunch at the lower lake, and then started up the scree slope to the ridgline.
The top of the ridge was right around the snow-line for elevation, plus it was right beside the snow-covered Mt. Doom, so it was pretty cold up there. Toques and fleece jackets for sure. There were amazing views from the ridge of all the mountains and both lakes. The following pictures are from the summit of the hike.
But what's better than panoramic pictures? Panoramic pictures while KUNG FU FIGHTING!!
Bow to your opponent. Lower Tama lake, and Ruapehu in the background
Ready stance. Mt. Doom in all its glory.
FIGHT!
Bitter defeat.
The contest lasted only seconds, as a swift kick to the nuts proved fatal for one of the combatants.
After a victory dance and high-fives all round, we started making our way back to Albert. We clocked in at around 5 hours for the hike, had a good stretch and made our way back to Hamilton. The adventure for this coming weekend has not been decided yet, so tune in next week for more hiking, high-fives, and martial arts.
P.S. No testicles were actually harmed in the making of this blog.
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