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Published: April 8th 2010
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Hi folks!
Its certainly been awhile since our last blog. I guess its true time flies when your having fun.
In the middle of February, Jane and Cecil (Carla's rents/Nicks in-laws) came to New Zealand for 10 days. We picked them up at the airport and showed them around the city. Then we took them back to Tauranga where they stayed and explored the area for 5 days. Activities included going to the beach, showing them around the Mount / Tauranga, and a wine tour. They even did the kiwifruit tour in Te Puke. The last night we went to a Maori Village to learn more about the history and culture of the Maori people and eat a traditional hangi (feast they prepare with rocks in the ground)
Heading to Taupo for a Place to Live and Work
We arrived in Taupo worked for a day and spent Saturday looking for somewhere to live. We found a place to live that was not in a tent! The house is outside of town and is on 10 acres of land. We live with 5 others who are all kiwi and great to live with!
Our
work is painting pipe stands at a geothermal power plant. We had to get a picture of Carla in a hard hat and work boots just to prove it actually happened.
Adventures in Taupo
On a our days off from working we climbed Taupo's Mount Tauhara. Its bit bigger than Mount Maunganui as it is 1088m from sea level and the Mount was only 232! The walk starts out in a farmers pasture and ascends quickly uphill. Next you walk through the thick forest where you are walking over tree roots and lots of rocks. Once at the top, the view was amazing and we could even see Tongariro Crossing as it was such a clear day.
Other activities included going to Craters of the Moon Geothermal Walk, The Volcanic Activity Centre and the Honey Hive. The Craters of the Moon walk takes you through bubbling craters, mud pools and steam vents. You can also see interesting plants that have adapted in the hot, steamy conditions. Next we went to the Volcanic Centre to learn all about earthquakes and volcanic activities in the region as Lake Taupo is actually a big crater, like
Mount Doom
in the morning light 616 km^2. We even got to experience what an earthquake feels like with the earthquake simulator.
To end the day off we went and learned all about bees and honey! There were over 10 types of honey that we tasted and a couple of honey wines as well.
The Epic Crossing
We were thrilled to learn that we had Good Friday off so we took the opportunity and did the Tongariro Crossing. The day was absolutely perfect as there was not a cloud in the sky and not a breath of wind.
We woke up at 5:00 am and packed up and drove an hour to the starting point. We got on the track at 8:09 am. The Crossing is 19.4 km from the Mangetepopo Hut in the South to the Ketetahi Hut at the Northern end of the track. It starts at 1100m and climbs to the Devil's Staircase, which is nearly as hellish as it sounds. At the top of the staircase you're at 1650m and the base of Mt. Ngaurahoe (Mt. Doom for Lord of the Rings movie fans). The summit is 2291m and the climb is through loose ash and
Emerald Lakes
Lakes that you see during the trek sharp pumice boulders. It took about 1hr and 45 min to reach the summit, then about 30 min to run down because once you start going in the soft ash you just keep picking your feet up and hope you don't catch a boulder.
After the summit, the track rises to the top of Red Crater at 1850m. From there the track winds down another ashen slope to the Emerald Lakes. At the bottom of each ash heap you spend about 15 min dumping sand out of your shoes and socks, unless you wore boots and gaiters. After the Emerald Lakes there is a long flat section before you climb up to the Blue Lake. From the top of the Blue Lake, its all downhill, literally and figuratively. The last 3km of the track really feel like they just go on forever as its quite flat and winds through typical North Island jungle. There were at least several beautiful water falls in the stream along the track.
All in all it took us 8.5 hrs to complete the track. It was a great day and we got lots of pictures, most of which we got on Facebook.
Heading
on to Wellington
Tomorrow we'll be heading out of Taupo to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand and the southern most point of the North Island. We'll be getting a bit of a tour from our flatmates sister who lives in their. Then we will take the ferry across to the South Island.
Cheers!
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mom
non-member comment
OMG
I can't believe you guys climbed this !! good for you, no wonder why you were exhausted and needed a day to rest. Have fun in Windy Wellington and your adventures to the south island. I can't wait to see pics of the south. Take care, chat soon. love ya's Mom. ps, thanks for the FB pics, I still haven't loaded mine on, but stay tuned. speaking of windy, it 80-100km winds here tonite and lots of snow forcasted for Meadow Lake/PA area so you are not missing a thing !