Day Unknown - New Zealand Catchup

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Tuesday 6th Dec

We leave the Marae early, again, and head to Rotorua. Some people have signed up for zorbing and a small number for skydiving. I wish I had it in me (and my bank account) to do a skydive but I chicken out and go for a visit to the geothermal village in Rotorua instead, finding myself with the same group as in the caves at Waitomo. A great surprise.

Whakarewarewa is an incredible place. A tourist trap, granted, but also very interesting. It's an inhabited village that every 2-3m has active geysers and hot pools...some really hot pools that reach up to 340degrees Celsius. Steam rises up through the streets and swirls around the houses. We get to eat some corn, cooked in the hangi (hot pool oven). Unfortunately we didn't get to see too much of Rotorua as this truly is a whistle stop tour of New Zealand and so we don't really have enough time to get a real feel for anywhere. Stray just tends to drop us off at expensive activity centers along the way so that's often all we see.

We head to Taupo and to the Urban Retreat hostel. I like Taupo instantly. It's a fairly large town by New Zealand standards but is right on the edge of the lake Taupo which, as I understand it, is bigger than Singapore! Taupo has a very chilled feel to it. There are very few people.

Nikau and Sarah, from Australia, offered to spend another night in Taupo with me to keep me company. The following day i was supposed to go white water rafting but the company it's arranged with screw up the booking and so it doesn't come off. But I end up kayaking down the Waikato river with Nikau and Sarah instead. I say kayaking but it ends up being more of a gentle float downstream than the demanding kayaking trip that we were looking for. But it was a beautiful day and the scenery is second to none. We stop off at the hot waterfall for a bathe before carrying on downstream.

Wednesday 7th Nov

We leave early, again, and head for the National Park where we get off the bus and are immediately thrust into the famous Tongariro Crossing, which is rated one of the top ten walks in the world. It's 19.5km up and down a number of visibly active volcanoes and we are reminded of this as hot steam escapes from the earth all around us and at points along the way, the ground is incredibly hot.

We walk under the omnipresent Ruapehu, otherwise known to Lord of the Rings enthusiasts as Mount Doom. Smoke seeps from its peak. On the first stretch I begin to think to myself that this is madness. My fitness levels are pretty poor and today I feel it. This was even before we began the first ascent. By the time we get to the second crater I'm exhausted but in complete awe of this fantastic place. However, by the time we start the final descent, I'm so over the scenery and kinda just want to be finished.

The last leg of the journey is marked by milestone signs but each kilometer seems to take ten times longer than it should. When we finally complete the trail, I look back at what we have achieved and I feel pretty pleased with myself. It's funny to think that I almost didn't do the crossing as it really was one of those incredible memories that will stay with me forever. Not just because the surroundings were so completely awe inspiring but because it was such a personal achievement. The fact that I shared the experience with great friends just adds to it. We stay in a great hostel tonight with a single bed (not a creaky bunk) and I have the best nights sleep in a long time.

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