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Published: March 15th 2005
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One of Emerald Lakes
Well worth the climb. Nearly. Apologies for the delay in updating - have been on the move for a while now and am getting behind. May have to do this in stages but here's the latest:
Taupo - River Valley
Because the weather was not so good on my third day in Taupo the walk I was supposed to go on was canceled and I had to hang around until the following day. Not such a bad thing - I caught up on some laundry and sleeping which were both sorely needed.
The Tongariro Crossing is one of the country's 5 Great Walks, and the only one in the North Island; it came highly recommended, hence the decision to stay an extra two days rather than head off straight away. It is in the Tongariro National Park, about 2 hours drive from Taupo, and leads you through lava flows, crater floors, geothermic areas, past stunning emerald lakes and gives panoramic views of the whole park. It's 17km and takes a round 7 hours to do on a clear day you can see for miles. Plus you get to walk right past Mount Doom - you can even go up it if you want.
Well above the clouds
At the top of the Devil's Staircase So, an early start to avoid the crowds - the bus picked me up at 5.40am - and I was well away by 8.30. The second half of the walk is all downhill and fairly gentle but, obviously, this means that the first bit is uphill. Very. The guide leaflet describes it as a 'gentle' ascent to a steeper climb known as The Devil's Staircase. It's called that because it's clearly an extension of Hell itself - good 45 minute climb straight up, with steps as tall as your thigh. I have never felt so unfit. Once you get to the top though you get to walk across the crater of one of the many volcanoes that litter the center of the North Island - a bit like crossing a desert, although at this point you are level with the clouds so you can see them in the distance.
Another steep climb, not as long as the first but without the benefit of any big rocks to act as stairs and you reach the Red Crater. The walls of the crater are banded red and black and the fumaroles belch out steam. So says the guide book. I
wasn't looking myself because, up until this point - even with the aforementioned climbs, call me simple if you like - it hadn't occurred to me that we were on a mountain. I don't know why. Anyway, to get round the crater you have to walk along the Red Ridge which goes around it. This comprises a path about 2 metres wide with the canyon on the right and the side of the mountain on the left. There was a strong wind blowing in across the canyon and I seriously thought I was going to have to turn back. The only thing stopping me really was the possibility of losing all self respect as I passed toddlers and the elderly on their merry way up. So, with my eyes fixed firmly on my feet and my hands like blinkers around my face I had to just power up the hill as fast as I could. A German couple took pity on me somewhere near the top and held my hand all the way up. The guy was built like a brick so I felt a little better - nothing short of a hurricane was going to knock him down. The
The rock slide down the other side
If you look carefully, the coloured dots are people as they slide, fall, roll down the mountainside. If you listen closely, you can hear them screaming. other side was a rock slide basically, ankle-deep soft gravel that carried you down the mountainside, desperately trying to stay vertical, never forgetting that a drop into oblivion lay less than 6ft away. Forget skydiving, this is EASILY the most terrifying thing I have done so far. I'm going to get "You Are Afraid Of Heights" tattooed onto my forearm - I never seem to remember in time to get myself out of these situations. I mean, after the Grand Canyon you'd think I'd have a moment of reflection before signing up.
The rock slide did have its rewards - at the bottom are 3 emerald lakes, so called because of their intense green colour and then begins a 4 hour descent through waterfalls and hills. All very beautiful. It's also at this point that you can break away and go up Mt Doom (not its real name by the way, but I forget what it's really called) but it's pretty much vertical and there's no clear pathway so I thought perhaps I'd give it a miss, as cool as that would have been. Have posted photos but I don't think they really do it justice - they can't
The face of terror
I hope you appreciate the mental battle I had with myself to take this photo halfway down the mountain. Behind me, what looks like the edge of the lake is actually the 200m drop to sweet oblivion. Don't let the smile fool you, I have never been more afraid. capture the sheer enormity of the landscape really, the cliffs and valleys are HUGE.
Feel a great sense of achievement having done it. But I wouldn't do it again if you paid me.
Taupo - River Valley
Finally got back on the bus the next morning and headed to River Valley - a tiny hostel in a steep valley which specialises in white water rafting and horse trekking. Sadly, as there has been very little rain here recently, the water level was too low to raft. Not being particularly horsey either, this was a pretty quiet night. The hostel deserves a mention though for its unique sleeping arrangements - the dorms are basically a plank of wood, the size of 8 matresses, nailed about 2ft off the ground, and another one about 6ft above it. Voila: accommodation for 16. Ingenious.
River Valley - Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and the last stop before you leave the North Island. It's quite a groovy little city with a main street full of bars, cafes and coffee shops where you can (and we did) spend many days.
We rolled in about 6.30pm so there wasn't much
The Red Crater
As seen from a long, long way away time to do any sightseeing the first night. Checked in to the hostel, met a friend, Kathryn, from Fiji and had a quick tour of some of the night spots before turning in.
The next day Kathryn was visiting family so I visited the famous Te Papa museum. It's a bit like the Science museum, very hands-on with rides and an earthquake simulator. Like the museum in Auckland, it looks at everything from a Kiwi point of view, which was very interesting, especially the geology bit - New Zealand, and Wellington in particular, lies right on a major fault line and has suffers frequent minor - and not so minor - tremors. This fault line also accounts for much of the dramatic mountainous scenery you see especially in the South Island, and of course, the volcanoes.
Took the cable car up to the botanical gardens in the afternoon and wandered back into the city through rose gardens and cactus groves.
Tuesday I went skating down by the harbour. The good points about the area are it's flat and well-paved. That's about it. The barriers separating you from the water are about knee height so, far from preventing
you falling into the water, they just ensure that you will go in in an amusing fashion. Plus, the waterside is a windtrap (Wellington is called the Windy City for good reason) so going downhill with the wind behind you sees you going at a fair speed. Only a few hairy moments and I didn't fall over, or in, once.
Rach B arrived in town on the bus that evening so we had dinner together with Kathryn and caught up over a coffee and some cake.
Wednesday Rach and I went for a bit of walk around the quieter parts of the city and checked out another museum down on the water front and that evening we went into town to a bar called Shooters where they were playing an interesting selection of music. Being Wednesday night it wasn't exactly packed but it was nice to be out anyway. A late night probably wasn't the best idea - Rach B was booked on a tour of the city in the morning and I was catching the ferry across the water to the South Island but you can't always think that far ahead. We said our goodbyes (again) after
a very early breakfast and I headed out to explore what the south has to offer.
That's it for now - am actually in Wanaka at the moment and have been in the South Island for about a week, but time is short in the internet cafe I'm in so will have to do that bit later. Hit Queenstown tomorrow, the place we're stopping for a few months and working so am quite excited to finally be in the same place for more then 4 days. Rach will catch up on Thursday and we can start the big flat/job search.
Rach x x x x x
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