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Published: March 8th 2010
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Pass Me The Soap?
Must've made them jump when they were having a bath... Thermal Reserve Park
On the way to Lake Taupo, our travellers stop off at Wai-o-tapu - it's a glorious day. They have high-tailed it (again) to make the 10.15am daily display of the geyser there. Tim's somewhat dissappointed to find that this accurate timing is actually due to a bar of soap being dropped by a demonstrator into the geyser spout rather than some happy accident of volcanic action. Apparently, the soap changes the surface tension and causes two otherwise separate underground pools of water to mix, which must have been bit of a shock to the workers who originally discovered it.
The rest of the park is by no means any less impressive. There are pools and vents all over are coloured by just about every mineral you could imagine and are all different shapes and sizes - the black and grey of the Devil's Ink Pots, the pearl of the Oyster Pool, deep orange and blue of the Champagne Pool. It's well worth a look and unexpectedly impressive - recommended.
The Tongariro Crossing
The reason for coming to Lake Taupo is to attempt what's touted as the best day walk in New Zealand - The
Bird With Geezer
The obligatory turistic shot. Tongariro Crossing, also known to the locals as The Crossing of Death.
Due to probably being as much as 30 seconds late the bus to take our intrepid adventurers to The Crossing goes without them, even though they've booked it. Thankfully there's another run later. The woman who runs it is a total pedant and there's no way it's worth the 55 NZ dollars each. If there's a couple of you in a campervan intending to do this walk then for 110 NZ dollars you could probably rent a second car for the day, drop it off at the end of the walk and then use it to get back to your campervan at the end of the day, all at your own pace. Make sure you give your mobile numbers to where you're staying for safety.
Once that annoyance was out of the way our travellers are at the west end of The Crossing and are very lucky with the weather after what looked like a dodgy start. It really is the iconic walk in this part of the world and no surprises there are a lot of fellow trekkers (another downside in getting the bus is
Ohhh, Stinky!
We got sulphur... that you're then starting with 30 other people).
Sue's not so sure about all this to start with - the trek is about 19km in length with a fair climb of about 800m to put in, however, she manages to manages to get into her stride with the help of her favourite mango flavoured, yoghurt covered liquorice! The hardest stretch turns out to be the Devil's staircase - this shouldn't be too much of big ask after trekking Peru but that all feels a long time ago now. The ascent up the staircase is rather dramatic in the shadow of Mount Ngauruhoe, probably better known as Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. The guide sheet says that the cone of Mount Ngauruhoe/Doom is actually a parasitic cone of Mount Tongariro itself - quite a 'side show'.
The Crossing itself is very well tended to with proper stairs and walkways so while the distance and height might be a challenge it isn't too bad underfoot for most of it - probably done keep walkers on the straight and narrow and not trampling all over the countryside, so it's well-preserved even if it's busy - and it is busy.
Champagne Pool
It's even more amazing than it looks - and a lucky to have a great day for it. Another motivator for arranging an alterntive to a bus is that you don't start out with 30 other people at the same time.
The high level of traffic is more than made up for by the stunning scenery on a nice day though - it's nothing short of spectacular. Plus there's a real sense of cameraderie between walkers.
After a brief respite climbing the Devils' staircase there's an impressive plain to cross underneath the gaze of of Mount Ngauruhoe/Doom before the final hard ascent up the Red Crater, which is the highest section of the trek. The ground underfoot is a bit like fine charcoal and you can see why this part of the trek is considered quite dangerous in high wind. It's bit of a slog and very steep in places - no handy staircase here.
Finally - the The Red Crater and the hardest part over - it's just distance from here-on-in. The crater itself looks very demonic and hellish with some huge wide-open dormant vents that must have beltched a lot of gas at one point. At the highest point before descending down the other side there's the smell of sulpher - lo-and-behold -
Oysters, Anyone?
More geological features than you can poke a stick at. there's steam coming out of the ground and it's too hot to touch. Blimey. Let's be moving on, then, shall we?
The slightly trecherous descent down the other side is set with the intense blue of the Emerald Lakes below and the deeper blue of Blue Lake in the distance. Every now-and-then you can see bubbles coming to the surface of the Emerald Lakes and there's a strong whiff of bad eggs. Something's going on underground, for sure. The couple of German girls in Christmas hats who've stopped for lunch by the water's edge don't seem to care, though. Our travellers head on to the Blue Lake for a hearty lunch seasoned with Mrs Balls chutney (a great discovery from South Africa).
On from the Blue Lake the view into the valley slowly swings into view with a spectacular vista down into farmlands and off in the distance Lake Taupo. Now the long winding walk down to the car park from here which feels like it took a very long time with the legs getting pretty tired - somehow walking downhill can be more hard work than going up.
After a brief stop off at Ketetahi Hut
The Devil
Hot enough for ya? there's the final push on through the much-appreciated shade of the forest to the car park where the bus should be waiting. They've made great time - an hour faster than the official time - to get the earlier bus and are completely exhausted as they collapse into their seats. Take me home!
That night after a well-deserved shower and scrub they catch a beautiful sunset over Lake Taupo - the impressive features of Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Tongariro visible off in the distance as they stand on the north shore. What they wont find out until later is that the whole of Lake Taupo is in fact itself a volcanic crater - which will one day erupt again.
More Thermal Action
Thankfully, the motorpark Tim and Sue are staying at - DeBrett's Thermal Resort - is home to some decent thermal pools. A long soak and a massage are very much appreciated by some aching muscles. All topped of by much fun on the water slide - which they have to vacate because of an inbound children's party.
That night they decide to splash out of a fancy steak dinner and it turns out the
In The Shadow of Mount Doom
Have you got the ring, or was I supposed to have it? somelier's visited the Herzog winery they'll be staying at over Christmas. He gives them a knowing smile - well done Sue for booking that, something to look forward to.
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