Advertisement
Published: January 24th 2008
Edit Blog Post
The perfect cone
Bec C poking Mt Doom An 18km strenuous walk, two of NZ's most famous volcanoes, a scramble up what seemed like a vertical cliff convenienlty named the 'deveil's staircase', standing in awe of the mighty Mt. Doom aka Mt. Ngauruhoe. It can only be the Tongariro Crossing...
The Tongariro Crossing accurately descibed as one of NZ's best one day walks was by no means a stroll in the park. An early start to the 18.5km walk saw the sun rise from behind the awesome cone shaped Mt. Ngauruhoe. To Lord of the Rings lovers, Mordor and Mt. Doom. After scrambling up the 'devils staircase' sometimes on all fours we were rewarded with spectacular views on both sides. On one side the base of Mt. Doom and on the other Mt. Tongariro. We didn't attempt the climb to the summit of Mt. Doom as it was incredibly steep and really is a 3hr scramble on all fours. Had we attempted it, the Search and Rescue team would have been most certainly dispatched for two muppets who just got stuck! After more hard climbs we reached the summit of the mountain, a cool 1886m and in turn were witness to the Red Crater. It was however particulary
hairy at times as the Red Crater had a sheer drop and the 'path' was only a matter of feet wide and a little unsterdy...both Becs' used their arses to the break the fall on several occasions. Although the walk supposedly takes 7-8hrs we did it in a respectable 5.5hrs. This was mostly due to Becs C practically running the last half of the trek. We heard some rumbling and in fear of an imminent eruption and the thought of not seeing her mum again it prompted Bec C to hot foot it over the last couple of climbs and down the forest almost killing Bec S from exhaustion. Its amazing what a few rumbles can do to someone whom only a few monents earlier was a little weary and slacking a bit.
The crossing resembles what we imagine Mars would look like. The landscape changes dramatically throughout the walk, changing from vast desert like areas to lush forests and general mountainous regions. We enjoyed the walk tremendously however it left the Becs' shattered and an 8.30pm K.O. was imminent.
Taupo, home to the largest lake in NZ is a fairly quiet lakeside town although tourism is booming.
Like just about everywhere in NZ, the lake is surrounded by mountains providing a very scenic backdrop. It is also the adrenaline junkie capital of the north island. Bec S took full advantage of this fact and took part in her first tandem skydive. A cool 15,000ft up (and in a pink plane!) and out she rolled with her hungarian instructor Laci strapped to her back. With the adrenaline pumping and the freezing air gushing up at her as she dropped at a speed of 200mph, the 60second freefall seemed like nothing. The chute was deployed and the feeling of just floating in mid-air over the scenic mountains and lake was incredible. Would she do it again you ask...course she would!
We visited the buried village of Te Wairoa between Taupo and Rotorua. The village was buried after the 19th century eruption of Mt. Tarawera. The village was excavated in 1938 after the Maori had removed its sacredness. The eruprtion buried the village in ash and mud up to 5m deep. Other villages closer to the eruption however were buried up to 10m in lava flow. The museum depicts the way of life before the eruption ocurred which was
home to many Maori tribes and Europeans. We then took a tour around the houses and hotel that were buried and still lie deep in the ground. The eruption also destroyed the fantastic pink and white terraces, it is said that for them to form again to the same standard it would take 45,000 years. The tour was great and was made extra special by our tour guide whom was not only very knowledgable but her a great grandfather was one of those who perished. We were even treated to a Maori song performed by herself and her father. After, they invited us to sing and dance the Maori version of the hokikoki!
We visited other points of interest on our journey such as the Craters of the Moon. Its a geothermal area with exceptional craters and steaming vents caused by volcanic activity near the surface of the ground. It was intensified by hydroelectric tinkering back in the day which caused the ground to fall in on itself increasing the activity. The Hukka falls were also pretty cool. The river leading up to the falls is 100m in length and 10m in depth, the river is then forced into
a 10m wide, 3m deep tunnel causing the immense flow.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.109s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 7; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0736s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb
Laura Smith
non-member comment
hey kids! the volcanoes look mint! cant believe Becs S went skydiving! at least you had a good experience compared to me and i bet the views were slightly better than lincolnshire! haha. the Hukka Falls look beautiful. not long now eh! love ya xxx