Trekking the Tongariro

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Big tip for today: never ever ever do the Tongariro crossing with a hangover and anything less than 8 hours sleep. Never. Ever.
Having said that I managed to trek, climb, walk and crawl the 17 km across volcanic craters and up to 2000m above sea level with both of the above having gone out the previous night in Taupo. However, this is not a good idea when all powers of concentration and coordination are needed to make sure you don't fall down sheer scree slopes over crater rims (fortunately not bubbling with molten lava) in howling gales. I bumbled along with two Brits, Adam and Daisy, who I had met on the bus. They are super nice and humoured me for the trek, and I don't think I would have made it without them. Plus I swapped some of my chocolate peanuts for their jellybabies.

It was all worth it as the experience was pretty amazing. The views from the top spectacular and the terrain other worldy. I think it could be closest I ever get to being on the surface of the moon. You know, they really should have filmed Lord of the Rings here...oh, perhaps they did. Mt Ngauruhoe (aka Mount Doom) was very imposing in the early morning light and mist. However, after I had scaled the Devil's Staircase and stood looking up at the mammoth summit of Mount Doom I think if I had been Frodo Baggins I would have told Gandalf to "rock off" with regards to any ring throwing. But then, Frodo didn't have a hangover.

After seven hours of putting one foot in front of the other I was never so pleased to see the Ketahahi car park, and managed to unfold myself when the bus came to collect us at 3 p.m. Not knowing whether I would be able to walk normally ever again I took up the offer of travelling to Taupo Hot Springs Spa with Stephanie and Sabrina (two lovely German girls in my dorm) to soak away our aches and pains in the natural hot mineral pools (one at 38 degrees and the other at 40 degrees). It was an inspired idea as I felt like a new person when I skipped out of there, into the hostel and promptly fell asleep.

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Photos

Mt Ngauruhoe
Aka Mount Doom in the early morning (7:30 a.m.!) light

Floor of the South Crater
And where the weather turned from crisp cold sun, to howling gales and cloud

South Crater ridge
Me, Daisy and Adam

Emerald Lake again
Don't dive in! It is the colour due to the sulphur and acids etc.

The Blue Lake
Another imaginatively titled feature

At cloud level
here the terrain turned into Dartmoor like scrub

Lunch!
Eating a chocolate Tim Tam (have become addicted to these - rather like Penguins but 100 times better) approx 1450 m above sea level here and still another 2.5 hrs to go...

Nearly there
Me and Daisy. Orls, you may have noticed the reappearance of the pink hairband? At this point I did not care that it didnt match my red goretex, it kept my ears warm and my hair out of my eyes

Comments

[Rocket]

Tim tams
At last! A completely independent party concurs that Tim tams are better than Penguins!! (Available at Tescos you'll be pleased to know.) Rocket x