Baby im back...

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Baby im back...

 Australasia » New Zealand » North Island » Tongariro National Park By Richard W
March 30th 2007
Richard Wright7 days and probbably about 10kg later (im actually starting to see ribs ... i need some of moms cooking to fatten me up again when i get home.), i am back at the park with a brand new sunburn(not bad) on the nose. Gotta love altitude and lack of ozone. I lost my bloody favorite sunscreen, and now dont have the memories of maui. I guess i will just have to buy one here in NZ and travel to another place where i can pine over how cool NZ was.
As for pics of the Torangaro crossing, norther circut, and round the mountain trip, here they are!

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Photos

Ketahi Hut Sunset
This is my favorite sunset... i have like five photos of this. Hard to beat sulpher steam vents on the side of an active volcano for a sunset.

IS that mount doom!
OMG where is the ring... oh... um... wrong movie. Actually this is the site of the end of LOTR. Nice mountain mostly scree slope, so just debris. No flaming eye. And i decided not to climb it, since i heard that the view is good, but everyone scrambles up the slope two steps up, one back, and i saw so many people damaged because they caught a rock in the teeth from the person above them.

Mmm... Rocks...Lots..and lots ... of rocks
This was a cool lava field to walk through. I have to admit, when a chunk of lava is well over 4-5 meters hight you really get a feel for what gets thrown from a volcanoe.

Lots of empty open space
The best part about hiking and camping is feeling completely utterly alone. I know that civilization is at least a 3-4 day hike out, but it feels like you are on the moon.

Lahar
Had to cross this. Water from the crater lake a week ago breeched a volcanic dam and washed down the gully moving boulders the size of cars. You could still hear them clacking togeather as you stood under the broken bridge that was destroyed by the water.

Beech Tree forests
I love beech trees, they are like a combination of pine and birch. They are evergreen, and the ground is covered by their small hard leaves that are about 1/2 a centimeter round. Its great!

Just a few more days left
I think this was day 5. I was beat from climbing all the way from the bottom. The path crosses the road, but the south west portion of the track is hard, and mostly up hill. I was also super super hungry. I ran out of meal bars for lunch/breakfast so i only had supper left. THis is also the first time i tossed on my rain clothes. The wind was litterally tearing me off the mountain. So i was glad to go down into the gully and to the left(west). But the wind and rain did not let up for a few days.

I know the path marker is around here somewhere
Hmm... is this forward or back... up or down... where is the path marker...odd that it has gone strangely quiet... Well better pull out the compass and make sure we are going the right direction.... And in fact i was. I just liked the pic of the fog i spent most of day 6 in... when it wasnt raining.

Down in the trees again
This is prolly the best part of the path. I regret not taking pics of the muddy clay that kept me checking my feet most of the way out and to the last hut.

Swing Bridges
You all know hooooow much i loooove heights. Infact i was jumping and swinging on the swing bridge above the gorge, playing for hours .... umm... or actually creeping across trying to make sure it did not sway or bounce. lol. But there were about 4 of these i crossed, some with no bottom like this one. Lots of fun challenging yourself... not much choice though. Need to cross to get home. lol

Emerald Lakes
This is from the beginning of the trip but i thought i would show it anyhow. I love the plants in the water.

Comments

[Aoife O'S]

ur falling away to nothin..!!
hi richard, v quick msg cos i'm hard at work(?) god those fotos look amaaaazing!! cant wait to go there,did i tel ya booked flights for 3rd june,hiring camper van wt 4 other girls (isla not wit me-she contiki for mth may) and ending auckland 25thish june,so i be onto ya if we sort some semblance of an itenerary!! love to go tongariro-spesh to see mt doom (yes u do have the rite movie..any sign of precious???)wel gonna email ya prop nex few days,these comments only give a person sml bit of excitement i know wel!!take care,jesus by the way,ur after halfing in size..dont be goin too far now,u'l disappear LOL

[Aunt Carol]

great photos
Hi Richard, I am back in Saskatoon and trying to adjust. The weather isn't quite as nice as Uganda or Kenya. Our hottest day was 40C in Mombassa with really high humidity. It was a shock to come back home. Great pictures. Hope your trip continues to be good. Aunt Carol