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Published: April 9th 2010
Wellington
New Zealand's parliament buildingWellington
With our time up on New Zealand's South Island, we made our way North on the interislander ferry from Picton to the capital, Wellington. En route we passed through the Marlborough Sound, an impressive selection of islands and inlets, worthy of the ferry fare alone. Here James had a close shave, as he took his T shirt off to lie in the sun, only for it to blow away... If it hadn't caught on a guy's legs on its way towards the sea, he'd have had to spend the next 3 hours wandering around the ferry shirtless, no doubt scaring little children with his chest hair ("look mummy, someone let a bear on the boat...").
Wellington is proud of the fact that it's New Zealand's capital city, although it's hardly a seething metropolis. In a couple of days we adequately nailed Wellington's important sights (picturesque cable car, parliament, national museum, big hill...), together with sampling its nightlife during "O Week" (Freshers).
However, with only 2 weeks to make our way around the North Island, we quickly set about planning and booking the rest of our trip - the first leg being a 6 hour bus ride North,
to the lakeside town of Taupo.
Taupo and the Tongariro Crossing
Taupo is situated on the shore of Lake Taupo, Australasia's largest lake, and is widely regarded as the best place in New Zealand to skydive... unfortunately due to time constraints ;-) we just couldn't fit that in... Instead we'd opted to stay there to use it as our base to tackle the Tongariro Crossing, reputed to be New Zealand's finest one day hike.
Our alarms went off at 5am the next morning, giving us 40 minutes to gather our stuff together, sneak out of the dorm, and grab some breakfast before catching yet another early morning bus. Two hours later we were deposited seemingly in the middle of no-where, with just the early morning mist and a bus full of other fools for company.
The "crossing" is a 19km one-way hike, taking you between the volcanoes of Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. We knew that the bus wouldn't leave the finish car park until 3pm, giving more than enough time for everyone to make the crossing. Despite this we made sure we were first off the bus, and set off along the path straightaway. This was for
good reason: we were harbouring ambitions to make a slight detour along the way, and climb an additional c. 700 metres to the conical summit of Ngauruhoe. This was made famous as the setting for Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings, and that morning looked as forbidding as anywhere in Mordor, as it loomed ahead of us out of the morning mist.
We reached the turnoff to Mount Doom (as James insisted on calling it) at 9:00am, and made our way towards the base of the volcano. It was at this point that we realised why we'd been told it'd take at least 2 hours to get up: there was no discernable path, and the ground was almost entirely volcanic ash, littered with small loose stones. This meant that whenever you stopped climbing you started to slip backwards, and that there was absolutely nothing to grab onto and haul yourself up. After an hour of struggling and cursing my lack of appropriate hiking boots, I was all for giving up - it didn't feel like we'd got very far, the wind was bitter cold, and everything above us was shrouded in mist.
Then all of a sudden
Mount "Doom"
James making his way up the volcano we heard two groups of walkers above us, shouting advice to move over to the left onto some rocks which they'd found easier to climb up. We spent the next 10 minutes gingerly scrambling/crawling/falling our way over to the left. Throughout this I was constantly having to watch out for the rocks that were rolling down the slope from above, and similarly trying to minimise the number of rocks I was sending down towards James below. Looking back on our four weeks in New Zealand, and all the "adventure" activities we did, this was without a doubt the most dangerous: we both knew that if we lost our footing and fell, chances were that our bodies wouldn't stop until they hit the bottom...
Fortunately we made it onto the rockier area in one piece, and did find it easier going there. Our spirits improving, James asked me if I had "the ring" with me, and pointed out that we'd find it a lot easier to get down after I'd thrown it in the crater, the volcano had erupted, and the giant eagles had come to carry us away. Some may think James was going mad...
About half an
Mount "Doom"
The view over the clouds from the summit hour later we emerged from the cloud to see the rim of the crater just above us. A typically dangerous scramble followed, after which we stood up to marvel at a breathtaking view: the tops of the clouds were all around us, we could see down into a deep circular volcanic crater, and further to the South, could see the snow capped volcano of Mount Ruapehu. Within two hours of leaving the main path, and probably less than a kilometre away from hundreds of other walkers, we were now completely alone, and witness to things the guys that'd stuck to the normal route would never see - definitely a worthwhile detour!
After ten minutes of backslapping and photo taking we started to head down, having only seen one other person on the crater rim (unfortunately Mount Doom's crater was all out of lava, so we couldn't destroy the ring). We'd spoken to a guy in the hostel who'd told us he'd made it down from the rim in 30 mins, by basically sitting back in his walking boots and sliding down. We gave it a go, but found it to involve a pretty high risk of injury/death. Even though
Mount "Doom"
Ben at the summit taking it slower, the only way down was a kind of controlled slide, where I frequently found myself up to my shins in ash, and with piles of stones building up behind my legs. At one point I stopped and looked up at James, only to watch a large rock he'd dislodged bounce down towards me, landing exactly where my foot had been until I realised where it was heading. In short, going down may have required less effort than going up, but wasn't much safer!
We rejoined the main path just before midday, and followed the crossing the rest of the way. This route took us through more impressive scenery, with volcanic craters and strange coloured lakes around every corner. If any of you ever get the opportunity to do this walk yourselves, I'd highly recommend it (although I'd look down on you if you didn't go up Ngauruhoe too). At our lunch stop we realised that if we could walk the last 6.7km in under an hour, we'd make the 3:00pm bus, rather than having to wait for the stragglers bus at 4:00pm. What followed was basically a downhill march, as we pushed past other walkers to
Tongariro Crossing
The view down onto the Emerald Lakes arrive in the car park just in time - the last onto the bus. I pity the poor guys that then had to sit next to us for the 1.5 hour journey back to Taupo!
Whakatane
Our third stop on the North Island was Whakatane, on the coast of the Bay of Plenty (the North Coast). When we'd booked this at the YHA in Wellington, I'd asked for "wack-a-tain" - only to be greeted with a substantial snigger, and then the comment that I "sounded like an Aussie" (a true Kiwi insult!). It turns out that Whakatane is pronounced "fuk-a-tar-nee" - god knows how I'd got it so wrong.... Anyway, there are only a couple things people go to Whakatane for: fishing and trips to White Island. We'd gone for the latter, drawn in by leaflets telling us that "there are some things in life that you must experience for yourself"... The reason: the island is a live marine volcano, which continually belches out massive amounts of sulphurous steam, and where there are regular changes in the landscape.
We arrived at the hostel, our first non-YHA for a while, to find it run by an over-friendly guy
White Island
Our boat, and the less than perfect Whits Island dock called Jeff, who promised us a lift to the harbour the next morning, whilst knocking back the beers and watching the cricket. The next morning came, but with no sign of Jeff we had to walk to the harbour, the delay putting us in the unusual situation of being the last to arrive for something for the second time in a week. We climbed on board to find that the boat was pretty flash, being a marked improvement on anything we'd had in Asia (carpeted floors, leather seats, coffee table etc.).
The journey took about 2 hours, and got pretty choppy at times. I was slightly green by the time we arrived, and grateful that the journey hadn't been even 30 mins longer. As White Island is an active volcano, nothing lasts there very long, with the only signs of human activity being the half buried remains of a one hundred year old sulfur mining operation. It was up to the old mining quay that we were ferried in a small dinghy. With most of the people on the tour looking like the cast of Coccoon, it was a nice change watching people struggling more than me to keep
their balance in a small boat.
On shore we were split into smaller groups, each with a couple of guides, and given the standard safety talk. This one was slightly different than most though, as we were told to "hide behind the nearest rock" if the volcano started to erupt, and not to bother heading back to the boat as it had orders to leave us at the first sign of trouble! We were then issued with boiled sweets (to increase saliva and therefore limit the effects of sulfurous air on our throats) and gas masks (for when the boiled sweets just weren't cutting it), before walking further into the crater.
We stopped next to the island's largest fumerole, which makes the noise of a jet engine 24 hours a day, whilst belching sulphurous steam into the air. Next stop was the crater lake, which was a strange green colour and apparently fluctuates up and down on a daily basis. Heading back towards the boat we stopped at the only "freshwater stream" on the island, the water from which tasted disgusting, and which cleaned dirty copper coins in seconds (the guide showed us this after we'd tasted it!).
White Island
The bizarre green crater lake Finally we looked around the ruins of the ill fated sulfur mine, where a number of miners lost their lives in a landslide caused by an unexpected eruption. On our way back to Whakatane the boat came across a couple of pods of dolphins, which seemed to enjoy swimming in the bow's wake and trying to keep up with the boat - a sight which had everyone on deck trying to grab the perfect photo.
Rotorua
The next day we caught another bus, this time partially retracing our steps South, to the tourist hotspot of Rotorua. We spent 4 nights here, as we'd been led to believe that it was the "must see" town on the North Island. Rotorua's attraction lies in it's geology, which provides a constant supply of naturally heated springs, and a pungent smell that you can never really escape (a bit like being in Yorkshire...).
James kicked off our stay in town by competing in the Rotorua half marathon, an event he'd entered weeks before whilst in an unusually active mood. Whilst this seemed to me to be an unnecessarily energetic way to spend a Sunday morning, I was happy to accompany
White Island
Ben kitted out in a gas mask to protect from the sulphurous air him to his post-race relaxation - a trip to Rotorua's Polynesian Spa, allegedly one of the world's top ten spas. Here we hopped from hot pool to hotter pool, as the different acid and alkali pools relaxed James' tired muscles (and super relaxed my already lazy muscles!).
Our next trip was to the close-by Wai O Tapu "geothermal wonderland". The first attraction of which was the Lady Knox geyser, which erupts daily at 10am precisely. This seems like a pretty impressive feat of nature until you arrive and realise that its regularity is entirely man made, as blocks of soap are thrown into the dormant geyser, breaking the water tension below ground and creating a (somewhat soapy) eruption. Whilst I have no doubt that this provides a great draw for the tourists, it was a little disappointing when compared to my memories of Strokir in Iceland. After the geyser we were bussed to the main complex, where we walked around a variety of bubbling mud pools and coloured lakes. Again, whilst they were all very impressive, they hardly compared to the ferocity and apparent danger of those on White Island.
We finished off our stay in Rotorua with
White Island
Dolphins following the boat back to Whakatane an evening trip to the Polynesian Spa - not the most manly pursuit, but given Rotorua's complete absence of nightlife, it seemed the most attractive option. Probably for the first time since Hanoi (excluding our many stays in Bangkok), Rotorua felt like somewhere we'd spent too much time in. Overdosed with volcanoes, we needed a more fun/active day...
Waitomo Caves - "Black Water Rafting"
We opted to make the journey from Rotorua to Auckland via Waitomo, which made for a pretty major (and expensive) detour. It was with good reason though, as we'd booked onto the "Black Abyss" Black Water Rafting trip - something which had been recommended to James before he left the UK.
The 5 hour trip started with a brief briefing on how to abseil, before we were attached to a rope and told to make our way 35 metres down into a black hole, "wriggling" if we got stuck on the way. I've abseiled a few times before, and was pretty relaxed about this, but it turned out that 35 metres is actually quite a long way (about 12 storeys), especially when it's pitch black and you can't see the bottom! Once the
Rotorua
The famous Rotorua Bath House (now a museum) seven of us in the group had made it down, we were then led through caves and passageways until we got to another rope, this time sloping off into a dark cavern... One by one our harnesses were attached to the rope, we were told to turn off our headlamps, and were swung off into oblivion. When it came to my go I'd already watched 5 people disappear and not come back - for some reason I still stepped up. As I swung down in the darkness, with no idea where I was heading, I started to regret letting James talk me into this. Then all of a sudden I heard James' voice shout "Ben - NO, too far..." - a most amusing wind up for him, less so for me, as I still couldn't see where I was heading. With relief I hit the end of the rope seconds later, and was told to turn my light back on - I'd survived so far.
After some brief refreshments, it became clear that we weren't done there. Each of us was handed a tractor inner tube (similar to those we'd enjoyed so much in Vang Vieng - floating down
Lady Knox Geyser
The "lady" during her daily performance the Nam Song and drinking Beer Laos), and then told that we had to jump off a cliff in the cave into the water below. Barely an hour into the trip and this was the 3rd nerve racking thing to do - made more so by the fact that in the dim light of our headlamps, the water below looked just like flat black rock! Again, one-by-one we took it in turns to jump in, having to land on our tubes as we were told that the water was so shallow that any other entry would probably kill us... The relief of hitting the water in one piece was short lived though, as it turned out to be icy cold - reminding me why I'd sworn never to go caving again after a similar experience at the age of 11 in Yorkshire.
All in our tubes, the "black water rafting" began, as we pulled our way up stream, marvelling at the thousands of glow worms hanging off the ceiling above us. As you get closer to them you realise that they're even stranger creatures than you might imagine - a similar size and shape to a match, with long
Wai O Tapu
Ben in front of one of the many geothermal pools cobweb like threads hanging down (which are used to snare flies etc). After pulling our way upstream, our guide told us all about the glow worms, interupted slightly halfway through, as an eel swam into him. We were then assembled into a kind of human-tractor-inner-tube-train, and floated back to where we'd come from.
Leaving our tubes behind, the rest of the trip became more standard style caving, as we squeezed our way through spaces just large enough for the average human (i.e. not quite big enough to accommodate my belly), and clambered our way up underwater waterfalls. Emerging into the light a few hours after we started, we were amazed at how close we came out to the hole we'd initially abseiled down. All in all - a very worthwhile and exciting detour on our way to Auckland, and it helped us to up the adrenaline slightly after the enforced relaxation of Rotorua.
Auckland
Whilst Wellington holds the crown as New Zealand's capital, Auckland on the North West tip of the North Island, is undoubtedly New Zealand's largest and most cosmopolitan city. We'd been advised by a few people that there wasn't a massive amount to see
Black Water Rafting
Abseiling training: the guide told us to do a "ballerina jump" - I don't want to brag, but from her reaction, I reckon mine was the best ever.... and do, which actually turned out to be pretty close to the mark (although it may have been slightly self-fulfilling, as we'd already resigned ourselves to the fact that there wouldn't be much to see before we got there!).
The first, and pretty much only tourist thing we did was visit the top of the Auckland Sky Tower, which at 328 metres is the tallest free standing structure in the Southern hemisphere. As is traditional (and virtually compulsory in these situations), I had a beer, and admired the view of the city from up high. Still, it couldn't quite match the beers we had in the State Tower in Bangkok on the first week of our travels (sorry New Zealand!).
That evening we headed back to the hostel armed with a small bottle of gin and some tonic water, so we could have a few quiet drinks. Little did we know that we would then bump into Nena, the German girl that we'd shared a dorm with in Christchurch. As quickly as we'd extended our gin drinking to 3, we got talking to another German girl, who seemed amused by how British we were (I think because we
Black Water Rafting
The initial 35 metre abseil into the "abyss" were on the G&Ts). It then became clear, we needed more gin, first another bottle in the hostel, and then some from bars in town.... I woke up the next morning with a stinking hangover, marvelling at how a planned quiet night in a hostel can so quickly change!
New Zealand roundup
That concludes the four weeks that we spent in New Zealand, which we split into two weeks on both islands. Overall we had an amazing time, and saw some things that we'd never seen before, and probably never will again. As we looked forward to our impending flight to Melbourne, we had a quick reminisce about the more memorable/active things we managed during our all too brief stay:
Rafting, Canyoning, Glacier walking (Ben), Ice Climbling (James), Hiking (x3), Volcanic spas (x2), Half marathon (James), Geysers, cocktails out of teapots, Black water rafting, Wine tastings (x44) Kayaking, Bottles of gin (x4), Climbing (James), Luge.
Learning Points
Volcanic ash and cameras don't mix
Volcanic ash and socks don't mix
Volcanic ash and shoes don't mix
Tubing in New Zealand is seriously lacking beer (and warm water)
James would have curry for every meal if I
Black Water Rafting
One of the guys from our group jumping into the water in his "raft" let him
If something's good in New Zealand, it's "sweet as" (even something as mundane as being booked on a bus....)
If anyone's noticed an empty country in the middle of Europe, don't worry - it's just that the population of Germany has moved into New Zealand youth hostels
There are people in the world that snore louder than James (this one came as a surprise)
Our bodies are now programmed to sleep on buses, irrespective of time or distance
Ginger beer is good, alcoholic ginger beer is better
Our friendship can be bought with free beer (at least until it runs out)
An evening in a geothermal spa may be girly, but is still good fun
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Mary Coates
non-member comment
You are certainly having a whale of a time. Won't be long before you have to buckle down to work again. Enjoy yourself. Have you arrived in Cairns yet?