Tongariro Crossing

Joe, Sabrina, Marie, and Jess

We kept running into another Jucy campervan along our travels, and since we were probably going the same place anyway, we invited Joe and Jess to join us for the Tongariro Crossing. 

Starting point is at Pukeonake, finishing point is at Ketetahi Rd.

We had the cost efficient idea of dropping everyone off at the trailhead before sunrise in the morning, then only 2 of us needing to buy transport there and at the end of the trail. This meant they had to wait in the freezing cold for 2 hours though... we didn't work that one out so well.

We started on the trail before the sun hit it.

Our first view of Mt. Ngauruhoe.
We started our journey climbing its slopes.

Tongariro is the most popular day trek in New Zealand, which I found out later meant 400-700 other people on the trail with us. >< This is one of the 2 bathrooms on the trail. Always a line. There's not really anywhere in this landscape to hide from hundreds of people on a trail if you need an extra pee break, which was super lame. At times I felt like I always had someone biting at my heels or all over the trek in front of me. Sometimes even nature feels super touristy here. My next trip to NZ will be in the true backpackers style, which is really the only way to avoid massive herds of people and tour buses at every beautiful site.

It was so cold.

The fog made everything mysterious and poetic.

There were 2 peaks you could chose between, Mt. Ngauruhoe (dangerous and steep) or Tongariro (Medium challenge). We only had time to do one, so we chose Tongariro and crossed our fingers that the fog would clear.

Roelinda enjoying a rest.

We brought one beer up to the top to split!

Joe at the peak.

Me at the top of Mt. Tongariro!

From here we had an excellent view of Mt. Doom.
The earth is black and red and yellow with some areas smelling very sulfurous.
It was such desolate terrain, but beautiful for it.

Mt. Doom

otherwise known as Mt. Ngauruhoe

The fog finally cleared about 15 minutes after being on top of the peak.

After descending from the mountain we had reached the halfway point of our trek. My knee started hurting on the descent, an ominous sign since we still had 4 hours downward to go. After this section we made our way to the Emerald Lakes, sulfurous vents, and beautiful vistas where you can see tons of old volcanoes in the distance among lakes and forest.

Glimpse of the Emerald Lakes through the fog.

Time to go down this scree, not so fun in hiking sandals.

The Emerald Lakes!

That fog just behind the hill is a stinky sulfur vent.

Check out this interesting formation to the right.

At one point the lava streamed through this portal.

It's like a huge lavagina!

Hiking away from the emerald lakes you can see a

huge flat section of old lava.

My first view over the pass.

I didn't end up seeing the eye of Sauron,

but I felt like something was watching me!

Hot pool stream.

The trail out.

At the end of the trail is a jungle walk.

There were a lot of steps down to take. My knee was still hurting at this point, but only when I walked downward and not up. So weird, I still don't understand it, but I just walked down the steps backward and it was OK. I had to push forward to make it out in time for the shuttle.

Sunsets are always so beautiful when your feet hurt like hell

and your sitting drinking a cold beer after a long day hike.

Huka Falls

Driving down towards Lake Taupo we stopped at the Huka Falls. This roaring chasm of water is truly massive. It is the result of the Waikato river which is normally 100m wide being squeezed through a gorge 15m wide. 220,000 liters of water rush through every second!

I'd like to see Jon kayak this one!

The falls.

Rotorua, Rotovegas

 

We woke up early in the morning and drove to Rotorua.

Rotorua is known for 3 main things: natural hot springs, geysers, and adrenaline sports.

The adrenaline sports are responsible for the nickname "Rotovegas".

Upon arriving, we took the historic walk around town and saw steam coming out of natural pools and vents. They are scattered all over town, watch your step!

 This pool is 212F

 

This is right in someone's backyard!

 

A steaming vent just on the side of the road somewhere.

 

Because of all of the sulfur from the natural hot springs,

the entire township of Rotorua smells like rotten eggs.

Right by town there is a free park named Kuirau where you can see a lot of the natural hot pools and springs that are common in this area. Here are some pictures and videos from Kuirau:

 

 

 

Another fail video on it's side.

But at least you can tell it's a bubbling mud pool!

OOOH A GEYSER!

Yeah, we didn't want to pay to see the real ones, but they are supposed to be cool.

 I saw a black swan in the lake.

Apparently swans on the southern hemisphere are black,

and on the northern they are white.

Also on the historic walk: we saw a Maori meeting area that you were able to walk around to see.

 This is a Wharenui, or Maori meeting house.

Entry is only allowed upon invitation, which is rare.

I'm sitting on Sabrina's shoulders to get up to this, and she's around 6 feet tall.

In the evening we bought a touristy package deal to attend a Maori hangi (dinner) and concert.

The old police station was restored into a historic bar named the Pig and Whistle, is that supposed to be punny?! We got vouchers for free drinks there, which we used before going to the Hangi to jump start our evening.

 

Starting it off right!

 Old police paraphernalia. Check out those cuffs.

As a side note, the police in New Zealand don't have guns.

 This is a modern "to-code" style hangi for the tourists, where they put the food in a big steaming vat. Traditionally they dig a pit, make a huge bonfire early in the morning, let the wood burn down to coals, put all the food on top of them wrapped in leaves, and cover the whole thing with dirt to let it steam cook all day. YUM!

The Dining Room

The food was soooooooooooo good.

I ate 2 bowls of soup, 2 plates of dinner, and one plate of dessert.

Gotta get that money's worth!

 Yeah, I got my money's worth.

 

 Our host for the evening.

 

 My stance is not as believable as his, but how about the face??

Yeah, so this is pretty touristy. But it was a cool way of seeing many traditional dances, songs, dress, and food while having the meaning of things explained to you.

We picked our leader, and the Maori leader of the night showed us how a meeting between tribes would go, with the leaders having personal challenges, offerings, and acceptance or not.

Traditional poi dance and song.

Most rugby fans are familiar with the Maori Haka (war dance) from the New Zealand All Blacks team. This dance is traditionally done by the males as an initiation, greeting, and challenge when different groups come together. It is a very respected way of saying: This is what I can do, I'm powerful, and I'll mess you up if you're not careful. Once this initial display is done, everyone just goes on as friends with an understanding and respect of one another. The pukana (bulging eyes) and whetero (tongue sticking out by men only) is performed to call upon the God of War and to frighten the enemy. Maybe its funny to see as a foreigner, but you shouldn't laugh when you see it here! Seeing a Haka performed in person is powerful!

Also included for the next day was a gondola ride up to the top of a hill overlooking Rotorua and a luge ride down the hill. We ended up getting on the gondola ride for free because of a flustered male cameraman at the ride entry when 4 ladies approached him and asked if we could get on if we already had our tickets. 

 

 In the gondola.

 

Here's the view of the lake at Rotorua.

Technically we had paid but we didn't redeem the tickets until we had already gone up the hill, so we got 2 luge rides instead of one! On the first ride down the hill poor Roelinda got corralled into the beginners lane but Sabrina, Marie, and I escaped the ride attendants and went down the intermediate run! It was simple enough and I got the hang of the steering and brakes quickly. On the second ride down the hill Sabrina and I raced as fast as we could down the advanced course, cutting sharp on the turns and getting air on some of the hills of the speedy asphault track. We were going so fast I had to clamp my teeth shut to keep them from chattering and Sabrina's eyes were streaming. According to Sabrina, I even cut around a girl going so fast (she was going soooo slow) that she drove into the bushes. Hey, it's not my fault she chose the advanced track as a noob. Either way, it was hilarious fun!

Also included in the fun was a soak in a natural hot spring tub. Thanks again to the charisma of 4 ladies traveling around together, the guys working the front desk let us stay as long as we wanted instead of only 30 minutes and threw in the use of a pool, 2 more tubs with jets, and hot showers... score. It sure does pay to be a woman sometimes.

Later that night there was a free concert by the lake. We set up lawn chairs and brought our beers and cashew nuts to enjoy the music, good times!

 

 The concert.

 Sabrina and I had to be creative to escape the little biting bugs that haunted the grass by the lake.

 Fireworks finished off our night and our time in Rotovegas :)