Mt. Ruapehu. I hiked to the crater rim on a foggy day.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Tongariro and Taupo
I went to National Park Village after Wellington. I was there to do the Tongariro Crossing. It's a 17 km hike between Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe. This is supposed to be the best one-day hike in the North Island, but it's often shrouded in clouds. When I got there it was raining, and the weather forecast predicted clouds for the next day, so I hitchhiked to the Mt. Ruapehu ski lifts about 15 km from National Park Village. They filmed some more the LOTR movies there, but I couldn't tell you where or what. Mt. Ruapehu, like all the other mountains in the region, are volcanos. Mt. Ruapehu last erupted in 1996. It doesn't have a proper peak, but it does have a huge crater, so I hiked up through the ski resort to the crater rim, where I found myself in a near-total white out. Visibility was about 20 meters, so I decided to find my way back down in the mist.
The next day I went and hiked the Tongariro Crossing. It was pretty crowded on the track. I made a side trip to hike to the top of Mt. Ngauruhoe, which was used as Mt. Doom. The clouds came in halfway up the peak, so I didn't get much of a view, but I had a blast sliding down the scree slope to the bottom. The Tongariro Crossing track was amazing passing though a couple craters and steaming volcanic vents.
The next day I went to Taupo, a city on the northern edge of Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. It is stocked with California Rainbow Trout. These monsters are huge compared to the ones in California. I am not sure why. They get up to 20 lbs, I am told. They look like salmon. I didn't do any fishing, but I hiked to a place called Craters of the Moon, which was another geothermic area where I could see (and smell) steaming vents and bubbling mudpools. I also walked to Huka Falls, which is on the Waikato River, which empties out of Lake Taupo. The Falls were very impressive, if not exactly high. The river narrowed from 100 m across to 10 m across, making a very turbulent channel. I also got to bathe in the natural spa that emptied into the pristine waters of the river. That was pretty cool.
I came to Rotorua last night. This is known as Sulfur City because it's sitting in a huge crater and there are geothermic hot springs everywhere. Everywhere? yeah, like in people's yards and stuff. It's funny because if you have a hot spring on your property, you just throw some rocks on it so you know not to walk over the vent and burn yourself. It also stinks like rotten eggs here, but it's not as bad as it sounds. Well, maybe it is.
I am not sure where I will be going next, but chances are I'll be headed to the Waitomo Caves to do some caving.
The next day I went and hiked the Tongariro Crossing. It was pretty crowded on the track. I made a side trip to hike to the top of Mt. Ngauruhoe, which was used as Mt. Doom. The clouds came in halfway up the peak, so I didn't get much of a view, but I had a blast sliding down the scree slope to the bottom. The Tongariro Crossing track was amazing passing though a couple craters and steaming volcanic vents.
The next day I went to Taupo, a city on the northern edge of Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. It is stocked with California Rainbow Trout. These monsters are huge compared to the ones in California. I am not sure why. They get up to 20 lbs, I am told. They look like salmon. I didn't do any fishing, but I hiked to a place called Craters of the Moon, which was another geothermic area where I could see (and smell) steaming vents and bubbling mudpools. I also walked to Huka Falls, which is on the Waikato River, which empties out of Lake Taupo. The Falls were very impressive, if not exactly high. The river narrowed from 100 m across to 10 m across, making a very turbulent channel. I also got to bathe in the natural spa that emptied into the pristine waters of the river. That was pretty cool.
I came to Rotorua last night. This is known as Sulfur City because it's sitting in a huge crater and there are geothermic hot springs everywhere. Everywhere? yeah, like in people's yards and stuff. It's funny because if you have a hot spring on your property, you just throw some rocks on it so you know not to walk over the vent and burn yourself. It also stinks like rotten eggs here, but it's not as bad as it sounds. Well, maybe it is.
I am not sure where I will be going next, but chances are I'll be headed to the Waitomo Caves to do some caving.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Who is Wellington named after? I don't know, but...
I will have spent five nights in Wellington. That's a lot more than I had initially expected, but it was a good weekend, and I happened to find a cheap place to stay. I spent a couple days going to Te Papa, the big museum in town (it's free like most of the museums in New Zealand and Australia). It takes a couple days to see it all. I think Te Papa means "our place", but don't quote me on this. Anyways, it's a museum about New Zealand. It cost $317 million to make, so you can be sure that it's pretty nice and well worth the visit.
The rugby sevens were in town and the tickets were sold out. That's okay, because they don't black out games like they do in the States. I was able to catch a few of the 20 minute matches in the evening. The States were represented, but they didn't do too well. They lost all three matches, getting shut out by the Kiwis (43-zip). The Kiwi's or, All Blacks, as they are known, went on to win the tourney. They did a victory "haka" after they won. It's a pretty cool Maori tribal tradition. There is a lot of bare chest slapping and stomping. If you've seen Whale Rider, you kind of know what I'm talking about. The Kiwi's, by the way, are fanatical about their All Blacks rugby team. It's the national team that goes to compete in international competitions. They seem to cream the competition. The Sevens brings in millions of dollars for Wellington, and the bars were pretty packed. A lot of groups of people dress up in wierd matching costumes, some of which are pretty outragous. It's like a big costume party where they drink a lot.
The weather was pretty hot this weekend, contrary to the weatherman's predictions. I was able to watch the Global Challenge boats take off today from their docks, and then I hiked to the top of a peak to catch the race in the bay. These boats are 72-feet long and are all identical, so that it's skill and luck that makes the winner. They're crewed by 17 "volunteers" that compete for these prized spots four years prior to the race. Their skippers are the only required professional sailors on board. The crew pays about $70,000 each to be on board for the year. Most of them find sponsors to help pay their way. They're going around the world "the wrong way", that is, from east to west, which is supposed to be harder. They spend a good length of time in the Southern Sea with ice on their ship. Awwwesome.
There was also a Chinese festival celebrating the upcoming New Year on the lunar calendar. I went to the One Love festival today (Waitangi Day). I will be headed to National Park, the town just outside Tongariro National Park, tomorrow. The weatherman is calling for showers for a couple of days, but I am hoping that he is going to be wrong like he was about his "cloudy and cool" weekend in Wellington.
Oh and as you can see, I have updated some pictures. I have tried to put them in sequential order by backdating them. You can check the archives to see if you have missed any.
The rugby sevens were in town and the tickets were sold out. That's okay, because they don't black out games like they do in the States. I was able to catch a few of the 20 minute matches in the evening. The States were represented, but they didn't do too well. They lost all three matches, getting shut out by the Kiwis (43-zip). The Kiwi's or, All Blacks, as they are known, went on to win the tourney. They did a victory "haka" after they won. It's a pretty cool Maori tribal tradition. There is a lot of bare chest slapping and stomping. If you've seen Whale Rider, you kind of know what I'm talking about. The Kiwi's, by the way, are fanatical about their All Blacks rugby team. It's the national team that goes to compete in international competitions. They seem to cream the competition. The Sevens brings in millions of dollars for Wellington, and the bars were pretty packed. A lot of groups of people dress up in wierd matching costumes, some of which are pretty outragous. It's like a big costume party where they drink a lot.
The weather was pretty hot this weekend, contrary to the weatherman's predictions. I was able to watch the Global Challenge boats take off today from their docks, and then I hiked to the top of a peak to catch the race in the bay. These boats are 72-feet long and are all identical, so that it's skill and luck that makes the winner. They're crewed by 17 "volunteers" that compete for these prized spots four years prior to the race. Their skippers are the only required professional sailors on board. The crew pays about $70,000 each to be on board for the year. Most of them find sponsors to help pay their way. They're going around the world "the wrong way", that is, from east to west, which is supposed to be harder. They spend a good length of time in the Southern Sea with ice on their ship. Awwwesome.
There was also a Chinese festival celebrating the upcoming New Year on the lunar calendar. I went to the One Love festival today (Waitangi Day). I will be headed to National Park, the town just outside Tongariro National Park, tomorrow. The weatherman is calling for showers for a couple of days, but I am hoping that he is going to be wrong like he was about his "cloudy and cool" weekend in Wellington.
Oh and as you can see, I have updated some pictures. I have tried to put them in sequential order by backdating them. You can check the archives to see if you have missed any.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Queen Charlotte Track
I spent the past three nights on the Queen Charlotte Track in the Marlborough Sound. It's a trail that has camping sites and lodges on it, that runs along the coast and ridge of a strip of land in the Marlborough Sound. It's about 71 km long. I took a ferry out to Endeavour Bay, which is about 4 hours from the start of the track (the ferry people said it was too late in the day for them to go to the very start). From there, it was about 57 km to the end. I got there about 2:30 pm and just hiked around the area, but the next day I only had 12 km to the next lodge so I ran the whole way. It was great to be running again; it's been about a month since I last went running. I think all the hiking I've been doing has gotten my legs in shape. I spent that day lazying around the jacuzzi. The next portion was about 24 km long to a place called Portage. It was pretty cloudy that day, but I made it in just over four hours. Shortly after I got to the lodge, it started drizzling, and it continued all day long well into the next day.
Today I only had 20 km to go to the end. This route is great because you can pay the ferry to take you out to the start and transport your pack to your lodge everyday. Yes, this is what a lazy man does. It was fantastic.
I took the interisland ferry from Picton to Wellington this evening. It was only 2 hours and a half hours to cross Cook's Strait. Now, I'm in the North Island. I'll be in Wellington (the capital) for the next few days. There are a few interesting things going on this weekend. First of all, there is a rugby tournament going on called "seven" which means they have seven people on each side instead of 15 (?). It's made finding accommodations kind of tricky. I will be changing hostels everyday for the next couple days. The tourney goes on Friday through Saturday. Saturday happens to be Chinese New Year, I just read. Sunday is Waitangi Day, which is sort of like their July 4th, except not really. The Treaty of Waitangi is an agreement between the Pakeha (the European settlers) and the Maori, but it's been hotly contested ever since its signing back in 1840. Anyways, I think there will be a bunch of festivities going on. Also, the third leg of the Global Challenge kicks off from Wellington on Sunday, so I will try to catch that as well. That's a big round-the-world yacht race. Anyways, those are my plans. Hopefully the weather will improve because it's been kind of drizzly the past couple of days.
Today I only had 20 km to go to the end. This route is great because you can pay the ferry to take you out to the start and transport your pack to your lodge everyday. Yes, this is what a lazy man does. It was fantastic.
I took the interisland ferry from Picton to Wellington this evening. It was only 2 hours and a half hours to cross Cook's Strait. Now, I'm in the North Island. I'll be in Wellington (the capital) for the next few days. There are a few interesting things going on this weekend. First of all, there is a rugby tournament going on called "seven" which means they have seven people on each side instead of 15 (?). It's made finding accommodations kind of tricky. I will be changing hostels everyday for the next couple days. The tourney goes on Friday through Saturday. Saturday happens to be Chinese New Year, I just read. Sunday is Waitangi Day, which is sort of like their July 4th, except not really. The Treaty of Waitangi is an agreement between the Pakeha (the European settlers) and the Maori, but it's been hotly contested ever since its signing back in 1840. Anyways, I think there will be a bunch of festivities going on. Also, the third leg of the Global Challenge kicks off from Wellington on Sunday, so I will try to catch that as well. That's a big round-the-world yacht race. Anyways, those are my plans. Hopefully the weather will improve because it's been kind of drizzly the past couple of days.
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