Day 7 recap (Tues Feb 15)
[Stef] Traveling by car is a great experience here in New Zealand. Consider driving at high speeds, on windy roads, in a car where everything is opposite. It is much like a video game - complete with people stepping out from curbs, pedestrians running randomly across the street, and the always popular eldery woman with a walker or new mommy & stroller combo making their own crosswalks wherever they see fit. We also had to travel at dusk, so that makes it even more fun. It was a real challenge for both of us - I was the navigation expert as Scott tried to comprehend my "sense of direction" and figure out the road signs and such. It's a great test of a marriage - luckily we both have a sense of humor.
Our stay at the Adventure Lodge and Motel was short and sweet. It was a cute little place- sort of an apartment with a nice big porch attached in front. The doors were sliding glass so the view was really nice. It had a nice little kitchenette and hot water - perfect for backpackers. We fell right asleep and got up at...gulp...6AM to get ready for the hike. I was excited about it because Scott said it was called "the best one day hike in New Zealand". Of course, I didn't read that chapter of the travel book until just before writing this (post hike) - it also says "it is also the toughest". As you can imagine I had a few choice words in my head throughout the day as Scott dragged me along. The shuttle bus picked us up at the Lodge at 7:40AM - just after Scott dropped the camera batteries and they fell through the cracks in the deck at the Motel. So as the bus driver was telling us to get on, my husband was under the lodge/deck looking for the batteries. (The backside of the deck had a 3 foot crawlspace, thankfully.) It was comical to watch - much like most of our adventures. I didn't know what to do - laugh or cry as the guy was yelling at me. How do I explain that my husband is under the house? It's a laugh a minute for us! Anyway, we got to the trail head in Tongagiro National Park at about 8AM and prepared our packs and set out at 8:30AM. The first part of the hike was really nice. Not too much uphill and lots of scenery. I loved it. The volcano that we were going to hike past was on our right, but somewhat covered in clouds. It seemed more like Colorado landscape than the other places we had been thus far. It was really interesting to see the moss and plants growing around the trail too. About an hour or 2 into the hike, my impression of the site quickly changed. The nice, flat walk I was enjoying along an adorable babbling brook turned into a steep incline through rocks and boulders. I was pretty beat by the first 20 minutes. It must have taken about 50 minutes to get up this steep stretch. Every time I thought I was at the end, it would go up again. Once I got up there, and drank a gallon of water, glared at Scott, and caught my breath, I felt great about being up there. Scott, of course made fun of me, asking if I wanted to give up and call for "Mommy Sue". So, basically out of annoyance, I got up there. Anyway, we walked along what is called Lower Crater, which was what I imagine walking on the moon is like. The clouds were wisping around us and all you could see is white. The turn-off to climb Mt. Ngauruhoe (pronounced Nara-hoe-ee) presented itself. This is the mountain that was Mt. Doom in the Lord of Rings Movies. Because the clouds were thick and the wind a blowin', I declined. It was also an unmarked path to the top. We continued on. I was dancing to the music in my Ipod during this part. More going up, but nothing like that first part. We walked along a valley and moved on up to another crater called Red Crater. This was an outstanding view of the areas around us and a brilliant red crater. Scott then suggested climbing to the peak of Mt. Tongagiro. I decided since we didn't climb the other, the least we could do is get to this one. We got to the top and met a very nice English couple who told us of their South Island travels which inspired us on our mapping for the next part of our journey. We came off the summit and met the original trail at Red Crater again. From there we climbed up again and looked into the crater from the other side. We realized that we weren't just looking into the crater from a mountain trail but from the RIM of the crater. WOW! We could also see some lakes known as the Emerald Lakes and more brilliant reds. Also the clouds around "Mt. Doom" dissipated and we could see the mountain in its entirety. It was a perfect cone shape with streaks of red down the sides. It was like nothing we had ever seen before in our travels. The views are hard to even describe with justice. Unfortunately the clock was ticking, so we started down the side of the crater and down the mountain. We went past the three Emerald Lakes and then past Blue Lake. Then we walked along some paths that lead us around and around mountainsides and valleys and through a natural hot spring, past a few waterfalls and rivers and through the rainforest section (AKA: the bush) and down to the base. 20+ kilometers of hiking from 8:30am-4:30am on a half of bag of cashews, 2 granola bars and a candy bar - I was beat and Scott was too! Scott said this was the sorest he's been after a hike since Mt. Whitney. We both were really ready to get to the parking lot especially since the walk through the bush lasted 2 hours – it seemed never-ending. What was really impressive was how well they kept the trail. It was maintained regularly and had man-made steps and bridges in some sections of the bush. The pain in our legs didn’t appreciate the steps but at the same time we were happy to know we didn’t have to make our own trail. It was also amazing how different each side of the mountain was. We started off in a rocky terrain and ended in a rain forest. Not your typical walk in the woods. I was really proud I made it, and we are still in love. I guess overall it was a great experience and a wonderful metaphor for marriage – It can start of smoothly, sometimes be tough and rocky, but with a lot of laughing and a bit of cussing, end up in a magical, tropical place on the other side.
Our stay at the Adventure Lodge and Motel was short and sweet. It was a cute little place- sort of an apartment with a nice big porch attached in front. The doors were sliding glass so the view was really nice. It had a nice little kitchenette and hot water - perfect for backpackers. We fell right asleep and got up at...gulp...6AM to get ready for the hike. I was excited about it because Scott said it was called "the best one day hike in New Zealand". Of course, I didn't read that chapter of the travel book until just before writing this (post hike) - it also says "it is also the toughest". As you can imagine I had a few choice words in my head throughout the day as Scott dragged me along. The shuttle bus picked us up at the Lodge at 7:40AM - just after Scott dropped the camera batteries and they fell through the cracks in the deck at the Motel. So as the bus driver was telling us to get on, my husband was under the lodge/deck looking for the batteries. (The backside of the deck had a 3 foot crawlspace, thankfully.) It was comical to watch - much like most of our adventures. I didn't know what to do - laugh or cry as the guy was yelling at me. How do I explain that my husband is under the house? It's a laugh a minute for us! Anyway, we got to the trail head in Tongagiro National Park at about 8AM and prepared our packs and set out at 8:30AM. The first part of the hike was really nice. Not too much uphill and lots of scenery. I loved it. The volcano that we were going to hike past was on our right, but somewhat covered in clouds. It seemed more like Colorado landscape than the other places we had been thus far. It was really interesting to see the moss and plants growing around the trail too. About an hour or 2 into the hike, my impression of the site quickly changed. The nice, flat walk I was enjoying along an adorable babbling brook turned into a steep incline through rocks and boulders. I was pretty beat by the first 20 minutes. It must have taken about 50 minutes to get up this steep stretch. Every time I thought I was at the end, it would go up again. Once I got up there, and drank a gallon of water, glared at Scott, and caught my breath, I felt great about being up there. Scott, of course made fun of me, asking if I wanted to give up and call for "Mommy Sue". So, basically out of annoyance, I got up there. Anyway, we walked along what is called Lower Crater, which was what I imagine walking on the moon is like. The clouds were wisping around us and all you could see is white. The turn-off to climb Mt. Ngauruhoe (pronounced Nara-hoe-ee) presented itself. This is the mountain that was Mt. Doom in the Lord of Rings Movies. Because the clouds were thick and the wind a blowin', I declined. It was also an unmarked path to the top. We continued on. I was dancing to the music in my Ipod during this part. More going up, but nothing like that first part. We walked along a valley and moved on up to another crater called Red Crater. This was an outstanding view of the areas around us and a brilliant red crater. Scott then suggested climbing to the peak of Mt. Tongagiro. I decided since we didn't climb the other, the least we could do is get to this one. We got to the top and met a very nice English couple who told us of their South Island travels which inspired us on our mapping for the next part of our journey. We came off the summit and met the original trail at Red Crater again. From there we climbed up again and looked into the crater from the other side. We realized that we weren't just looking into the crater from a mountain trail but from the RIM of the crater. WOW! We could also see some lakes known as the Emerald Lakes and more brilliant reds. Also the clouds around "Mt. Doom" dissipated and we could see the mountain in its entirety. It was a perfect cone shape with streaks of red down the sides. It was like nothing we had ever seen before in our travels. The views are hard to even describe with justice. Unfortunately the clock was ticking, so we started down the side of the crater and down the mountain. We went past the three Emerald Lakes and then past Blue Lake. Then we walked along some paths that lead us around and around mountainsides and valleys and through a natural hot spring, past a few waterfalls and rivers and through the rainforest section (AKA: the bush) and down to the base. 20+ kilometers of hiking from 8:30am-4:30am on a half of bag of cashews, 2 granola bars and a candy bar - I was beat and Scott was too! Scott said this was the sorest he's been after a hike since Mt. Whitney. We both were really ready to get to the parking lot especially since the walk through the bush lasted 2 hours – it seemed never-ending. What was really impressive was how well they kept the trail. It was maintained regularly and had man-made steps and bridges in some sections of the bush. The pain in our legs didn’t appreciate the steps but at the same time we were happy to know we didn’t have to make our own trail. It was also amazing how different each side of the mountain was. We started off in a rocky terrain and ended in a rain forest. Not your typical walk in the woods. I was really proud I made it, and we are still in love. I guess overall it was a great experience and a wonderful metaphor for marriage – It can start of smoothly, sometimes be tough and rocky, but with a lot of laughing and a bit of cussing, end up in a magical, tropical place on the other side.
posted by Mama of 2 sisters, 1 voice at 3:45 PM
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