Yesterday I mentioned I was going to hike the Tongariro Crossing. It's considered as maybe the best walk in New Zealand, and it is quite spectacular being set among active volcanoes - the last eruption was in 1975 and there are sulphorous fumes being emitted from the beautiful emerald lakes as well as from the mountain sides. Re the statistics, the hike starts at 1150m and rises to 1886m at the Red Crater, but the climbing overall is around 850m I would say. The distance is just over 20km- a bit deceiving because the guides say 17k, but that is only within the boundaries of the Tongariro Park. I could have done without the these last three km although they were within forest which was attractive in itself.The scenery is extraordinaily varied with dried up lava flows, flat desert-like landscapes and of course the emerald coloured lakes high up. The weather was beautiful despite a forecast of high winds and rain pm. We were dropped by the mini bus at 7:45pm and picked up again at 3:15pm. I don't know how long I actually walked as I sat quite a bit (yes I do sometimes!) just admiring the scenery and got back about 2:25pm. Excellent day. Highly recommended. For the benefit of maniac walkers, there are side climbs possible - 3 hrs return to Mt Ngauruhoe ('Mount Doom')and 1.5 hrs return to Mt Tongariro.
Today I left the Taupo YHA at 8:00am for Wellington YHA, arriving at 2:00pm after dropping my car off at the ferry terminal.
Misc Blogettes cont.
1. Just remembered I was watching TV in Auckland the morning I left and I heard the worst version on 'Merry Xmas Everyone' ever. If you thought Slade was bad then the Early Birds are something else.
2. Getting away from Taupo, the area is real cattle country. I had a coffee in a township called Bulls; and passed a billboard with a picture of a calf advertising Peaches Teats.
3. Most of the countryside from Auckland to Wellington is green undulating countryside, albeit with more and different trees than we are used to. Closer to Wellington it was a great pleasure to drive along the coast at Pukerua Bay and have wild waves splashing onto the carriageway on the other side of the road. And Wellington itself, like Auckland, has a beautiful harbour location. Went to the top of Mt Victoria (shades of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong-the Victorians were boring in this respect!) for a walk and lovely views of the city. It was quite warm and humid and I felt good and relaxed.
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