First drove 3 hours south of Auckland to Waitomo - famous for its caves.
We walked under and then over an amazing natural bridge. The photos of the bridge itself didn't come out so this sign on the overgrown path to the top will have to do.
I brought flashlights to explore the nearby Piripiri Cave. Since the last time I was there with Camille, the Department of Conservation had installed about 50 wooden steps and a handrail down into the cave. Armed with 'torches' we continued further to the bottom. Here we spotted an enormous eel in the very small muddy stream. I sank very deep into the mud in my sandles. Nasty.
A short while further down the road is the stunning Marokopa Falls:
The following morning we went Blackwater Rafting, and then drove 3 hours south to the town of National Park to stay the night.
The main goal of our trip was to walk the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing. This walk is 19 kilometers and is supposed to take 8 hours. Our first view of Mt Ngauruhoe, last erupted in 1977:
We decided to take the side trip to the summit Mount Ngauruhoe - which is famous for being Mt Doom from Lord of the Rings movie. This was incredibly difficult to climb, straight up and straight down on loose rock. I saw some large scary rocks hurtling down as I went up:
On the rim of Mt Doom!!
This side trip was supposed to add 3 hours to our 8 hour walk, but we still needed to get to the carpark by 4PM as that was when our shuttle was leaving. This meant that there would only be one five minute break in the next 5 hours of brisk walking:
Top of the world!It was a miracle we had perfect weather - even an hour later clouds had started forming over the summit:
The Tongoriro Crossing is considered the most beautiful one day walk in New Zealand:
The stink of sulfer
Thanks to Henry and Eric for an awesome trip!
-Carl
1 comment:
so desolate. I guess I thought Mt. Doom was a stage set. Do you think in 600 years it will be like rangitoto island? all treed up?
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