My First 'Great Walk'

Thank You. Okie doke. Its been a while since I wrote you all. I should start this out with a big ol' shout out to the Gilbert Ave. crew for having me for 3 weeks! Yikes! A houseguest for three weeks. I like to think I am a pretty good houseguest though, and they certainly let me believe so. I hope they weren't just being nice! My First 'Great Walk' New Zealand has this whole series of hikes around the country designated as 'Great Walks.' Basically, they are super scenic and have huts to stay in along the way along with campgrounds and such. Now don't go getting any ideas that I was tramping in the lap of luxury, cuz it was definitely just a bunch of bunks, pit toilets and some gas cookers. No electricity or anything. And oooooh, the hike! Now as you all know, I am a Minnesota girl born and raised. And as many of you also know, Minnesota doesn't have mountains. At least not unless you count the Sawtooth Mountains on the North Shore, but for our purposes here, those definitely do not count in the same class as the mountains here! So due to a rainstorm and a little confusion on my part about exactly where I was, I ended up staying with an incredibly nice farm family outside of Turangi on the night I left Auckland. They were enthusiastic about telling me all about things to do in the area, including a secluded beach on Lake Taupo that I was able to hike down to from their property. Unbeliveably clear water (as is all the water here from what I've seen), and I had it completely to myself. I went for a little dip and played in the water before heading back up to the house for lunch. Over lunch, the guys were telling me about the Tongariro Crossing as well as the Northern Circuit, the 3-day route around Mt. Ngauruhoe and Tongariro that encompasses the Tongariro Crossing ("the greatest one day walk in the world"). I went to the visitor center here in Turangi to find out more. The woman working there told me that if I wanted to do the Northern Circuit I should start it the next day. So that I did! And oh my goodness was it worth every minute (and every blister, and believe me, I've got a nice big one on my left pinkie toe!). A few highlights: The Crossing. First off, this is what I started to mention earlier with all of this mountain talk. I was scared out of my mind! Going over those muddy, slippery mountain passes where you have 5 inches of trail and then a sheer drop into a crater. Yeah. Scary. But I got to see some amazing scenery, which I will post photos of soon, along with descriptions, so I'll skip those here. It was a very big climb and that heart-stopping descent where you are sliding down through loose gravel on a ridge only a meter or so across, afraid that you won't be able to stop in time and you'll hurtle off the edge from your own inertia. The next day. At Ketetahi Hut the first night, we had a great crew of people staying there including a Swedish girl named Karin and two Dutch guys whose names I can barely say, let alone spell. But they are all nice! That's the important part! The four of us set out the next day with the Hut Warden's advice of a mountain to climb off-track for a great view out over the Emerald Lakes, Blue Lake, Mt. Ngauruhoe and Mt. Ruapehu. When we got up to the saddle where we had to head out off-track, the boys decided to go BACK over the crazy crossing of the day before to head up the summit of Mt. Ngauruhoe. You would not believe how steep the climb was! Totally doable, but 2 days in a row?? I was not up for it! Neither was Karin, so we split up and the two of us headed up the Warden-recommended mountain, Rotopaunga. She let me borrow one of her trekking poles to help out with the gravelly mountainside and I am such a convert now. Those things are great! But anyway. We made it to the top. 1856 meters. We got some nice views and then headed down to continue our hike to Waihohonu Hut. The day was glorious and we had a spectacular hike. We ended up meeting up with some of the German guys who had also stayed at Ketetahi with us the night before and hiked with them. We stopped for photos every ten minutes because literally, the scenery changed that often. Not just little changes, dramatic changes. The most amazing one was when we were walking along a gravelly, arid ridge with low, scrubby plants and coming to the bottom, we passed a line in which there were a few short trees. This line of transition was literally less than a meter wide, and then we were in one of the lushest, greenest, forests I have ever experienced. It was crazy! We had another nice night at Waihohonu Hut, although I had to switch beds during the night because the guy next to me was snoring! Luckily I wasn't on a boat in the middle of Lake of the Woods, eh? Oh! And the Hut Warden, along with the rest of us got a good laugh out of the German guys who were hiking with us. They went off to find a tent spot, set up and came back to make their dinner. The Hut Warden commented on how lucky they were to have these beautiful sites by the river. The boys looked at her blankly until she asked "where did you guys set up your tent?" "up there." "on the helicopter landing pad???" As it turns out, yes. They had set up their tent on the helicopter landing pad! How funny is that? She totally cracked up whenever she saw them for the rest of the night, but they left their tent there because there weren't any helicopter runs scheduled and they didn't want to move it at that point, understandably. The way out. Our last day it RAINED. Almost the whole way. And we all had sore feet and just hiked it back as quickly as possible. The rain obscured everything but the very close scenery, so we couldn't see much anyway. Luckily, it cleared up just in time for us to fully appreciate Taranaki Falls. Both because it was GORGEOUS and because it meant we were less than an hour from Whakapapa Village, where we ended our hike! I've got a great photo of the falls that I'll put up here, probably tomorrow. Whats up next. Next, Karin and I are going to rent canoes and do a 3-day, 2-night trip down the Whanganui River, a little southwest of here. The trip, although done by canoe, is considered another of New Zealand's Great Walks. I've been wanting to do this one since Beth told me about it at Spanish class, cuz I LOVE canoeing! A couple women who saw me looking over the materials at the Backpackers tonight (called Extreme Backpackers - I guess after all the extreme sport activities you can do around here?? Its a great place though. there is a climbing wall and a really great cafe) stopped to tell me what a wonderful time they had doing the 3-day trip too. So I am really looking forward to it. After that, I will head down to visit Anne Skoglund and tour around Wellington, then over to the South Island. I don't yet know what I'll do between Whanganui and Wellington, but I'm sure I'll be able to find something to entertain myself! There doesn't seem to be much problem with that! I think that's it for now. OH - I'll leave you with my favorite sign from the DOC Huts, recruiting volunteer DOC (Department of Conservation) Hut Wardens: "Do you have good people skills? Are you fit and helthy? Can you spell? Do you have first aid training?" How hilarious is that? Obviously someone at DOC has a sense of humor! I'll leave you with that because its 10:30 and I'm going to bed! love, Ilana :)