Tongariro crossing and MOUNT DOOM

ahhh we had heard that there was a lot of Lord of the Rings stuff in NZ whatev. but on thanksgiving we got to see the mother of them all Ngurahoe or in laymans turms MT. DOOM.

after spending the night at a campsite in the middle of nowhere we headed into the tiny mountain town of National Park. We caught the 7:30am bus to the trailhead with like thirty other people and arrived just before eight. There were tons of people at the trailhead and we were soon informed that somewhere around 6000 people do the Tongariro crossing every day- and you could tell. My favorite group that was out there was a group of what looked like 10-12 year olds with their teachers and parents getting ready to do the 20km walk- i was just so impressed that they were out there ready to take it on and it made me think of camp. sigh.

The crossing takes you up through the saddle inbetween Tongariro and Ngurahoe and then back down the other side through sulfer lakes and eventually rainforest at the bottom. You could see Doom from the trailhead pritty clearly and we made it to the first hut in about 15 min walking straight towards the mountain, and we made it to the saddle in about an hour. There is no actual trail up Ngurahoe and once we got there we found out it is because its actually a giant black sand dune with snow on it. So the climb up was was really a crawl/scramble up a steep slope of sand- at least that meant we got to slide on the way down.

we had lunch at the first crater, exhausted by all the sand before heading the rest of the way over the saddle and across the ridge to the other side. when you cross you can the red side of Doom as well as the immensely red rocks of the red crater. Standing there you can really understand why they chose this location for Mordor. Its all a crazy rock landscape and the sulfer everywhere makes the ground warm in spots, and just the other side where the lakes are it turns the beaches and sand a mustard yellow color. Its really spectacular!

The decent was where it got tough because just when you think your almost there you have an hours walk through grasses and tundra and then another hour through rainforest. But you can hear running water almost the whole way and its a nice change from the cold alpine air in the saddle.

Afterwords we made it back in one piece, even though we had to wait on the bus forever for two jackasses that actually had just decided to hitch a ride back to town. We then drove from the park to New Plymouth which is a town of about 70,000 people on the west coast (in the knobby part of the North island) that recently won best town under 75,000 in the world! And so far its not bad. The coffee shops are nice, the beaches are crazy long and black with good surf and there are boardwalks and nature walks everwhere you go.

New Plymouth is also our first go at couch surfing. we are staying with a lovely woman named Jan who moved back here after 17 years in Dunedin and parts of Australia. She is full of energy and even got us to go on a beach walk with the dogs at 6:30am!

tomorrow we head for Mt. Egmont. YAY!

Taupo and the Waitomo Caves

We are stuck in Taupo at the moment. Our great car made it 1000km before tunring into a not so great car. Pressing the gas to hard blew the line out of the power steering pump. We then lost the belt and have been without PS for the past 24 hours, all fine and good really, except now it just won't start. Even after Aaron yelled at it and kicked it.

on a good note we did a short hike to the Huka falls today. they were really cool. The water was so pure it was this light blue colour with the white foam of too much water crashing and rushing through a small space. really beautiful.
At the beginning of the hike just as you go over this bridge you notice the water going under is steaming, it turns our that it is a free thermal pool area right where the hot water meets the river. There were tons of people there all day, but we decided not to go in.

We spent the afternoon kayaking lake Taupo. The last stretch of 400m or so got really windy and we got to play in the white caps fighting the waves and getting splashed! it was so much fun!
We paddled the coast some 3km to the Mauri rock carvings done on a small cliff. The carvings are extensive depictions of different local and national Mauri myth, and the main large face depics a cheif that is watching over the people on the water to keep them from drowning.
You can see Mt. DOOM from there as well as a good portion of the rest of Tongariro national park and several other smaller closer volcanoes. The lake was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions the most recent being 1800 years ago. the closest one looks like a pregnant woman on her back with her son floating behind her. In Mouri legend she is said to be the lady of the lake, a princess who escaped a masacre on one side of the lake by swimming the 4 miles or so across to the other side with her son tied to her back.
Our guide was brittish so naturally we had high tea and the end in a nice park/ launching site.

yesterday we spent the day in Waitomo where some of the most extensive caves in New Zealand have been made safe for tourists. the first cave we did was called glow worm cave and rightfully so. First after a short walk through stalagtites and mites you get to a cathedral with wonderful acoustics where many choirs and local artists have performed. Then as you get deeper and closer to the river everyone piles into a boat and you start to see little twinkling stars everywhere. There are so many in the main chamber that the first people to go through the caves there actually thought it was the night sky, but it was really thousands of glow worms. They glow darker as they get older and bigger and before the become insects. Another really cool thing was that they hang tons of silk strands from their nests like spider webs to help them catch insects. The strands are so pritty and they glisten in the little amount of light you do get in the cave. it was just awesome. The second cave had both glow worms and crazy formations. My favorite part about it was the curtain formations formed like stalagtites but flowing down such a line that they actually start to look like fabric coming of the walls. There were also tons of fossils and other crazy formations caused by the river that flows through. The second cave was called Ruakuri or two dogs in Mauri after the wild dogs that were found living in the cave entrance when it was first discovered in the 1800's by a lost Mauri hunter.

The next thing on the list is to do the Tongariro crossing as soon as we get the car situation settled. Send us your happy thoughts.

back to Auckland

We took our first trip out on our own over the last couple of days. Straight east of Auckland is the Coromandle Peninsula. There is a bunch of water in the way, so the drive takes a while. We left Sunday and drove to a couple of can't miss beaches. Hot Water beach is exactly what it sounds like. At low tide, you walk out on to the beach and dig a hole that fills up with water from a hot spring back in the rocks. You really have to experiment with different spots to get just the right tempreature otherwise you end up scalded or cold. Also went up to Cathedral Cove. About a half-hour walk from the parking lot takes you down a cliff to a beach where the water has carved out a huge tunnel between 2 beaches. It was really spectacular. White cliffs with royal blue water, and very few people.
We have also finished our first official tramp. 2 days up to the Pinnacles (neat little mountain in the middle of the Coromandle national park). And as it turns out, backpacking is really hard. At least the carrying all your shit part is. The last couple hours of day 2 was all down hill with a thirty pound pack and brand new boots. My dogs were barkin'.
We stayed at a campsite near the hut on trial. I had heard hut and thought of a modest little one room shack, with a few nice touches. The place was amazing. 80 beds, showers, a massive kitchen with sinks and gas stoves. great big decks with picnic tables and benches. It was kind of a bummer we had the place to ourselves. It would have been fun to see what the place is like when it is full on a busy summer weekend.
The next day we drove out to the tip of the penn. to (what looked like on the map, the little town of) Port Jackson. Turned out to be little more than a beautiful little campground. No town to speak of other than a couple of farm houses. Getting there was a bit dodgey. The dirt road was narrow, and wound around very steep hills/cliffs that ended in the ocean, so it was a slow go. The rewad was a spot on a 2 mile streatch of beach in a beautiful protected cove with steep hills all around us. We had a fire and cooked some crappy pre-packaged chicken soup (all we had with us unfortunately) then watched the waves until it got to dark.
Today we had lunch at a little cafe in the town of Coromandle (great mussle chowder) before getting stuck in traffic on the way back to Auckland. We are now waiting to get back into Cassy and Rich's house, killing the time trying to figure out where we are going to stay for the next few weeks.
We're doing Thanksgiving tomorrow with Cassy, Rich and a bunch of their friends. Lieschen will surely have plenty to say after that is through. We should probably have a batch of photos up soon as well.

oh joy a phone!

our new phone number is

021 0277 0113

and it gets free incoming calls so for all of you out there that have skype it's not free but it is still a fairly cheap way of imediate contact. oh hurrah!

most eventful weekend ever!

ok so cassy and rich took us out to indian friday night and it was the spiciest but bestest - yeah i said bestest- indian food! yum.
then i passed out and aaron and rich went out with rich's friend danny.
Satuday morning we got up and went to the backpacker car lot to find a car and low and behold we did! it is a 1992 honda accord station wagon! we think it will fit the larger party during christmas with a little squeeze and be perfect for our adventure!
we then went to the little farmers market and tried all the localy made olive oil and bread before going to get BURRITOS, yeah Kodi i said Burritos, for lunch beofre heading to the beach.
The beach was amazing! its called Piha and it is a vast black sand beach with cliffs and 2 caves, one that goes through to the other side with water crashing through it. we went around the side at low tide and there was a tidepool that was like its own little swimming pool heating up in the sun, much warmer than the ocean. We walked around on the sand burining our feet for a little bit trying to get a look at the more inland area and then explored the rocks looking at all the 11 legged star fish and clusters of tiny muscles. the beach stand had these crazy good fries too that were thick cut and dipped in vinegar, yum.
after the beach and the beautiful hour drive back we headed to Cassy's work friends house to meet up with some people for a roller derby game. Before we left we had a snack of french fries wrapped in buttered wonderbread and dipped in a sweet catchup just called tomato sauce.
the roller derby was really cool, the local league is called the pirate city rollers and we watched the semi final match between the Mascara Masacre and the Blackheart Bruisers. The Bruisers won by a large margin - their jammer was by far the most skilled player out there and their bashers much more agressive and agile on their skates.
today we are doing more trip planning and prep. while Rich and Cassy prepare for their trip home.

First day in New Zealand

we arrived at 5:30 this morning after losing a day and made it through customs unscathed.
we are still trying to work out the phone situation but it looks like either way it is expensive over here - sorry there probably wont be many calls home.
we will post our new number here as soon as we get one.
Cassy and Rich live right downtown and they really like it here. it is really comforting staying with people from home that have answers to the millions of questions we have been asking.