Into the heart of Mordor

Today was an amazing day. Myself and several others on my tour did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing; a 19.4 kilometer (just over 12 miles) trek through the Tongariro National Park. This may not seem that ominous or noteworthy, until you realize that Tongariro National park is home to five mountains, including Mt. Ngauruhoe, otherwise known as Mt. Doom from the Lord of the Rings.

Our day started early, and we drove out to the park. We got any gear we needed, hiking boots, a rainproof coat (just in case), and so on; and drove to the starting area. We were dropped off there at around 8:45, and our seven hour epic began. Now, this is not a loop, it's a track through the park. There is no turning back, once you have started you must make the trek. We walked for close to an hour through a valley between two mountains, making the occasional assent, but nothing very eventful. The scenery was beautiful.

After about an hour we came to what is called "the Devil's Stairs," which are very aptly named I can assure you. This was about 45 minutes to an hour worth of hiking up a mountain pass between Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom), and Mt. Tongariro. This was not an easy leg of the trek. Let's just say, no one in our group has any need to do a stair-master workout tonight!

We reached a leg finally where the track leveled out and we could stop for an extended break. At this same spot, was the junction for the trail that lead to the summit of "Mt. Doom." From the beginning of the trek, "Mt. Doom" had been visible to us for the entire time (I bet I took 50 pictures of it). It really does look quite vexing, even in real life. We elected not to try for the summit, because at this point we still had around four hours to go, as pickup was at 4:30 sharp, and the trek to the summit was a 3 hour return from that point. There were, however, some guys in our group that ran the first part of the track (I can't even comprehend that) to have a chance to make the summit (three of them made it). Another reason for not taking the summit was that the summit was still around 1000 meters above where we were after climbing the Devil's staircase.

After the devil's staircase, the clouds rolled in. We went up another pass, climbing higher to a high plateau. The feeling was bizarre. Since we were in the clouds, we couldn't see very far, there was no vegetation at all, and the area was littered with all sorts of stones and rocks. It felt like we were on another planet! But it was flat and level, so we welcomed it after the rapid assent we had made.

We came then to another climbing section. After we had been on that for around 30 or 40 minutes, we stopped for lunch. Since we were still in the clouds and couldn't see, we thought that our assent was complete, and the rest was downhill. It even looked that way on our map... It wasn't. We ascended for another 30 minutes or so, passing red crater (usually a highlight, and big photo-op on the trek, but we couldn't see it because of the clouds.) and climbed a bit more to the Emerald lakes; which we could just make out through the clouds.

From this point, the trek was downhill. We passed between Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Te Maari, past a crater lake, called blue lake (that we couldn't see due to the clouds); and then continuing on. We eventually came down out of the clouds, stopping at a DOC (Dept. of conservation) hut to rest and refill water bottles, and then continuing on the rest of the way to our pickup point.

The scenery was absolutely stunning, and though the trek was among one of the most physically challenging things I have ever done, and the clouds shrouded much of the scenery of the upper parts of the track from view; I still wouldn't trade it for anything. It truly was an awesome experience.

There was a quote that ran through my head all day, through the times that the going was easy and the scenery was extraordinary; to the times that the going was not so easy, and wondered why I had even considered doing this in the first place. Sir. Edmund Hillary, a Kiwi (New Zealander), and the first man (along with his Tibetan guide) to climb to the summit of Mt. Everest coined the simple, yet profound phrase:

- “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.”

On the road again.

Yesterday we traveled from Gisborne to Rotorua. We made stops along the way for photos and a swim stop at a river. It was great. We were in this beautiful gorge in the middle of nowhere. Finally we stopped to put our feet into a thermal pool for a while. We stayed in Rotorua last night and all had fish and chips together. Our guide for the east cape, Jason, labeled all of the places that we had stopped while on out east cape tour. It was great that he did that, my map is starting to fill up.

I failed to mention before, but Rotorua is a very geologically active area with a host of geysers, hot springs, boiling mud pools, and thermal pools. The smell of sulfur hangs in the air everywhere you go. It is a gorgeous area with a great deal of history, first with the Maori and later with British settlers.

Today I hopped back on the main stray bus, and tonight we are in Taupo. Along the way we stopped at the boiling mud pools, just outside of Rotorua. That was really a sight to see.

Further along we stopped at the massive Huka Falls. The water begins crystal clear and turns to a deep blue as the water gets rough going through the gorge, and then finally tumbles over the edge in massive proportions. I can't exactly recall, because I don't have my camera (I took a picture of the sign with the information), but I believe the volume of water is around 650 cubic liters per second. If you don't speak metric, just know... that is a lot of water.

Tonight I am in Taupo. If you look at a map of new Zealand, there is a big lake right in the middle of the north island, that is Lake Taupo. The lake is the giant crater of a giant volcano that erupted sometime around 100 AD.

Tomorrow we head for Tongariro National Park. If the weather is favorable, we will make the Tongarario Alpine Crossing. This is a hike through the park that is around 18.5 kilometers, and takes 8 hours. It passes by, and if you have enough time you may take the track to the summit of, Mt. Ngauruhoe. You may know this mountain as the ominous and vexing "Mt. Doom" from "The Lord of the Rings."

HUGH'S QUOTE OF THE DAY: “People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.” Sir Edmund Hillary.

... ten meters? We're getting worse instead of better.

The last two days were amazing.

Day Before yesterday, our East Cape tour started from Rotorua. We made a few stops along the way, heading east. We stayed the night in paradise. It was a backpackers hostel, but it was nothing short of amazing. It is built on a private bay, owned by a Maori family, who run the hostel. The whole place was great, built in among native Pohutukawa trees. The "Lonely Planet Guidebook to New Zealand," lists the spot as something Robinson Crusoe would be proud of. The hostel itself is amazing, but the location is what makes the whole thing. No one in our group wanted to leave. It is truly one of the most beautiful and relaxing places I have ever seen.

Yesterday morning we got up and continued around the east cape. We stopped at several places along the way to take pictures of the scenery. We stopped in one place to take pictures of the world's largest Pohutukawa tree. The Pohutukawa is a native New Zealand tree also known as the "New Zealand Christmas Tree" because around Christmas time, the entire tree blooms into a crimson red. It's really beautiful.

We stopped at some historic churches as well, one in particular built by the great Maori Apirana Ngata in memory of the Maori soldiers who died in World war One. The inside of the church is decorated with all sorts of beautiful maori carvings and symbolism. It's an amazing mixture of Maori cultural symbolism in a historic church.

HISTORY TIME WITH HUGH: The east cape is a region of New Zealand that remains relatively un-tapped because of it's heritage. It's indigenous Maori were the only Maori in New Zealand to defeat the British during the land wars. Because of this, the region is still heavily populated by Maori today.

In the afternoon, we started hitting beaches. We stopped and had a swim at Tokomaru bay. After that we went on to Tolaga Bay, a small town that had a good fish and chips shop. Our driver for this tour is Maori, he told us about a bridge in this town over the Waiapu river. This particular bridge is popular with Maori kids, who jump off of it into the Waiapu river, about 10 or 11 meters (more than 30 ft.) below. Before he ate, our guide decided he was going to jump off the bridge. He went up and jumped with all of us watching. It just looked like too much fun, so I did it too. IT WAS AWESOME (relax mom I'm fine). I've never jumped from anything that high... it takes quite a long time to get to the water. I climbed up and jumped before I had time to think about it, it was only on the way that I thought, "wow, this bridge is really high."

We hit a few more beaches on the way around, and had a hangi for supper. We spent the night a hostel in Gisborne. I got up this morning to watch the sunrise because...

HUGH'S TIDBIT OF TRIVIA FOR THE DAY: The East cape of New Zealand is the first place in the world to see the sun in the new day. The international date line runs just off the coast, it actually zig zags around the east cape, so that New Zealand doesn't have to be in two different days. This was determined during the millennium celebrations when all of the various news media outlets wanted to report from the place that saw the sun first. The Chatham Island's disputed that they were first, but after some study and observation of sunrise at both locations, the title was given to the East Cape of New Zealand.

Today we are heading back to Rotorua, and getting back on the main tour tomorrow.

Seven meters... you're kidding, right?

Last night was a blast!

It was a Maori cultural night at "Uncle Boyd's." Uncle Boyd is a Maori man who built a Maori cultural center in honor of his parents to show the Maori culture to all who choose to come. We first arrived and ate a Maori Hangi, which is a traditional meal, cooked in a hole in the gound. The food was very good. After supper, the oldest guy in our group was identified as our chief, and we entered the Mauri (central meeting place, literally translates into "house," because the entire village slept together in the Mauri as a community).

Upon entering the Mauri, there was a group a Maori who then began a ritual of determining if we were friend or foe. After the Maori men did the haka, a traditional dance meant to ward off enemies (and let me tell you, it's pretty intimidating), Our chief had to step forward and pick up a leaf that had been laid on the ground in front of him by the Maori warriors. Once he picked up the leaf, we were accepted into the tribe, literally, we are all now considered part of the tribe. He was warned, he did not want to find out what would happen if he did not pick up the leaf (at least not what would have happened 100+ years ago). The acceptance was followed by a hongi (a traditional Maori greeting where two shake hands, while touching forehead and nose to forehead and nose) between all present. It was really cool.

The next half hour or so was a cultural show, where the Maori who were there sang various traditional songs, while doing their traditional Maori dances with them.

After that we split up, the guys went to learn the Haka, and the girls stayed in the Mauri to learn the poi (a traditional dance done by Maori women). The haka is well known in New Zealand. Besides being huge part of the Maori culture, New Zealand's national rugby team, the "All Blacks," perform the haka before their opponents prior to the start of every match. There are several hakas, but I found the one that we learned on you tube, performed by the New Zealand All Blacks. The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGwGBTG4TkA.

HUGH'S TRIVIA FACT OF THE DAY: The first European to originally discover New Zealand, Abel Tasmin, actually came ashore, but legend has it when the Maori warriors came out of the woods onto the beach performing the haka, he promptly got back on his ship, and went on his merry way. It is indeed a very intense ritual.

After breezing through an attempt at learning the haka, the guys came out to perform it in front of the ladies, and in return, they performed the poi for us. Our performance of the haka, was a coordinated effort in not really knowing what we were doing, but we had a good time with it anyway. Luckily the Maori men and boys that were there, joined in with us as well. It was a blast, and the pictures are funny, as it is quite obvious we have no idea what we are doing. Since we were then officially members of the tribe, we spent the night in the traditional Maori way, the whole group stayed the night in the Mauri. It really was an awesome evening. One of the coolest things I have done in a very long time.

Today we got up and had breakfast, and then traveled to Rotorua. Rotorua is Maori for "second lake," because it was the second lake that the Maori explorer came upon when first exploring the area. Just outside Rotorua (the town), we were dropped off for a whitewater rafting trip. We were rafting on the Kaituna River. Now, I know people white water raft all the time, but I never have. So I think I picked a good river to "get my feet wet" in. You see, on this particular river, the white water is not overwhelmingly intense, but the river boasts the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. The drop on this fall is 7 meters. For those of you who cannot think in metric, that is nearly 22 feet... yeah, I know. We were warned from the beginning, there is about a 50% chance that the raft will turn over on this drop; but you never really know, because the water just does what it wants to. And even if the raft doesn't flip over, it still goes under water, because it essentially dives nose first from the top of the fall down to the river below.

The first group that went over the falls, their raft turned over. We were the last to go of 6, so you can imagine sitting there watching raft after raft disappear over the ledge and the nerves building. As we came up to the falls, we paddled close enough to see over the edge and wonder, WHAT WAS I THINKING? Just about then, the raft guide yelled for us to get down (we had practiced this on earlier, smaller falls), we tucked ourselves into the raft, and held on for dear life. So here we went. We dove off, were under water for a few seconds... and emerged victorious. Our raft stayed right side up! The whole trip was amazing, but the big drop was unlike anything I have ever experienced.

We had gone over two other falls before the big one, and the part after the big drop was a piece of cake. In fact, our guide had us jump into the river, and hang onto the raft to go over another fall a ways down the river (this one was much smaller than 7 meters of course). All-together an awesome experience.

Myself and a few others got off the bus here in Rotorua. Another bus will pick us up tomorrow to travel around the east cape of New Zealand.