Em and I had both read up on the famous Tongariro Crossing and we were keen to get up into the volcanic mountain landscape and see it for ourselves, it didn’t disappoint either despite the crowds on the route as stunning views in all directions. We had a very different experience too as I opted to go off piste and add in Ngauruhoe (35 degree scree, painful ascent and fun and fast descent) and Tongariro volcanoes plus two other excellent little hills off the main track, this worked well as I got a longer harder run (approx 17 miles and 2000m if interested, normal route is 12 miles and only 400m climb) and avoided the masses apart from at the start and the end. The higher volcanoes are apparently sacred and shouldn’t be climbed but so are most of the high mountains in New Zealand and kiwis I met later agreed that they’d climbed them too and it’s really just to keep the masses from heading up and destroying the landscape, the numbers on the crossing are frightening and lots are ill prepared or foolish (carrying a baby in a high mountain environment, really?) The following day Em was shuttled to the start as I had been to be told it was too windy and they weren’t allowed to start. Being made of stern stuff she was dropped at the finish and ran nearly the whole route twice as an out and back half into the headwind. (Umm this would have been easier mr bus driver with a tailwind but hey ho??). Anyway I’m rambling, I’ll let the pictures sum up a walk that truly lives up to the hype, even the standard route has some epic views….
Best thing about camping on Lake Taupo is after a day of breathing in volcanic dust and getting hot and bothered you can retreat to your campsite and swim and SUP to your heart’s content…
While Em was up in the hills the mini team and I also found some excellent waterfalls north of Taupo and visited the tasty Huka Honey Farm where we gorged ourselves on endless honey, mead and liqueur samples, final night in Taupo we also feasted on BBQed New Zealand lamb, kebabs and plenty more, hungry work all this travelling!
Sadly all good things come to an end and we left Taupo and headed west to Tauramanui and the famous Whanganui river journey, which is anything from a few hours up to 5 days on the river. We opted for the quick fix (3 year olds have short attention spans!) and enjoyed the great grade 1 and 2 rapids on a 15km section of the river near the start. It felt similar in size and difficulty to the River Tay with plenty of interest but the waterfalls and cliffs on the banks were definitely not Scottish style paddling….
A quick run and hitch back to the car and onwards westwards onto the Forgotten World Highway which took us on a remote winding journey through endless hills, it had a few highlights of gorges, tunnels and views but to be honest went on forever (42 year olds have even shorter attention spans!). and we were glad to see the impressive mount Taranaki looming ahead and finally reached New Plymouth where we celebrated a big day of travel with a slap up fish supper on the shore and moved into the next campsite at Oakura start of the surf highway, after days inland it was nice to hear the waves crashing outside the tent again. The Surf highway lives up to it’s name with beautiful remote beaches and some great waves for surfing, all with Taranaki looming overhead which is quite something (though it’s in the cloud a lot of the time being over 2000m higher than the beach!). Paritutu Rock is worth seeking out – a dramatic mini mountain overlooking New Plymouth and the sea which packs more climbing into a 400m walk than you’d think possible!
A big drive south followed after a final surf but we were blessed with a couple of nights at a friend’s empty house in Wellington complete with home brew, pool and water slide! (thanks Lani, you’re a star!) A fun day was had exploring predictably windy Wellington – Te Papa museum is excellent (and free!) and strolling along the waterfront, up the cable car and down through the botanic gardens a nice loop. Friendly locals shouting “Happy New Year” also made us smile, on that note happy new year to everyone reading this far (sorry this post got a bit longer than most! We seem to be packing in the action lately!) and we’ll see you next on the South Island, choppy interisland ferry and no doubt sick children first, wish me luck….
Harrison Family Adventures Down Under 