We had another very early start to the day today...up at 545. We met in the hostel kitchen for bfast...I mixed it up and had toast and a boiled egg today. By 645 we were on the road for a 2 hr drive to Tongariro National Park where we would begin our hike of the Tongariro crossing which is a 20km treck across two volcanoes that takes about 6 hrs. The weather was dreary to say the least and we were warned by our guide that we could have a very wet and miserable hike ahead of us.
We arrived at our scheduled meeting point where we met with a local transport company that would take us to the start of the trek and pick us up at the end. It was then that the company rep told us that the hike was canceled due to really poor wind and rain conditions that would likely only get worse as we ascended. Needless to say we were all completely deflated. Our guide gave us some other hiking options however and we decided we would make the best of the day anyway.
First we checkef into our accomodations...luckily they were ready to take us even tho we were much earlier than anticipated. We are staying at a place called Skotel...its a cross between a hostel and a ski chalet. This area is very popular for skiing in winter but in summer it is not so busy. I scored an entire room with three beds all to myself! Its not the Ritz and I do still have to share a bathroom but overall no complaints. After getting settled, our guide met us around 11am and he drove us up Mt. Ruapehu, which is one of the volcanoes in the park. The landscape was really unique (black volcanic rock and yellow schrubs) and we had some views despite the clouds. The guide then drove us partway down the volcano to the head of the Silica Rapids hike. It was about two hour hike and it was pretty wet. It didn't pour but it rained fairly steadily. Luckily I was prepared with rain gear for myself and my pack.
The landscape at the top of the trail was made up largely of dry shrubs (I use the word dry with caution ) and low lying bushes. Initially the trail was windy over rolling hills. There were decent views of the other volcanoes in the distance (Tongariro and Ngauruhoe-Mt Doom from Lord of the Rings). The path was made of gravel for the most part but at times there were wooden walk ways and we crossed some bridges which traversed little rivers and waterfalls (I guess these would be the "rapids"). There was even something called the "red rapids" where the water looked red because all of the minerals and chemicals in the water had caused a coating on the underlying rocks and riverbed.
As we decended, there were many more green trees and shrubs and it almost looked like thick rainforest.
This hike ended in the centre village known as Whakapapa, actually pronounced "fuckapapa" believe it or not. After a short stop at the visitor centre for toilets and snacks (I also bought a hand made tea towel there) we headed out for our second hike of the day. ..the Taranaki Falls Track. This was another 2hr hike...and you guessed it , it was still raining.
The terraine of this hike was quite similar to the first except we werent really decending or ascending that much. There were several hills but the overall elevation didn't really seem to change. The highlight of this trek came at about the halfway point when we came across some beautiful waterfalls. One was really high and we were able to walk right up to it and even behind it.
By this point I was feeling the fatigue! But I hobbled along with the others and we made our way back to the hotel. We were all pretty damp and tired. After a hot shower I was pretty much back to myself again and then it was time for dinner. The chef at the hotel prepared us an awesome buffet of BBQ. There was quite a spread...pasta salad, cole slaw, two types of potatoes, sausage, steak, hamburgers and chicken breast. It was delish and we were hungry!!! We also got dessert tonight which was a nice treat. It was like a bread pudding with ice cream and fruit. Also YUMMY :p
Since dinner i've been sitting in my room catching up on todays blog. This is a lot of work!! I should go join the others now tho. Dont want to be seen as anti-social! Tomorrow we head out on a long drive (5 or 6 hours) to the town of Wellington. Not exactly sure what's in store yet. Stay tuned...
Silica Rapids Trek:
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