New Zealand is not the kind of country you visit to spend your days wandering around museums and galleries, it is the kind of country you cycle and tramp and bungy your way through! Rightfully, I assumed I'd be fit as a button by the time I left this country, but things don't always work out as planned and sometimes you spend more time admiring the mountains from the comfort and safety of your car than actually climbing up them.
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| I did it in 6, no big deal |
With just a week left in the country, and the motivation to finally leave Wellington, I decided to do one of the 12 (I think) great walks (and to be fair I kayaked along part of one of them...not the one that is actually meant to be kayaked...but that counts as half at least). The Tongariro Alpine Crossing was conveniently on my way north, and eager to add a full great walk to my list of accomplishments I stopped in on Friday evening. Sadly my dreams were immediately dashed when I was told half of the crossing was closed due to recent eruptions. Lovely. But you could still walk halfway, and come back, making it almost the same distance just much more repetitive! But I knew from Rebecca Black that repetition can really be
fun fun fun fun fun fun fun, especially on the weekend, so I decided to give it a go.
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| What lay ahead |
Despite multiple warnings from the hostel I stayed at about "proper" footwear and "moderate" levels of fitness, me and my barefoot shoes set off into the volcanic distance! Mount Doom was ahead, and if the Hobbits could make it barefoot then so could I! I set off on my journey over easy terrain, nervously looking at the feet of everyone around me, wondering why no one else was going to attempt this in runners...what lay ahead!?
It was a bright clear day and the three volcanoes rested quietly against a clear blue sky. A little too quietly...
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| Mount Doom |
I trudged on, passing over streams and rocky terrain. I overtook my first fellow hikers with runners about halfway to soda springs. They were also wearing jean shorts and cropped tank tops so I wondered at the comfort they should bring. Things seemed ok by the time I arrived at Soda Springs, which was a pretty unspectacular waterfall, but gets its fame from having a toilet stop and marking the beginning of the first ascent. While I had to take a few "picture" breaks, the path was well maintained and had stairs to make it more manageable for us less experienced trekkers. Once the long descent was over we crossed over a flat barren desert like terrain with only a small hill in the distance. It seemed like the end but alas it is never so with hikes.
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| Up, up, up the stairs we go! |
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| Picture Break |
This is where the sturdy of leg and foot became seperated from the gangly. The ascent became steeper and rockier, the edge and fall to sudden doom (excuse the pun) was much closer. And then the loose rocks arrived. Slowly with arms held out for balance I inched my way to the top, trying not to think about what the way down was like. I saw more than one fellow hiker take a tumble wearing 'sturdy' shoes but nobody seemed to be coming to great harm. Finally I reached the top and stared down at the crater lakes, not daring to go all the way to the bottom as I already had enough loose rock to deal with.
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| Crater Lakes |
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| mmm sulpher |
Slowly yet surely I slipped and slided my way back down the path, eventualy making it back to firmer ground, with both me and my barefoot shoes unscathed! Sauron was not pleased with my progress and Mount Doom began to fuss about, sending smoke into the air and onto our path. Nice try, Sauron. Nice try.
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| Trying to stop us getting back by veiling the path with a thin layer of smoke |
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| Red Crate Rock |
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| He grows Angry |
While I wish I could have made it all the way through to the other side, it's not every day you get to hike around 3 recently active volcanoes, so I am happy to add another half check to my great walks accomplishments!
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