So we had the opportunity to take a break and go somewhere. We'd bought a new tent just before moving out here, so we thought we'd give that an outing (seeing as it had just about arrived in time on the container!) and go camping in Taupo. Now, some of you may remember that we visited Taupo on our holiday in 2009. When we were there it chucked it down so we weren't able to do the activities we wanted to. So, the theory was, that we'd head up there over the Christmas break and do the two things we'd wanted to achieve the last time we'd been there.
As we were planning to be so active, we decided to camp at Taupo DeBretts campsite. The main incentive being that the main hot pools are on site and we got cheap entry fees! It turned out to be a very good move!
We drove up on Monday 27th on a glorious day, possibly boding well for our three and a half days in town? Unfortunately it wasn't to be and the heavens opened on the Tuesday. Luckily we knew this in advance and we'd managed to rearrange our plans to have a chilled/lazy day in Taupo, getting a massage and relazing at the hot pools. Oh it really is a hard life!
On the Wednesday, as forecast, the weather broke and bright blue skies greeted us once again. Today was mountain biking and heading out to Fishers Track. It's predominantly downhill but there are some pretty steep uphills to get you there first. Then it's a lot of fun winding down. Except that following the rain on the previous day, it made the track very technical and quite tough. Typically Annalie had a few tumbles (and even Ian came off once or twice!) but it was definitely Annalie who came off worst. Her first fall was quite an innocuous slide but her foot also slipped resulting in a huge graze right across her knee. Still, being the brave soldier she is, she carried on and made it to the end.
After that, it was an hour's drive back to Taupo and to the hot pools to soak the tired muscles in preparation for an even bigger expedition the following day. Still, our preparation was interrupted by our friends Ness and Dave. They were starting their Christmas holiday and were on their way to the East Cape but thought they'd join us in Taupo for a night. And they turned up with beers in hand. Well. It would be rude to turn it down after they'd cycled all the way across town to meet up with us!
Thursday was a very early rise to head back out to the Tongariro National Park. This time we were attempting what is billed as the single best day hike in NZ - the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. It's not so much "alpine" in the summer, but in the winter it's definitely more challenging. Still, it's a 19.4km trek - which doesn't sound much. But when you realise that in that there is an ascent of around 900m in total, it sounds a bit tougher!
Maybe a half-day mountain bike trek wasn't quite the best preparation for this! But then we had originally planned to do the Crossing on the Tuesday, but they weren't even running transport that day, the weather was that bad. The guidelines suggest it's a 6-8 hour trek, so we knew what our targets were.
The climb starts off gradually and then gets pretty steep, although you are helped be a lot of steps. When you reach the Southern Crater, there's an option to climb the summit of Mt Ngauruhoe - but that was a three-hour side trip that we didn't reallyu have time for. Plus it's a bloody steep climb and there's no way we'd have made it!
Still, it was a good photo opp! In the background is Mt Ngauruhoe (pronounced Now-rue-oe-ee). This was Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings films, and you can see why they filmed so much around here. It is truly desolate and barren, but picturesque at the same time.
From there it was up to the highest point of our climb, which was not quite so forgiving and no steps! It was more mountain goat track! But it made for an interesting climb. At the top you're greeted by the sight of the Emerald Lakes, which get their colours from the minerals taken from the surrounding rocks. They are absolutely stunning and a welcome break from the volcanic landscape.
Obviously there was no other excuse needed to hit the hot pools again, so guess what? We did! And then it was a bit of packing ready for a fairly early departure on Friday, followed by an all-you-can-eat buffet to replenish the energy we'd burned during the day.
You can see the rest of the photos from our Taupo holiday here.
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