Rotorua part 2

On Monday we took a 2 hour drive south into Tongariro National Park to do the Tongariro Crossing, which is considered to be one of the best 1 day treks in the world. We parked at the carpark which was at an altitude of 1100m and started the trek up to Mount Tongariro

Luckily the volcanic risk was normal

Mount Tongariro last erupted about 15 months ago and there are 2 other active volcanos in the area, Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu, the tallest at 2800m.

It was a beautiful sunny day with a nice breeze and looming over us was Mount Ngauruhoe

Mount Ngauruhoe

Mount Ngauruhoe was used as the basis for Mount Doom in the Lord Of The Rings films.

The start of the track

The start of the track had a wooden path laid down, but only for a few hundred meters.

View back down the track from about half way up

About half way up, just before it got really steep

The South Crater, like walking on the moon but with gravity. And air.  And it was warm. So not really like walking on the moon, but that's what it seemed like.

Apparently the next Star Wars film will have scenes filmed around this crater and these vilcanos. We would be going up and to the left to the summit of Mount Tongariro. 

Me at the summit of Mount Tongariro (1978m), with Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruhapehu in the background.

Blue and Emerald lake, with josh just after he put his hand over a steam vent to see how hot it was (it was very hot!).

You can just about see some steam coming out of the peak behind Blue Lake at the back left of the photo, this is where it erupted 15 months ago.

We came down the way we went up walking about 20km and climbing 996m, Josh tried lifting his arm up and down to try and get his altimeter up to 1000m of ascent, but it didnt work.

On the way back we stopped at Hula Falls on the Waikato river. The river narrows to about 15m where the falls are, and water flows over it at over 200,000 litres/second. It isn't very high, but it is quite loud and powerful.

Huka Falls, from a secret track

While we we looking around a kiwi approached us asking us if we wanted to do something crazy, after a few seconds of trying to work out what he was talking about he said he was taking a couple of other people down a secret track which leads to a cave under the falls, we we a hit hesitant but went along with it. Brendan took us and another couple (which his dad had picked up hitchhiking, and they were now camping on his lawn) round the metal railings and on to a small path, which you could only see if you were looking for it. Along the way he asked if we all had our wallets and phones, and I immediately thought he was going to mug us and then push us into the river (he didnt though, and I felt bad for thinking that he would because he was genuinely a nice guy and I think he was proud to be showing us this path that is only known to a few locals), he went on to explain that he recently had his car broken into in the car park and that it was safer to have valuables with us. As we approached the cave, the sound of that falls was deafening and he gave us instructions and some vague safety advice, which involved him slamming you against the rocks if you slipped (fortunately nobody did, as I am not sure if this safety technique would have worked)

The cave is just behind the branches of the tree.

Josh and Ingrid along with the girl went into the cave, and got soaking wet.

Josh coming out of the cave

On the way back we stopped at a bit where the river hat cut a tunnel under the ground, and Brendan was going to swim through it and out the other side, and asked if anybody else wanted to do it. It was about 6m long, but the waves created by the falls made it look pretty rough. There was no safety advice this time and only the girl was brave (or stupid) enough to do it. When we got back to the carpark he gave us his business card and his name was Brendan Wolf, and his business was adventure tourism, and he did all this stuff all the time. If we had known this before, we would have been a bit more trusting in his safety techniques!

Bonus photos

This is a 360° panoramic shot, not sure what it will look like when not shown on my phone.

Rotorua Part 1

After a 5 hour bus journey I arrived at Rotorua bus station with Josh waiting for me. The first thing we did was go and get a beer and have a bit of a catch up - this was only the second time I had seen him in over 5 years!
Josh and Ingrid had rented a house for the week with another couple as they were in ton for the MTB National Championships in which Ingrid had entered. On the way to the house Josh warned me that the house belonged to a retired couple who normally live in it, but had rented the house out as they have a motorhome in which they can use for such situations, however they didn't seem to understand that with a motorhome you can go anywhere in it and they chose to park it about 30m from the house! They also kept coming in the back door and using the downstairs as they pleased. The lady is an artist and her art is displayed prominently throughout the house (none of which were hung straight!), and on entering the house you are greeted with a large 3D water feature art insulation, including 2 stuffed birds!

Very much an acquired taste

We later found some more artwork in the garage with a price tag of $3500! She also painted a bike inspired price while we were there and tried to sell it to us, which we politely declined!

Lake Rotorua and the town are located on top of a volcano, which last erupted about 240,000 years ago and the town is known as 'sulphur city' due to its abundance of geothermal activity - there are lots of hot springs, mud pools and geysers in the area which release a lot of sulfur.

A hot spring located near the lake

After a good nights sleep we drove to the centre of town to try out my new bike, Ingrid is sponsored by the distributor of Cube bikes and was able to get me a deal on it.

We rode from the centre of town through an area with a lot of geothermal activity - lots of steam vents and hot springs- to Whakarewarewa Forest. This forest (I'm not typing that out again) is home to some of the best mountain biking in New Zealand and here the National Championships had been held at the weekend. As it was my first time mountain biking Josh and Ingrid were going to take me down some grade 2 trails, but took me down some grade 3 trails on the way to the grade 2 trails and before I knew it I was careering down a grade 3 trail, following Joshs path and speed, I nearly lost control of my bike but managed to stay on. Josh looked back at me and said he had never seen me look so scared, and then said that I shouldn't go down as fast as him (which he could have told me before!). After that we got to the grade 2 trails and they were a lot of fun, but not really challenging. I went out a couple of times after that and in addition to exploring the grade 2 trails i had a go at a few of the grade 3 trails and am happy to report that I managed to go down almost everything without falling off. 

Only a short one this time ( this is the second time I have written this, the first time it didn't save properly and I lost it ), but there is plenty more to come (including bigger and better volcano's, thermal wonderland and a secret cave under a waterfall.....)

Bonus photos

Auckland

After 36 hours travelling I finally landed in New Zealand, after a visa check I headed towards biosecurity. I had some Yorkshire Tea and Marmite in my bag for josh which I had to declare, but was let through without any problems. I took the next shuttle into Auckland which was about 45 minutes away. I thought I could find my way to the hotel easily, but ended up taking an hour while carrying about 40kgs of luggage! I was glad to be able to have a lie down and a shower. In the evening I headed out to the city to have a look around. One of the things I noticed is that there are loads of Sushi bars and Japanese restaurants, so I decided to have sushi for dinner and was surprised how cheap it was - $20 (£10) for five plates of sushi and a beer!  After dinner I was feeling very tired, I had only managed to get about 4 hours of sleep on the plane, but wanted to try and stay awake until about 10pm so I could get used to the time difference quicker, so I wandered about the city a bit longer and by the time I got back to the hotel I feel asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.

I was up at about 7am ready for my first day in New Zealand. I had decided to take a ferry to Rangitoto Island, an island 20 minutes from Auckland Harbour formed by a volcanic eruption about 600 years ago.

                                                           Rangitoto Island



There are only 2 return ferry's after arriving at about 10am, one at 12.30 and the last one at 3.15, I decided to spend the day on the island and get the last ferry back. It took about 45 minutes to reach the summit (a lofty altitude of 260m) which gave brilliant views of Auckland City.

                                               Auckland from Rangitoto Island

After having a rest at the top of the volcano I started down the other side passing people who had taken a ride on a tractor/trailer to get near to the top complaining that they had to do a 10 minute walk up some steps! I continued along the road towards Wreck Bay, which was once used as a dumping ground for old ships. You can only see one today, but a few decades ago there were a dozen or so ships left to rot.

                                                                 Wreck Bay

I stopped here for lunch and took the track back to the road and continued round the island. As the island was forms by a volcanic eruption there were a lot of lava rock fields.

                                                     Me in a field of lava rocks

After another couple of hours walking around the coast I arrived back at the port with 15 minutes to spare.

After arriving back in Auckland I headed over to Skytower - New Zealands tallest building. I bought a ticket that allowed me to go up now and to come back later in the evening when it was dark. The lift has a glass floor panel in it so you can down to the ground while you are taken up to floor 52 where you have great views all round the tower.

A view from Skytower

If you were in the right place you can see people falling past the window as they jump off from a few floors above (attached to wires, not people trying to kill themselves!). I then took the lift up a few more floors to the top floor (disappointingly only 220m up the 328m tower) where the views were exactly the same as a few floors below, so no need to put a photo up of it!

After a shower at the hotel I headed out to Albert Park where the annual Auckland Lantern Festival was being held.  Auckland (and NZ) has quite strong ties with Asia, especially China and this festival is held in conjunction with the Chinese New Year. As I approached the park there were over 100 food stalls selling every kind of (mostly) Asian food there is, and I had a Japanese chicken Okonomiyaki (pancake) and some Chinese dumplings, all the food was quite cheap with most things costing $5-$7 (£2.50-£3.50). After filling up on food I entered the park to look at the lanterns.

A lantern

More lanterns

Even more lanterns, lit the traditional way with l.e.d lights.

Still jet lagged I was getting a bit tired at this point, but thought I would go back up the Skytower as it was now dark, but it was the same as before only darker.

The next day I was up early again and had a few hours before my bus to meet Josh, I left my luggage at the hotel and went for a walk along the seafront to the harbour and had a loom around, but I didn't take any photos so you will never know what I saw.

I wisely decided to call a taxi to take me to the bus station, rather than lugging my luggage across the city and after less than 48 hours in Auckland I was on my way to Rotorua to meet my brother Josh……

Bonus photos: