I met Daniel, another British lad, while I was walking with all of my gear to the bus that was to take me to Lake Taupo. It was that easy. He asked if I knew anyone that was going south, and I was, so that was the end of it. I already had a bus ride to take at that point, so we exchanged mobiles and planned to meet up a couple days later. He has a small car and the same need to be frugal, and I needed a ride, so the match worked perfectly.
I made my way down to Lake Taupo (almost exactly the same scenery as Lake Tahoe) that day by bus. My heart was set on doing the 20km Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Tongariro is a volcanic region in the middle of the north island with three massive volcanoes that include Mt. Ngauruhoe, the volcano used as Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings. The landscape is dramatic and it is renowned as one of the best day hikes in New Zealand. Unfortunately, the alpine peaks are also infamous with bad weather, leaving hikers grounded when storms roll in.
I settled in a hostel in Turangi, about 40kms from the national park to wait out a small cyclone that was affecting my crossing. The rain poured down in buckets with brief spots of sunshine as I was left in a hostel with some new German friends. We were all there for the same reason, so we made the best of it. We played board games and cooked good dinners. On the second day, I was able to convince one of them to rent out the mountain bikes in the rain and had a blast getting muddy on the trails down by the river. Who knew biking could be so much fun!!! The trail took us across golden fields, winded through subtropical rainforest and took us over the stream. It was an exhilarating day and provided me with some much needed exercise.
After two days, the weather was still not so good. So I contacted my new ride and hitched a lift up to the town of Taupo to check out some new things while waiting on the storm. He had found a free campsite just out of town, so we met up and got things sorted at the campsite after taking a dip in some hot springs in the afternoon. On our first evening, we met kayakers determined to shoot down the tunnel of rapids just before the seven meter Huka falls. As soon as they put their boats into the river, we took the car down to the falls and got to see them power through them on their way down. It was really incredible to see, but it all happened very fast. A little to fast for my camera finger, as I really only got them at the very end. Good entertainment for the evening though.
Because I seem to plague cars with problems, Daniel had to get the brakes and a tire fixed the next morning. No, I did not actually cause any of this, but it seems ever car I get into has issues. Could be the sheer number of beaters on the roads of New Zealand though. After the car was sorted, we were on our way further south. The weather forecast for the hike on Wednesday was favorable, and we needed to take the opportunity as we had a ferry to catch in Wellington on Thursday.
It ended up being a cloudy day, so we couldn't summit Mt. Doom. But we were able to do the rest of the crossing which blew my mind with scenery I did not know existed outside the realm of the movies. The rocky landscape, covered in bright green, white and orange moss between blackened lava flows was absolutely stunning. We hiked our way up and over, past the steaming sulfur pools and the glowing turquoise of the Emerald Lakes. The trek took us across a valley and then down into the forest before bringing us to the other end. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but 20kms on anyone not used to it would cause a bit of discomfort. My feet healed quickly, but my muscles still ache today. Though, it was all well worth it.
We were in for a long couple of days as after the hike, we got right back into the car and made our way towards Wellington, a good five hours south. The Department of Conservation has a brochure full of free campsites on both islands. They are rugged. No showers or power, but easy to use when you've already got everything you need. We stopped in one an hour north of Wellington and relaxed our muscles for a bit before moving further in the morning.
It was an early day as I awoke at 5:30am and had to pack up my tent. The ferry from Wellington to Picton was at 8:30 and we still had ground to cover. We made it down with plenty of time to spare and set sail for the south island. The weather was beautiful and the seas weren't too rough. Coming into the Marlborough Sounds and their calm waters was breathtaking! We drove off the ferry in Picton and got right back on the road towards the west coast, with the first stop being a double take for me, Abel Tasman.
The winding roads back to Nelson, through vineyards and along the sea were gorgeous yet again. We had a small glitch with some gravel and the windshield on the way, so had to make a quick stop in Nelson where we learned of last night's campsite on the beach. We stopped in the early evening and made a fantastic dinner on the stove. Daniel set up his hammock in some trees on the beach and I made camp and finally got my things organized. It was an early night after two rough days of travel and hiking.
Today, we've driven through the green mountains of Abel Tasman and Kahurangi National Parks and are planning on camping in Golden Bay. Tomorrow is my one month anniversary in New Zealand and I finally feel like I'm in the groove of things. I have a lot to look forward to over the next month and only regret that it's going by so quickly. The plan for now is to move south slowly. I have ten days until I have to be in Queenstown and there are not too many miles to cover. We'll drive along the coast and try to get some beaches in while driving the highway along the glacier-covered Southern Alps.
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