Dec 26th & 27th - Rotorua and Taupo

Dec 26th - Rotorua - White water rafting
(Jo's turn to join the blog and tell the true story of Pamela and Matt in NZ)

Boxing day in Rotorua meant White Water Rafting for us. Rotorua is surrounded by many rivers suitable for white water rafting and kayaking, and we picked a trip down the Rangitaiki - a 14km, 2½ hour trip down grade 3-4 rapids with some beautiful scenery. We were collected from our motel at the civilised time of 10.30am for an hour drive to Murupara, where we were kitted out in our flattering wetsuits, lifejackets and helmets. At the river we had a brief 'here's how to white water raft' tutorial and then we were off down the river. Unfortunately after just 5 minutes we had to do a 50m portage as there was a rapid too dangerous for us, but after that we loaded back into the boat and were off. Matt had been delegated to the back of the boat, with Pamela in the dry spot in front of him, and me directly behind the raft guide (one of the wettest spots!). One of the first rapids was the biggest of the day, a grade 4 rapid, and from the grin on Pamela's face she was clearly enjoying herself, despite some initial mild trepidation about her first rafting experience.

The journey down the river continued with plenty of rapids to be navigated. In the middle was a calmer section which allowed for a short swim/float. The water was a 'refreshing' temperature and also incredibly clear - it was possible to see some huge trout on the river bed. Then it was back into the boat and back to the business of getting through the rapids. It was great fun with the hardest thing being remembering whether I was on the right or the left when instructions were being shouted like 'back paddle right'.

It was all over too soon and we returned to Rotorua on the bus. We picked up the car and after a short stop in Rotorua (we saw a sea plane land on the lake) we headed south to Taupo. We checked into the seventies-decorated 'Chevron Motel' in central Taupo and carbohydrate loaded for the activities of the following day and packed bags ready for an early night.

Dec 27th - Taupo - The Tongariro Crossing
(still Jo!)

Alarm clocks went off at 5.15am today, to ensure we were outside our motel by 5.40am waiting for the bus to pick us up and take us to the start of the Tongariro Crossing - billed as the best one-day hike in New Zealand. The sun was just rising and we could see the snow-clad mountains in the distance - there had been an unexpected white Christmas in Tongariro National Park.

As the bus drove closer we caught glimpses of Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngarahoe (better know to the rest of the world as Mount Doom). Our 17km walk started at the Mangatepopo valley, the location of filming of the approach to Mordor, and after a gentle stroll up the valley floor we began to rapidly ascend (faster in Matt's case than Pamela or I) into the snow. The aptly named 'Devil's staircase', a 200m climb over volcanic boulders, was challenging to the knees, calves and thighs but was successfully completed. The side track summit route up Mt Ngarahoe was closed due to the snow, so we pressed on across the South Crater. The weather was stunning with vivid blue skies and only occasional clouds. We could see all the way to Mt Taranaki (on the West coast, approximately 150km away), which was first even for me, despite multiple trips to this part of the North Island.

The walk continued across the volcanic landscape. Our next climb was up to the highest point of the walk, the Red Crater, at 1886m. This gave us our first glimpse of the 3 emerald lakes - named for their colour, a result of minerals and acid from the mountain. The ground under our feet was warm to the touch, and from a variety of places steam was rising with the smell of rotten eggs. The scenery and colours were starkly contrasted against the white snow on all the surrounding rocky outcrops.

Many photos later we descended down the scree slope to the Central Crater for a tasty lunch break (it was only about 10.30am but we'd been up for hours and felt in need of sustenance). A final short climb brought us to the side of the Blue Lake (known as Te Wai-whakaiata-o-te-Ranihiroa in Maori!) and then the descent started down past Ketetahi Hut and the Ketatahi Hot Springs. The views now were to the north including the whole of Lake Taupo and the nearer Lake Rotoaira. After some initial irritation with endless switch-backs without any apparent loss of altitude or gain in distance towards the Hut, we made it back into scrubs and then verdant forest. Our final destination, the bus pick up point, was attained with time to spare for a quick snooze on the grass verge, then back to Taupo for take-away and an early night. An awesome day!

Jo