Tongariro National Park

Since we both worked through Easter weekend, we decided to make this past weekend extra long and fun. We drove 4.5 hours north to Tongariro National Park to hike the Tongariro Northern Circuit. Below is a view of Mt Ruapehu as we approached the park.

The park is the site of three volcanoes, one of which is now well-known for being "Mt Doom" in The Lord of the Rings. We set out on the 50km hike on the day we drove up, starting with a gentle 3 hour walk to the first hut and campsite. We set up our tent just after sunset, and could see Mt Taranaki in the distance (this was the mountain we hiked around last year, when the sole of my boot exploded!)

The second day we got up at sunrise and were on the trail by 8am, hoping to miss the hordes of dayhikers making the trip. This stretch of the trail is called the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, and is so well-advertised in Lonely Planet and beyond that it succeeds in attracting hundreds of dayhikers on any summer day.

It is a beautiful trail that climbs up rocky volcanic slopes for magnificent views of Mt Ngauruhoe (pronounced something like Now-roo-ho-ee, aka Mt Doom) and the Emerald Lakes. Needless to say, being one amongst 30 people at any given point on the trail, and having loud groups of British teenagers in Converse sneakers all around you, takes away slightly from the beauty of the mountains. However, the campsite that night was nestled on golden tussock slopes overlooking Lake Taupo, and after all the dayhikers left there were just a handful of hikers continuing on the next day.

In the morning we woke to a cloud-filled valley, and re-traced our steps for an hour to meet up with the trail that continued around the mountains. We had a chance to see the red rocks, steam vents, and green lakes again without all the crowds. The rest of the day was like walking through a moonscape or desert - long exposed stretches of sand and volcanic boulders with little life except for soft lichens and energetic grasshoppers.

During the sunset that evening, we could see clouds moving in over Mt Ruapehu, in the direction of the next day's trail. Although we woke to a frosty tent and ground, we were glad to see relatively clear skies. The trail wound between the mountains, over undulating and exposed terrain. We stopped for lunch at Lower Tama Lake, formed by a crater, and made it back to the car just as dark clouds rolled overhead.

We had shared the trail with two other solo trampers - an older French woman from Paris and a young Quebecois guy from Montreal. We gave them a ride to the nearby backpacker's and then continued on our way home to Wellington. We arrived home with sun-kissed faces, sock tans, and aching muscles, and were glad to spend the windy, stormy night inside.

For more pictures of our hike, click on the picture below and it will take you to another photo album online. Once there, you can click on "slideshow" near the top left to see bigger versions of the pictures.

Tongariro Northern Circuit

Happy Easter from New Zealand!

We explored the Botanic Gardens last week with our friends visiting from Vancouver. This weekend is Easter and both Friday and Monday are public holidays. It makes for a lot of traffic on the roads and we haven't decided yet whether we will head off hiking and camping, or if we will stick around home and go hiking next week.

Humphrey

Most people probably don't know that I once played piano. I took lessons from the age of 6 or 7 and played until I got sick with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome at the age of 12. I was too weak to hold my hands up to the keys, and when I was finally well again at the age of 16, my priorities were school and friends. But, for many years now I have wanted to learn to play again. So, I scoured the TradeMe site for used pianos, and gathered all my birthday money, and bought this lovely Humphrey.

I bought it from a young Mum who had used it for exactly what I am doing. Since having a couple kids, she had not had as much time to play, and they are shifting houses and won't have room for it. I got it tuned today and the piano tuner told me it was likely about 100 years old. A previous tuner wrote on the inside "tuned to concert pitch, 1941", but today I was told it will never get to concert pitch again. I assured the tuner that I wouldn't get to concert level and so Humphrey and I are a good match.

Abel Tasman Coastal Track

Last weekend we flew to Nelson and met up with A and M - good friends from our time in Montreal who have come to NZ for a few weeks. Steve and I flew with SoundsAir - a little charter company that only flies between Wellington and the Nelson-Marlborough region. I had never flown in a little plane before, and loved sitting in the seats just behind the pilot, watching all the dials and controls and scenery below.

The Marlborough Sounds sit at the top of the South Island and we passed over them about halfway through the 35 minute flight.
Once we met up, we grabbed some lunch at the Nelson market, got some groceries for the next few days, and took a shuttle to the Abel Tasman National Park. It is one of the most popular parks in NZ and the Coastal Track is a 3-5 day hike through the park. Each day we hiked for 2-5 hours and each night we set up our tents alongside golden sandy beaches and listened to the waves.
The trail is relatively gentle with the occasional climb over a ridge, and has a wonderful variety of lush forests, long sandy beaches, and vast estuaries.

We swam in the clear ocean waters, collected shells and explored sea life on shoreline rocks.

On our second-last day, just as we were at the peak of feeling our sore muscles and craving food other than pasta and trailmix, we saw signs for "Awaroa Cafe and Lodge". We couldn't resist the temptation of a cold drink and fresh bread, so we took the path to the cafe and found a little oasis of civilisation in the middle of the park.

Our last night was spent at Mutton Cove - a beautiful bay with a long beach, and clear waters. We explored the beach and nearby rocks, and steamed fresh mussels for dessert.

We shuttled back to Nelson on the 17th and enjoyed a meal surrounded by St. Patty's Day festivities. That evening, Steve and I flew back to Wellington and our friends continued on to explore the rest of the South Island.

Fabulous February

My mom and sister arrived on a beautiful sunny Wellington day, and today, three weeks later, they had another beautiful day for traveling back to Canada. The day after they arrived, however, they got to see a true Southerly sweep in with cold temperatures and gusty wind and rain. I think they will believe me now when I say how cold it can be here, even in the summer months. After a few days of exploring around Wellington, the three of us took off for a week of driving around the middle/bottom of the North Island. We drove up to the Art Deco-filled city of Napier first, and took many breaks in the shade of beautiful big trees.

Then we drove to Taupo, where we stayed two nights. We explored the geothermal hotspots, hiked to a waterfall, swam and read by Lake Taupo, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

After Taupo, we visited Lake Rotopounamu (Roto = Lake, pounamu = green stone or jade) and also made a quick visit to the top of Mt Ruapehu. It is one of the active volcanoes in NZ, and in the winter months it is the North Island's busiest ski hill. The next day we took the "Forgotten Highway" - a beautiful drive on winding roads through green hills and farmland. We continued along the "Surf Highway" where Mt Taranaki (site of my disastrous boot explosion last year) sits on one side of the road and the ocean sits on the other. We stopped at various beaches to explore and snap pictures.
After our North Island trip, Mom and K spent a week on the South Island. They explored some of our favourite places, and found some neat spots that we have yet to visit. They came back in time for my birthday, which made it perhaps my most memorable birthday ever. I got to spend the day with my loved ones, who know me so well, and that is something I don't take for granted anymore!

Summertime at Mt. John

Hello all. Steve here once again to report on my recent trip south to Lake Tekapo. One of my advisors (who works in Australia) was visiting NZ and also had some telescope time at the Mt. John Observatory. I went along so that we could discuss my project and also use the spectrograph attached to the 1 metre telescope.

Unfortunately the weather all week was terrible for astronomy - it was cloudy every night we were there. A couple of the afternoons were clear though, so my advisor decided to observe during the daytime. Using the telescope, the star we were after was bright enough to see against the bright blue sky (see the action shot above).

This is a view of Lake Tekapo from a hiking trail that goes around the summit of Mt. John. The tall purple flowers in the foreground were all over the mountain.

At sunset one night we were treated to this rainbow against the mountains in the background.

And on my final morning there, cloud from the Canterbury plain to the east started flowing through a notch in the mountains. It was amazing to watch - like a slow motion waterfall.

Pohutakawa season!

This is the season for the deep red blossoms on the Pohutakawa trees to bloom, and they are just as beautiful as ever. They line the streets and are perched on hillsides; some are small like bushes and other have grown into huge billowing trees. Here are a few shots of the ones around our yard...

A Karaka tree and its poisonous fruit, which eventually turn bright orange/yellow. The fruit used to be eaten, but then they discovered that the seeds are poisonous.

Another bit of colour in our yard...

Steve is at Lake Tekapo for the week, doing some work with the observatory down there at Mt. John. He's taken the camera with him, so hopefully he will post some of the pictures when he returns.