I'm writing now from Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's first national park, and the fourth established in the world. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, and well, needless to say, absolutely amazing. Tomorrow morning I leave at 7:15 a.m. (late, I know) to start the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, roughly a 20 kilometer walk through supposedly stunning landscapes, including craters and lakes. I hope to also do the summit of Mt. Ngauruhoe, which got snow last night. It will stretch the trip by another possible two to three hours. The Crossing itself is supposed to take seven to eight hours, and our transport will be picking us up at 4 p.m. Aside from the high winds and freezing levels down to 1600 feet tomorrow (better than the rain, snow and very high winds the last couple days), I've also got a return of my head/chest cold. Kayaking and then caving in ice cold water one day after the next with a lingering cough probably didn't help much. More on that later. Anyway, the weather is supposed to be better tomorrow (Sunday), and crampons and ice axe are likely not needed, though it's a scree slope which is more easily climbed when snow is packed hard on top and such equipment is used. We'll see what happens. I'm going to be timing myself along the way, and if I'm making good time, then I'll attempt the summit (which is supposedly Mt. Doom from the film "Lord of the Rings"). The altitude should not be a problem, as it really only goes up to about 2,200 meters, or thereabouts. Fingers crossed. I've got a list of gear to pack up tonight, and have already packed up food for tomorrow. The Crossing itself, in fair weather, is supposed to be a medium level walk for a person of average to good fitness.
I'm staying at the National Park Backpackers in a dorm room with a heater, but damn is it cold. I've got a base layer and another layer on top of that, just sitting here in the kitchen avoiding my sweet tooth so that I'll have some peanut M&Ms left for my trip tomorrow. I'm really hoping I wake up feeling a lot better. I've had so much tea and water today as well as tons of soup, plus vitamins. Funny but my best net connection has been out here in the middle of nowhere. Go figure.
I'm very excited about the trip tomorrow. Can't wait to get moving. I wonder how I will do, and whether there will be others with my fitness level (whatever that is) to hike with. Thing is, I don't want to rush through the Crossing to make the summit, but I am not really a dawdler either. I often have to remind myself to stop and take in views -- though this hasn't been a real problem in New Zealand.
Anyway, yesterday we stopped over at the Waitomo caves. Our bus broke down on the way over -- pouring rain and mechanical issues are no fun, but it got fixed in about 15 minutes. These Kiwis are good! Once we got to the caves, I did some black water rafting in underground caves where we saw an amazing array of glowworms. It's hard to describe, but just imagine thousands of little blue lights on the ceilings of these pitch black caves. These glowworms only exist in New Zealand, and a bit of Australia. New Zealand is known for them. The glowworms live in the larvae stage for about six to nine months. During that time they build themselves a little hammock, slink down a bit of sticky string like a spider, and shine a bright blue light, which is really their crap, from the tops of the cave. This light is used to attract other insects in the cave, who think that the light is a way out. They fly toward it, and then are caught in the sticky string, and reeled up by the worms. Dinner. After about six to nine months the worms hatch into a type of fly, which has no mouth and therefore cannot eat. For about a week or so the males try and mate with the females -- dying, happily, of starvation. The females then hatch dozens upon dozens of eggs, before dying of starvation like the males a few days later. If there are many eggs, the worms will eat each other once hatched so as to create more manageable competition for food. And the cycle continues. The cave guides said in all their 18 years or so they had never seen such a display of worms as we saw in those caves yesterday. They smacked the water with tubes, and the worms glowed even brighter blue ("They shit themselves," was the commentary.) because of the vibrations from the sound on their sticky string.
To go in the caves, which were about 35 degrees to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, we were equipped with wetsuits. We were going to get wet, and have to swim a bit. In total we were in the caves and walking around with those suits for about two hours. We did a fair bit of walking in waist deep water, and jumped backwards down a baby waterfall (with a black tube), and then slid forwards down a bigger slide waterfall. It was fun, and I wasn't at all nervous falling backwards into the black beyond -- even without my glasses on. I really would be curious to know if bungee would make me nervous. I'm betting it might. But so far I've been pretty calm for most of the "adrenaline" adventures. After going through the caves, which were 100 to 300 feet below ground, we got to take a hot shower, and I got to defrost. I could feel the cold creeping back up on me though.
Once we got into the National Park, we chilled out a bit, and then planned to watch "Lord of the Rings" part one. Ah, interesting side note. Hostels here seem to favor VHS. I had nearly forgotten how to rewind the VHS and then view it. Damn does it take a long time to rewind videos. The quality of the first LOTR movie though was pretty awful. I joked to the hostel managers that it had probably been viewed millions of times by travelers here. (Apparently Mt. Doom might not be the mountain people think it is -- and more likely a superimposed image that includes Mt. Ruapehu -- bummer.) Another side note, one of the volcanoes here last erupted about two years ago, and erupts nearly every eight years or so. Last time scientists only got a 60-second warning. Interesting stuff, huh? We're right at the base of Mt. Ruapehu. Today the mountains were all in the clouds, and we can see snow all over them. Anyway, we ended up watching LOTR part two.
Today I woke up feeling absolutely awful -- and the weather outside was pretty terrible too. This hostel, however, has a climbing gym, and I'd found another climber here yesterday. So we did about an hour or so on the wall, and it was nice to see that once I warmed up I was not too terrible, even when feeling weak. It was especially nice to use my own gear, and made lugging it around worth it. I heard Christchurch has a great climbing/bouldering community, and some good outdoor areas as well. I'll probably check into it once I get there in a few weeks. Well, it's nearly 8 p.m., and I've got some prep to do before bedtime and an early-ish wake up. I'd like to have gone earlier, but there's no shuttle to the trailhead at 6 a.m. these days, since it's not yet peak season. In fact, tomorrow is the last day of ski season here...and I'm bummed I will miss it, but it's a bit pricey and its "spring conditions"...slushy and patchy, so the Crossing is the plan.
Today I woke up feeling absolutely awful -- and the weather outside was pretty terrible too. This hostel, however, has a climbing gym, and I'd found another climber here yesterday. So we did about an hour or so on the wall, and it was nice to see that once I warmed up I was not too terrible, even when feeling weak. It was especially nice to use my own gear, and made lugging it around worth it. I heard Christchurch has a great climbing/bouldering community, and some good outdoor areas as well. I'll probably check into it once I get there in a few weeks. Well, it's nearly 8 p.m., and I've got some prep to do before bedtime and an early-ish wake up. I'd like to have gone earlier, but there's no shuttle to the trailhead at 6 a.m. these days, since it's not yet peak season. In fact, tomorrow is the last day of ski season here...and I'm bummed I will miss it, but it's a bit pricey and its "spring conditions"...slushy and patchy, so the Crossing is the plan.
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment