We were supposed to do the Tangariro Alpine crossing which consisted of walking over the top of three mountain tops, but due to the weather we had to adjust our plan. The snow was down to 1200 meters and we didn’t want to have to fool with any extreme situations. Instead of going across we traversed two of the mountains, going high enough to see two crater lakes. The walk up was just stunning. The pathways were clearly marked so it was a pretty easy trek to navigate. The vegetation looked much like the moors in England but with high, snow filled peaks. The track passed between the bases of Mt. Ngauruhoe (the hill they used for Mount Doom in “Lord of the Rings”) and Mt. Ruapehu. The trek down went by a bubbling stream and many waterfalls that meandered through a beech forest. It was amazing to hear the birds “twilling” as we walked through the forest! The weather is chilly, mainly due to the wind that must hit the snow and then blow down across the vast open moors. In total it was just under 12 miles.
Tomorrow we will probably be without internet. We are heading up the river, in a jet boat, to the “Bridge to Nowhere”. It is in the Whanganui National Park. This location was used exclusively in the movie “River Queen” which we have not seen yet but will have to put on our list!
