I had a great two days with those guys. We ended up in Tongariro State Park. That is where most of the footage for Mordor (specifically Mt. Dhoom) was taken for the LoTRs movies. I finally found a computer that could upload my pictures, so check them out for some great shots of the mountain that formed the One Ring.
I will try to add descriptions in at a later date. For know, just know that I walked to the Mountain, destroyed the Ring and then left Mordor. This is actually the only LoTRs event I am planning to do. Most of the rest cost $$$ and I am not a Ringer after all. The crossing was 20.55 Kilometers and I drank 2.55 Liters or water. It took just over 7 hours. Pretty intense at times, but I was only hurting for the last hour.
My new friends are doing a 3 day track, so I will be heading up to Turangi for a few days to do another WWOOF stay. After that, I hope to hitch back up to the Coromandel because I actually didn't see much of that yet. I also got a lead on some seasonal work in Hawk's Bay, so I might actually get over there in early Feb. and MAKE MONEY to help support some of my fun adventures in the south.
For know, I am really tired and thinking that soreness will follow. It was nice to have the dudes for a while, but it is also nice that I can follow my wanderlust again without worrying about anyone else's thoughts. I might meet back up with them in the South Island in March. We may end up going to Stewart Island together.
