Sheep, Steam and Seacoast

Friday, February 3, 2012

Huka Falls leaving Lake Taupo

bid farewell to Turangi this morning, heading north along the eastern shore of Lake Taupo.  It is one long lake!  Our big regret was that it was so clouded over we couldn't see the mountains on the western side of the lake.  We know they are there, because we were standing on them just a couple days ago.  The lake is huge!  Click on the link if you want details, but it took us about 45 minutes to drive from the south end of the lake to the north, where the city of Taupo is situated.

At Taupo we took a side trip to see Huka Falls.  Wow!  This is the one outlet for Lake Taupo (at least that I know of) and it forms the Waikato River, which flows north to its terminus in the Tasman Sea south of Auckland.  The river has carved and is still carving a canyon through volcanic rock.  We were told that at some time of the year they allow kayakers to go down the canyon and over the falls at the bottom.  That must be a sight and an experience.  We saw some jet and excursion boats come upriver to the falls, take in a little spray and then turn around.  As usual, Sandra took some great photos.

Huka Falls

From Taupo we continued on the "thermal highway" to Rotorua, which is probably the thermal capital of New Zealand (my own description).  It is also a fairly large city which can be judged by the number of American fast food places in town.  We saw Subway, McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, KFC, Domino's, and Pizza Hut.  There were probably more.

There are lots of things to see and do in the area and most are related to thermal activity.  Steam is venting out of the ground in countless places and there are hot pools, boiling mud and other attractions.  Most require the purchase of tickets and offer some kind of guided tour.  We didn't want to spend the time so we picked up some postcards and moved on to the Agrodome, a somewhat uniquely New Zealand experience.  The complex has expanded across the road to include a buggy jump, a big maze, a high swing and some other thrills, but we were there to see the Sheep Show.  You can get something of a feel by clicking on the link, but being there in person was pretty cool.

Jet boat meets the falls

There are millions of sheep in this country as everyone knows, but I didn't know there were so many breeds.  They were all on display.  Even Romney was represented, right next to Merino.  The animals were used to being in the show as was obvious from some of their stunts.  The host brought out another volunteer sheep and sheared him on stage and then handed out the wool to the audience.  He brought a cow out and volunteers from the audience came up to milk her.  He summoned well-trained dogs who came up and jump up and over and on the backs of all the sheep, who stood there with bored expressions on their faces.

The show ended after an hour with audience members coming up on stage to take photos of the sheep with family members.  Once again, the sheep just stood there posing.  Being there gave us the full effect - sight, sound, smell and feel.  We were impressed with the mix of people in attendance.  Lots of Koreans, many Europeans, a few from Australia, a handful of Americans, some from India, and I think one person bravely said she was from New Zealand.

Excursion boat

We spent another hour in the gift store where New Zealand woolen products were on sale.  We spent a few more dollars and we're hoping our family members will be appreciative.  (Some of them requested swords and Lord of the Rings stuff - they might be disappointed with a pair of woolen socks.  Sorry!)

We hit to road heading east to the eastern shore of New Zealand and the town of Whakatane.  A word about Maori words and their pronunciation.  It seems that most place names on the North Island have a Maori origin.  Many begin with W and end with a vowel.  We've learned that many are tongue twisters and that some letter combinations are pronounced unexpectedly for us Americans.  So in New Zealand, WH is pronounced with a soft F sound (whatever soft means).  All vowels are pronounced as in Hawaii.  So this town is pronounced something like this, Fah-kah-tah-nay.  Be careful how you say it.

Anyway, we are hoping to participate in a most unusual experience tomorrow and that will be the subject of another post.  Stay tuned.

You have bad breath!

Finally, up close and personal

The world's record is 45 sec/sheep

Yes, there is a Romney breed of sheep!

This guy's horns were impressive (the one on the left)

White Island Rendevous, Whatakane

Over the Top

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Mt. Doom

There are lots of tourist attractions vying for your attention (and US dollars) over here in NZ where tourism is the #1 industry.  We attended an orientation session at our lodge last Saturday morning and several groups came and told us about themselves.  One of them was Terry Blumhardt, the owner and chief guide for Walking Places.  We were impressed with him and his service, even though the prospect of an all day hike up over a mountain was a bit daunting.  And just what would Terry add to the hike that we couldn't learn ahead of time by a little reading and research?

We committed and the hike was set for yesterday, the 1st of February.  I'm happy to say today that we are alive and well and in recovery.

The hike was described in Terry's brochure as the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.  The length was a full day, the difficulty, "challenging" and the distance, 20 km.  (That translates to 12.5 miles.)  The brochure goes on to describe the walk:  "Find out why this walk is often described as the best one day walk in the world, with a guide who really knows the secrets of this stunning area.  Enjoy an unhurried experience over Tongariro that avoids the crowds."

It turned out to be all of that and more.  The Crossing is a popular hike.  Sometimes 500 people are on the trail at one time.  They are bussed in at 6:00 am, hit the trail and are told they need to be at the end of the trail at 3:00 pm to meet the bus.  Basically, it's a one-way track with all of the traffic moving in the same direction.  The hikers include school groups, foreign tourists and local kiwis out to "make the crossing."

Terry's idea is to start later and avoid the crowds.  We began the walk at around 9:30 am and Roger, Terry's associate, agreed to meet us in the parking lot when Terry summoned him back by cell phone.  Our group included Kim, a local Turangi lady who had never made the trip, Bill & Christine from San Francisco, and Sandra and me.  Bill is an attorney and Christine is a physician so we had all the bases covered.

There were others on the trail.  A group of high school students passed us.  School has just begun after the summer break and this was their introduction to the geography class.  We didn't seem them after about the halfway point of the hike.  There were other individuals passing us from time to time, but the big rush of people must have been on their way well before we were.

The trail was every bit of challenge the brochure promised, especially to two over-60 grandparents, whose preparation had been a stroll up and down the nearby river.  We ascended about 3500 feet and then had to descend the same.  There were steps to climb - I wish I knew how many, but they were usually flights of no more than 13 steps at a time and they went on and on.  That was no doubt an improvement over the rocky trail of the past.  There were also rocky places where you had to pick your way over fairly large volcanic rocks.  Much had been done to improve the trail with boardwalks, non-skid netting, and the endless steps.

By about Noon, we were high enough to look back on the parking lot (carpark the call it here) which was not but a speck in the distance.  The trek took us up to the area where the big 3 volcanoes exist:  Mt. Tongariro, Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings) and Mt. Ruapehu.  We crossed over between the first two and saw the third off in the distance.  Actually, we crossed down through the crater of Mt. Tongariro.  (also the place where we ate the lunch Terry had prepared for us)

We dressed with layers.  I wore shorts and in a couple of places regretted that decision.  As we reached the higher saddles, the cold wind became stronger, sometimes hitting over 50 mph.  Terry had equipped us with warm hats, gloves, raincoat and rain pants.  Fortunately, we felt rain only once and it was coming at us horizontally.  Once over the top and down in the crater, things settled down and we could focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

The Department of Conservation maintains the trail and Terry told us they've spent millions to make improvements over the years.  They also fly helicopters up there to pump out the toilets.  There are four of them along the route, counting the beginning and the end of the trail.  They need it.  You supply your own paper, thanks again to Terry.

Sandra wore hiking boots which Terry supplied.  He had no size 13's for me, so I wore my Dr. Scholl's $30 walking shoes.  By about the 6th mile, Sandra's boots were pretty heavy.  Terry also provided walking sticks which took off some of the strain, especially on the downward part of the trail.

The halfway point came at around 1:00 pm and shortly thereafter, we also began the long descent.  It took us on a winding switchback of trail with some improved track and the beginning of countless steps.  The steps take you down in a hurry, but they are also hard on ankles, knees and hips.  Especially those over 60 years in age.  Toward the end, Sandra was doing one step at a time with support from her walking sticks.  I was close behind to protect her from marauding mountain lions and bears.  (just kidding - only wildlife we experienced were singing birds)

Finally, around 4:30 pm we were down at the last toilet stop.  It's also a hut for overnighters who go on extended hikes lasting days.  According to the sign we were an hour and a half from the carpark.  We got there at around 7:30 pm which is an indication of our condition near the end of the hike.  Terry was there with us to the end, patiently assisting as needed, encouraging with this words and optimistic that we would make it to the end, which was always just ahead.

We made it.  In the process, we learned much about volcanoes, but we also learned much about ourselves.  The biggest challenge we faced was the mental one which at times was telling the physical part of us that we wouldn't be able to do it.  "Bring in the helicopter," I thought about saying more than once, after Terry related several incidents of people needing to be rescued for various reasons.  He said there was no cost for these emergencies to the victim but the citizens of NZ paid the bill.  But hearing him reassure us that we could do was enough to keep going and prove that it was possible for two over-60's to make it.  Our training and preparation were minimal.  We got ready by going up and down a nearby river.  If we can do it, others can follow.

It feels good to sit down today, but it sure is hard to get up and walk around.

Looking down at the point of departure

Sulphur Creek

Toward Lake Taupo

Doom in the background

The Red Crater up close

3 Emerald Lakes with high school hikers resting nearby

Two weary trekkers

We're 5 hours into the hike at this point

Stairway to the stars

Somehow these little plants find a way to grow

White Water Tongariro

The last (and only) time I remember rafting down a river was the Sandy River in Oregon.  It was a quiet Sunday afternoon and I think we were in some kind of canoe.  Since then, I've wondered what rafting a little wilder river might be like.  Today, my wondering was answered.

We booked with Tongariro River Rafting, an outfit that's been in business for about 20 years here in Turangi.  They definitely knew what they were doing.  They picked us up at our lodge, greeted us warmly, outfitted us with wetsuits, boots and helmets and then made the rest of the day good wet fun.

After dressing up, we boarded their van and drove about 15 minutes to the launch point on the Tongariro River.  The 40 or so rapids we went through over a course of 12 km were rated no higher than a 3 on the 5 point scale.  That means no one fell into the river and no rapids were extreme.  We did hit the bank several times and did some spin arounds but we also had good wet fun.  And we were always safe.

The biggest challenge we faced was getting hung up on rocks several times.  Most of the time we could rock ourselves free; however, once "Mad Dog Mike" our guide was forced to get out of the boat to rock us free.  It was lots of fun.

Sandra and Rachel "volunteered" to be in front of the boat.  It's good it was them as they ended up flying around back on several occasions.  Better them than one of us guys.  Two in our party were Aussies, our guide and Peter are Kiwi's and there were us two Yanks.

The canyon we came down was gorgeous.  Steep cliffs, evidence of volcanic activity, trees, beautifully clear and pure water - it was New Zealand at its finest.  We enjoyed three hours of fun, challenge, some physical activity, photo ops, and good fellowship at the end.  To top it off, they presented us with photos we took along the way and some taken by our driver, who happened to come along in time for the last big rapids.

The 1st task:  hauling the raft to the river

We launched!

Happy sailors!

Smile and look brave for the camera!

The final spas!

Two of each:  Yanks, Aussies, Kiwis

Four Wheelin' in the Bush

Monday, January 30, 2012

As part of my research on what to see and do in New Zealand, I connected with Trip Advisor of New Zealand, a website outfit which sorts out various places and makes recommendations based on user feedback and reviews.  I was looking at activities near Turangi, where we are staying for a week.  Near the top of the list in recommendations was Tongariro Quads.  They were rated second by reviewers to an ancient tree somewhere north of Auckland.  (The tree is the largest and one of the oldest in NZ and apparently there are moonlight hikes out to see it.)

So we made a date with the Quads online and yesterday the date came up.  We can now commend it to others.

We drove about 30 km out from Turangi, headed into the Tongariro National Park.  Our drive took us up to a viewpoint where we got a look at Lake Taupo and the surrounding territory.  As they frequently say here, “Fantastic!”  (In the U.S. they would probably say “Amazing!”)  The accompanying photo gives some idea of the volcanic nature of this area of the island.

We arrived at a rural school and drove around to the back where Malcolm and Jason greeted us.  Four others signed up for the trek and 8 Honda Four Wheel Quads (that’s redundant, I know) were lined up and ready to go.  After introductions and a safety talk from Malcolm, we donned our helmets, revved up the motors (basically turned them on) and set out like baby ducklings following single file behind their mother.  Jason brought up the rear, somewhere back behind me.  (We were advised not to turn around and look behind us because that would throw off steering our own vehicle.)

Things started out pretty calm on a gravel road and I practiced shifting up and down the range of five gears.  We were told that we could probably drive without ever using the handbrakes if we learned to downshift properly.  I found that to be pretty accurate.  Otherwise, driving was pretty much like a motorcycle or a moped which Danny and I used to drive around Wahiawa delivering newspapers.

The difference in terrain soon made quad-riding more challenging.  Malcolm led his ducklings into the bush.  The area we traversed had been logged many years ago and the trails were old logging roads, now overgrown with low bushes and small trees.  It was now a narrow path worn down regularly by Tongariro Quads.  There were various trails leading off the main one but Malcolm dropped cones to keep us on the right path.  We also tried to keep up with the person in front of us.  Guess who I was following?  You got it, and she was tough to follow.  Many times I lost sight of her red Honda as she blazed through the bush.

The fun came as we negotiated various streams and mudholes along the path.  Several times one or more of the quads got stuck and needed either Malcolm or Jason or both of them to rock and roll and push the quad out of the muck.  Then the next guy had a better idea of where to drive his rig to avoid the same plight.

There were also some obstacles in the path.  Downed trees, major roots, rocks and deep ruts in the trail made things interesting.  The trail was often sloped one way or the other and we were told to shift our bodies to remain upright and keep control.  Malcolm had advised us not to stick out our foot and if all else failed to jump off the quad.  On this day, no one resorted to that.  I do remember watching Sandra’s quad catch some air once as she flew over a big bump in the trail.

We were equipped with helmets and I can see why.  There were low hanging tree limbs and I was constantly ducking to stay beneath them.  We went to through marshy areas where tufted grasses grow and the fronds overhung the trail.  Bugs, flying insects, and even honeybees weren’t much of a problem as we breezed past.

We rode around for about four hours and somewhere at about the three hour mark we stopped for tea, coffee and milo along with some muffins and cookies.  Malcolm provided and we enjoyed.  He told us about some of his unappreciative clients, others whose expectations were not met, and a few funny stories about ladies falling or jumping off.  Tourism is down in NZ and people are spending less money on adventures such as his, so things are tough.  He takes groups out all year long and needs about 12 customers per week to make it.  Had it not been for the World Rugby Championship last year, he might have gone under.  His Trip Advisor ratings have also given him a boost.

Our trip back to camp took us through another stream and past the honeybee hives.  This rider didn’t get his feet wet and didn’t get stuck in any mud hole.  Those who did returned with wet shoes, pants and more.  I guess I was in the right position to learn from their mistakes.

A fun day and one more adventure checked off the list!

Lake Taupo in the distance

Let's get ready to rumble.

I'm supposed to drive where?

Smile now - it won't last long.

Malcolm giving instructions at a river crossing

You go first, Dan

Feet up - got to protect my Dr. Scholl's shoes

The water feels good on my feet

A volcanic peak with cloud cover

Ewww - the water is brown

Feet up!

Just jump off if it feels like you're going to tip over

My new shoes!

I made it!

Our sponsors

I'm glad there are no alligators in NZ

One more river to cross.