Taupo, New Zealand
I just noticed that I'm writing my 100th post! And I'm doing it from the shores of the largest lake in the southern hemisphere, which is pretty cool! We're taking off for the drive around the lake to Turangi soon, so I don't have enough time to bring you totally up to speed on our latest ramblings, but suffice it to say that we have made our way to Lake Taupo, Taupomoana, via Whakatane, Rotorua, and a very large number of backroads and interesting detours. We have hiked, watched sluicegates of a dam open up to fill a formerly dry rapids, sailed to see Maori rock carvings on a 1926 ketch once owned by Errol Flynn, and tomorrow will be undertaking what is considered the best one-day hike in all of New Zealand, the Tongariro (tong-uh-REER-oh) Crossing. We will be up bright and early tomorrow for the busride to Whakapapa. on the sides of Mt. Ruapehu, and the 19km (11ish miles) badass hike across Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngaruhoe (spelling?). I'm not sure how to convey how stoked we are- the weather up there has made it impassable for the last couple days, and now it is clear and supposed to remain fine for the next couple days- we seem to have managed to time it perfectly. So that is our next adventure, and I will hopefully bring my blog up to speed after we recover from the hike, hopefully with the help of some hot springs!
In the meantime, here's a few tidbits of our past few days, just to give you some enticing glimpses of what we've been up to:
Click on photos to enlarge.
The former Rotorua Bathhouse, now a great museum.
In awe of Huka Falls on the Waikato River.
Throwing caution into the winds by tempting the black swans on Lake Taupo...
The custom paint job we gave Lucy- it helps disguise the dent and protect it from rust. Plus, now she looks more like a surfmobile :)
Sunset at our campsite two nights ago.
Where we're off to now- from left, Mt. Ruapehu, Mt. Nguaruhoe, Mt. Tongariro
Me and Skipper Bill on Barbary this afternoon on Lake T.
The skipper put Matt at the helm the whole time we were under sail- we were the only ones brave enough (or stupid enough) to want to go out on the lake in 1 metre seas and 20 knot winds- we had our own personal cruise with the awesome captain who was, well, a character. It was the best $75 we've spent so far.
And with that, over and out until next time. Wish us luck on the mountain, and thank you all once again for reading, and for all your lovely comments.
1 comment:
You are having such a wonderful adventure.
Congrats on your 100th post.
Thank you once again for sharing this part of your life.
FlowerLady
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