North Island Adventures

After the previous three weeks of touring the South Island with no rest, I figured that I'd take it a bit easier on the North Island. Since my primary purpose for venturing to the North Island was to visit the Suttons, it wasn't too hard to do.

The North Island is drastically different from the South. First off, it is populated. In the South, most towns are very tiny and separated by long stretches of sheep paddock. The North is more like the US, a small town will pop up every ten miles or so. After the relative seclusion of the south, I was a bit overwhelmed when I came to the bustling metropolis of Wellington, population 250,000. My first night out, I watch about 20 minutes of an All Blacks game before I freaked out and went back to my quiet hostel. It didn't take too long to get used to people again. Wellington was a bizarre city, it had interesting, slightly weird architecture and just felt weird. I wasn't surprised that such a town created Peter Jackson.

I didn't stay longer than a day in Wellington before heading north to Tongariro National Park. On the very top of my list of things to do in New Zealand was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, aka the Great Day Hike in the World! I went to a couple of the shuttle companies (it's a one directional hike) to book a ride from the end of the trail. None would agree to pick me up. Apparently, hiking on top of mountains is extremely dangerous in the middle of the winter and they don't allow people up there without guides.

"Can I rent crampons and an iceaxe and still get a shuttle?"

"No."

"Can I rent crampons and an iceaxe and do have of it?"

"Have you used them before?"

I hesitated to carefully word the impending lie. I never even had the chance to use it.

"No, we won't rent you stuff unless you have experience with the equipment."

A bit later, I was chatting with another woman who worked there about potentially doing part of the hike and turning back without alpine equipment. The woman then gave me a look that I'd recognized from my adventures in Tasmania.

"Don't take this mountain lightly, people die often up there."

I went anyway. After about an hour of hiking, the trail started heading up the mountain. It degraded to alternating calf-deep snow and sheets of ice. When I left it was sunny, but as I went into the mountains a bit, dark clouds started rolling in. I made the wise decision of turning back. I continued hiking other trails in the area. Within an hour of leaving the Alpine Crossing, the rain had set in with thick fog. It was impossible to see even a few feet in front of me.

The next day, I headed to Taurangi, trout fishing capital of New Zealand. Situated on the Tongariro River, the town only allows flyfishing. Of course I had to take lots of photos of this town for my father. I walked along the river, watching numerous people fish for trout poetically on a beautifully sunny day.

I continued down the line to Taupo, on New Zealand's largest lake, Lake Taupo. It was clear day, so I scoped out the tallest thing I could find, which was Mt. Tauhara, and again acted upon my manly urge to climb something. I was rewarded with stunning views of the area. The other main attraction of the area is Huka Falls, which despite being merely kinda cool, is the most visited natural feature of the country. It did have eerily clear, light blue water.

The next day, I headed Te Aroha to visit Ben and his family, which was the primary reason for me stopping in New Zealand. I ended up spending four of my 29 days with them (which is quite silly if it was the inspiration for my visit. Sadly, two days before I arrived, Gay's father passed away, so I was visiting them during a rough personal time for the family. They were very pleased for my visit; I proved a bit of a distraction from the funeral obligations. I separated myself from the personal family business by sightseeing around the area, including climbing Mt. Te Aroha on the clearest day imaginable. I could even see Mt. Taranaki in the distance, over 200 miles away!

I really enjoyed spending time with Ben and his family. This visit should hopefully reconnect us as we've been not doing well with communication for the last couple of years. Ben and I have always been great friends, so I was glad to see him again. He showed me a great time and took me to the spectacular Bridal Veil falls.

I skipped Auckland except for a quick trip to One Tree Hill (which does not even have a tree, just a giant obelisk), home of the best views in town. New Zealand is not about cities, it is about nature. To have dedicated anymore time to the only metropolis in the country would have gone counter to the theme of my extraordinary trip.