Living on the Edge

Stopping in Tongariro has added a considerable amount of adventure to our NZ sojourn; although it wasn't entirely our choice. It was actually a Christmas present from our lovely children that brought us to the area; a gift that would get us out of our camper van and into the Tongariro River.  An adventure that lies somewhere between bungy jumping and paddling a canoe on Tom Thomson Lake in the evening while sipping port. All the magnificent beauty of a body of water spiced with all the drama of near death.  You guessed it...white water rafting. In retrospect, we wonder if the gift was our children's way to get access to our life insurance. Obviously, as we sit here writing this blog we have cheated death and our children out of the life insurance cash...for now.

Once suited up in several layers of polar fleece, a wet suit, a rain jacket, plus a helmet and life jacket (apparently 26 degree temperatures are freezing in NZ).  The 2 of us waddled to the bus for a 45 minute drive upstream on the Tongariro River. Upon arrival, boats were unloaded and we were given the NZ version of a safety seminar: "Stay in the boat mate and you won't get hurt!!" the seminar ended with "Who wants the front? "  In a nanosecond, Janet volunteered the 2 of us which was accepted with glee (?) by the more cautious half of this retired couple. (Having white water rafted before, Janet knew the best ride was in the front!!)

So now with the two of us 'safely' sqeezed into the front in the rubber raft of doom, we were off with 5 other passengers and our guide Ben, in a quiet pool of the river. In exactly 1.27 seconds, we were into our first rapids. With paddles flailing and the boat half filled with water, we exited what we were told was a class 2 rapid which can be converted to Canadian class 12. This went on for 2 and a half hours with the rapids getting progressively faster, deeper and wetter. Believe it or not, the cautious half of this retired couple actually began to enjoy it.

The river was stunningly beautiful. Although we had hiked along it the day before, seeing it from the raft - the odd time we weren't careening down a rapid or bouncing off a rock - was a wonder. As this river is in an active geological area (we are surrounded by active volcanos) there are many interesting sites.

After raging down the torrent for over two hours it was back in the bus and to the shop for sandwiches. After paddling through the rapids the sandwiches tasted like a royal feast!

So...how does one follow up on a day spent clinging to the side of a rubber raft? By trekking up the side of a mountain! After tucking in early, we were up at 5 am to catch a bus to the Mangatepopo traihead to begin our assault on Mount Doom (Mt Ngauruhoe). Mostly true...although we did not scale Mount Doom we spent the day in the shadow of it as we did the infamous Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Over 19 km of hiking up and through craters and along volcanic lakes never more than a sniff away from a steam vent.  In a word it was stunning! We lucked out with a beautiful clear day which attracted several bus loads of folks. Made it all the nicer to do the walk with 700 of our newest friends. They were not a distraction, though, as we spent the vast majority of our time admiring the Mars-like landscape.

The hike was easy...go up for 10 km and then go down for 9 km. While the final 9 were quite tedious, the alpine and subalpine scenery kept it interesting. We discovered that the kiwis have have a penchant for switchbacks. The trail could have been half as long if it wasn't for the predonderance of turns in the trail. 

We were picked up at the Ketetahi carpark and driven back to our campground. We hobbled off the bus (a poor advertisement for the crossing) but happy with our adventures. 

Tomorrow we sleep in...