We've been (as always) keeping busy. Since we last wrote, Valentine's Day has come and gone, and Hanna (Mitch's cousin, for those who don't know) and Joelle (her friend) came to visit us at the very end of February. A few weeks prior to their arrival, Mitch and I were already planning the tourism itinerary we had in mind for those two. It's hard to describe, but somehow being responsible for showing them around made us feel less like strangers to this place, and more like native Kiwis (or at least transplanted-Canadian-pseudo-Kiwis). It makes New Plymouth feel more like a home away from home, and that's pretty cool. So we were quite excited to host them. Plus, it gave us an opportunity to showcase all the neat things we've discovered here, and to pass along some of the generosity and hospitality that has been shown us since we arrived.
As we were making our plans for their arrival, I started paying attention to the fact that New Zealand was co-hosting (along with rival Australia) the Cricket World Cup. New Zealand's team (the Black Caps) was doing very well. While not THE most popular sport in New Zealand (that is, without a doubt, rugby), cricket is widely watched, played, and publicized here. I realized that, even though I've never followed or even so much as watched a match in my life, this was a pretty awesome opportunity given the timing of our stay here. When else was I going to have the chance to watch World Cup Cricket on home soil? So I checked into tickets. As luck (or the stars) would have it, New Zealand was scheduled to take on co-host and rival Aussie on February 28th in Auckland - the very day that Hanna and Jo were scheduled to arrive in New Zealand. Mitch and I both agreed we should go to the game and then meet up with Hanna and Jo and drive them back to New Plymouth with us the next day to begin their journey. It really couldn't have worked out any better. We had managed to purchase a vehicle just in time for this planned road trip (the drive is about 350 km but takes about 4 to 4.5 hours due to the winding Kiwi roads). Our new (to us, but certainly not to this world: it's a 1998) Subaru Legacy Lancaster station wagon made the journey just fine, and I had a lot of time to adjust to driving on the other side of the road (and the car!).
It turned out to be one of the best games EVER for World Cup Cricket. A heavy favourite to win the tournament, Australia was expected to put up an insane amount of runs, and despite New Zealand's reputation for great fielding, it was expected that New Zealand would have to put up quite a total to even compete. The first few overs (kinda like innings?) showed that we could be in for a drubbing, but suddenly the tables turned. New Zealand ended up knocking off all ten of Australia's wickets one after another after another. The crowd (hailed as one of the best ever) was beside themselves with excitement. Our section even started up a chant of "You're worse than England!" near the end of Australia's time at bat (New Zealand had crushed England in a match a few days prior by 8 wickets, England only mustered a mere 121 runs that game...a poor total for a cricket match). Aussie, expected to get upwards of 300 runs, only managed 151. It seemed it was in the bag for the Black Caps.
In fact, it was not so. Australia struck back hard, bowling (pitching) well and the game ended up being an intense nail-biter. The crowd was with the team through every up and down - there were so many times I was either convinced we were going to lose, or sure we were going to easily win. Finally, after about five hours of play, New Zealand was down to their last three wickets, with only about 20 runs needed to win. Suddenly, two more wickets were gone. One wicket remained, and six runs were yet required to seal the win. This is like having the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, with two outs. You just need that one good hit, but by God, you cannot strike out. Aussie bowled, and Black Caps' Kane Williamson smashed the ball out of the boundary for a six - and the win. Just like a walk-off homer, the crowd erupted - we had done it. New Zealand wins! What a match for us to attend - it really couldn't have been a better game.
Back in New Plymouth, I took a couple days off work to help play host to Hanna and Jo. We were blessed with some amazing late summer weather. We took them up Paritutu Rock (Mitch wrote about it previously) for sunset, drove them down to the Whitecliffs Walkway (again, we've wrote about our rainy experience there) where we did the beach loop walk along the cliffs. We showed them through town and my coworker Rob even provided them with a true Kiwi experience by inviting us over to help shuck and eat Paua (local word for abalone). It was a fast and awesome 3 days - thanks Hanna and Jo! It was so nice to spend time with you here.
In Auckland, with the Sky Tower in the background.
Hanna and I at the Three Sisters & Elephant Rock in Tongaporutu
Climbing Paritutu Rock!
At the top of Paritutu
Sunset near Back Beach
Mitch on the Whitecliffs Walk - a little different than the last picture in this spot!
Whitecliffs Walk
Whitecliffs - look how small Joelle is!
Pies at the beach!
Shucking Paua
A couple of weeks later, we set off with Rob and his girlfriend Nicole to Turangi - a town on the south side of Lake Taupo, near to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. This alpine hike is rated as one of the top 10 walks in the world. It's 19 kms up and across a saddle between mountains. It was also the setting of a lot of filming for Lord of the Rings - this area represented Mordor in many scenes. In particular, Mt. Ngauruhoe, which you can choose to summit during the Crossing, was chosen to represent Mount Doom in the films. The Emerald or Green Lakes, the white of the clouds, the blue of the sky, and the red and black of the volcanic rock make for breathtaking views. This area of the country is volcanically active and has a lot of geothermal activity. Yellow sulphur rocks and stinky sulphur smells accompany you on the walk. On the bright side, the geothermal activity provides some great natural thermal pools as well as geothermal power generation.
The weekend we chose was a long weekend in Taranaki only - Monday March 9th is Taranaki Anniversary, and we chose (based on the weather forecast) that day to do the Crossing. We stayed with Rob's friends Matt and Jess (and their dog Onyx!) in Turangi. Matt works in forest management and Jess is in early childhood development. They were amazing hosts, providing us with a place to sleep, showing us around, and cooking for us, not to mention their great company. We arrived on Friday night, so with the Crossing on the itinerary for Monday, we still had two days to fill. Matt and Jess suggested we float down the Waikato River. Despite the dreary forecast, we set out with a "biscuit" (Kiwi word for a tube, like one of the kind you tow behind a boat or jet ski) and a cooler full of beers. Jess showed us how to turn a life jacket into a diaper-like floatation device by wearing it with you legs through the arm holes and zipping it down the front. It worked like a charm! The water was warm and we got to enjoy some spectacular views as well as found a few rope swings and places to jump into the river. I couldn't get over how clear the water was - I could always seen the rocky bottom, even though my toes wouldn't reach it most of the time. Near the end of the float it started to rain and get a bit chilly. This was alright since our destination was the Spa Thermal park and their natural hot pools. At a point in the river bank, there are natural hot pools and mini-waterfalls where many people were soaking in perfect hot-tub temperature water. We happily bathed like beached whales in the hot water, soaking and steaming for a good 45 minutes before setting off to where we parked the car. I remarked several times how much it was like paradise - sitting there among the rocks under the rain in the natural hot spring, sipping on the last of our beers buried at the bottom of the cooler and seeming to miraculously appear just when we thought we had run out. It was without a doubt one of the best days we've had since being here.
Me and Onyx
Sunday was a quiet day - Rob's car broke down just as we set off to see Taupo, but luckily the boys were able to get it up and running again. We stopped in Taupo for some lunch and then Rob and Nicole took us to see Huka Falls - some amazing waterfalls/rapids in the Waikato River just downstream from our flotation adventure exit point. We prepared to set off on the Crossin early the next day.
Mitch and I at Huka Falls
As described above, the walk is a fairly gruelling 19 kms. I experienced much of the same "one foot in front of the other" emotions through the last 3 kms. However, it was not nearly as technical as the climb of Mt Taranaki - this track is well maintained and is very popular. It's a long, difficult walk, but if you're in relatively good shape, it's suitable for anyone who wishes to do it. I huffed and puffed for a few kilometers on the ascent - it IS fairly steep, with quite a few stairs, and of course our guides never have a penchant for taking their time. I caught up with everyone at the base of Mount Doom. At this point most of the difficult ascent is finished, but the walk is not even halfway done. If you turned in the correct direction, we could see the tip top of Mount Taranaki, over 250 kms away, in the distance. We were making excellent time.We didn't choose to summit Mt Doom that day (much to Mitch's chagrin) but we vowed to go back to it soon to summit that as well (it's mostly scoria or scree on the way up - remember our fond memories of that stuff from a former post?). I can't even begin to describe the views and various colors you can see at all points on this walk. You really do have to experience it for yourself to really get a grip on it. The craggy mountain top of Mt Rhuapehu can be seen from here, not too far away. The Green Lakes (the high sulphur content is responsible for the colour, if I'm not mistaken) are just stunning to behold. We stopped to lunch here and I couldn't help but think that I've never lunched in a more beautiful place. The rock is all at once so red and so black, and we were blessed with a clear blue sky at the top, with white fluffy cloud below us (which was actually pretty cool, even if it did obscure the views of Lake Taupo at a certain point). See photos to get a better idea, but if you really want to see all that the New Zealand landscape has to offer, from lush forest, to scrubby plain, to rocky mountain, to blue, blue water, then do this hike. I would do it again, even if the blisters on my feet would say otherwise. I highly encourage anyone who visits this country to do this walk.
Mt. Ngauruhoe ("nare-a-ho-ee") aka Mt. Doom
The crew: Mitch, Nicole, Rob, and myself.
You've done it again, New Zealand. You've shown me just how beautiful you are at every turn, and I can't wait for our next adventure.
