Silica Rapids and Taranaki Falls

Well,  I'll start by wishing you all a very happy and healthy and peaceful 2015. Celebrated it here  at the hostel with a very international group.  Swedes, Belgians, Italians and Argentinians. Good company and good fun. Didn't stay up too late,  maybe 1.00 am. Didn't drink too much either but still got a hangover!  Nothing a good walk this afternoon won't blow away.

Had a very good day yesterday. Went to the visitors centre at Whakapapa Village and did a couple of short walks from there.  Silica Rapids and Taranaki Falls. Both very enjoyable.   Must correct my last blog actually. Ruapehu is not mount doom. There are 3 mountains in the park. Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe and its the latter from the  lord of the rings movie.

Hopefully doing the Tongariro Crossing, taking in Ngauruhoe,  tomorrow as the weather looks quite promising at this stage.

The change in temperature up here is quite significant.  A good 10 degrees lower than I've been used to. And obviously the higher you go the colder it gets. Didn't take my sweater off at all yesterday and I walked quite hard.

A picture of Silica Rapids (a little shy of water) and Taranaki Falls attached. 

Start of Tongariro National Park

Hello,

Decided to take the bus in the end. Didn't leave until  2.30 and landed here about 4.45 pm. Good journey and I got the feel of just how big Lake Taupo is today as the route took us down the whole length of the east side. It's really is a phenomenal stretch of water. So clear and blue; they say the water is so clean you can drink it directly from the lake. Hostel is fine and I've already planned tomorrow. Walking to Silica Rapids and then on to Taranaki Falls. Two  climbs each about 1400 metres. About six hours I'm told. Was going to do the Tongariro Crossing but it's 2300 metres plus high and the forecast is for 80 kilometre an hour winds at the top so they are likely to close the mountain. So I'm just keeping a weather eye out at the moment.

Took a couple of pics out of the bus window on the way here. The one with snow on is Mount Doom. Real name is Mount Ruapehu. I should say that all of the mountains here and indeed throughout the country are actually volcanoes.

Time for a shower,  teeth clean and bed!

Night, night x

Moving On

Hello,

Hooked up with a couple of young Canadian guys after I posted last night.  Nice lads.  They introduced me to a game they called beer ping pong.  Scott/Phi-you'll love it!! It's played by two players and in this case on a board put on top of a pool table.  At either end of the board each player sets up a triangle of plastic cups in front of him half filled with beer (ten in all), just like on a snooker table but with plastic cups with beer in if you get my drift. Each player then has two table tennis balls and they take it in turns to try to throw their balls into their opponents cups.  If successful the opponent has to drink the contents of the cup the ball lands in.  The game continues until one of the players has made the other player drink the contents of all his cups!  I only played one game and luckily I came out on top!

The heavens opened here today and I'm hoping things are more settled tomorrow.  The only bus that goes to Tongariro doesn't leave until after 3.00 pm.  So, rather than hang about all day I'm going to try to hitch. Done it a couple of times already very successfully.  Will wait for the bus if it's raining!!  Really, really looking forward to Tongariro National Park.  Awesome walking apparently.  Not sure what the wifi situation will be but hopefully there will be some. Finished off the scraps for supper tonight one of which was a Xmas Pudding with vanilla custard!!

Anyway, didn't waste time today as I've now sorted my itinerary until the middle of February!

Take care,

Glen

Bike hire and a lake cycle

Just about done here. It's a very lovely place but ready to move on now. Hired a bike this afternoon and went round the east side the of the lake to a place called Acacia Bay.  About  four hours there and back. Made a nice change. On reflection, adventure activities by the bucket load here but limited walking opportunities and variety of landscape. I have to say I struggle to understand why Lake  Taupo is the most visited place in NZ. I've been spoiled up to now I guess but I'm glad I've been. Still not eaten my Xmas pudding yet and didn't get the swim I wanted in the outdoor pool. Both for tomorrow now. As is washing and ironing!!

No pictures today as I forgot to take my phone!

Night, night, God Bless.

Glen

Mount Tauhara - Not!!!

Hello,

An interesting day if nothing else.  A bit dull and overcast but probably 20 degrees or so. The plan was to climb Mount Tauhara  It lies to the north east of Lake Taupo and it's a couple of mile hike out of town to the start. So, off I went on my merry way and got to the start ok, only to find my way barred by a group of Maori men who refused me entry. As far as I could gather the Maori claim the land/mountain as their own. I don't know whether they have officially been awarded the land or not, but I do know the courts over here are inundated with land claims from the Maori people. Again as I understood it, a local company catering for tourists went ahead and built some sort of heli-pad on the mountain and the Maori community are up in arms about it.Anyway it was a definite no go with some big units blocking the way.  Bring on plan B.  I ended up doing what they call the Great Lake Walk which is a pleasant enough 10 miler around part of the edge of the lake. Whilst it was enjoyable enough it wasn't something I would have chosen to do but hey ho!  I used it as a practice walk for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which I will do when I move onto the Tongariro National Park in 3 days time.  Really looking forward to that.  If you're a Lord of the Rings fan it was the mountain that they used to film the Mount Doom sequence.  But there's loads of other stuff going on there too.  Going for a swim in the morning in the outdoor pool and then hiring a bike for the afternoon.

Attached a couple of shots of the lake

Much love,

Glen

Huka Falls

It was really difficult to take decent pictures at the falls. But here's a couple anyway.

Boxing Day

Hi Everyone,

Happy Boxing Day.  I've had a really good one.  Weather excellent.  Went on a great walk along the Waikato River (New Zealands longest river just in case it comes up in a quiz!).  Some great river panoramas. Initially about an hour to Huka Falls but I tucked a bit on here and there and it turned into five and a half hours in all.  Ate lunch in a secluded spot by the river in my skiddies and had a dip (must remenber to take my swimming trunks out with me), and then stopped again later for an hour around an hour to officially top up the serotonin levels.  Came back via the bungy jumping area just to have a look at how it works and if one of you would like to pay for it I'll do one.  Amie was here a little over a year ago with her now husband Phil.  They did a sky dive over the lake.  You can really do a lot of the adventure stuff here if you're that way inclined.  Got back and did some vegie sticks to go with some dips  I bought in for the Xmas period.  Got a beer and indulged myself for an hour.  Not quite the same on you own but enjoyed it nonthless. Received a music video from Rheya this morning which Jo and Scott (after they had had a few yesterday) and the girls put together. Rheya recorded and sent on her new ipad (!!) to my phone.  Couldn't open it on my phone so managed to get on a computer earlier.  Icing on the cake for today.  The Ashton Quartet.  Sound of music eat you heart out.  If there was any way I could get it onto this blog I surely would.well, a fillet steak to come later and maybe one more beer as it's Boxing Day.

Pictures:



Hope you had a great day yesterday.

Take care and God Bless as my old dad would always say whenwe said goodbye,

Glen x

Christmas Day

Hello,

Nearly 8.00 pm on Christmas day here in Taupo.  Strange kind of a experience today but then it was always going to be. Went for a walk this morning with my ipod and listened to one of my Christmas playlists. Bing crosby, Frank Sinatra, Grace Fields, Mario Lanzo, Tony Bennett, Glen Miller ...... Enjoyed the music and the solitude in equal measure. Got back about 12.30 pm and had a couple of beers before lunch. I think I mentioned that the hostel were doing a lunch for everyone today and they made a great fist of it.  The owner and his wife and the staff worked so hard. Something for everyone as well.  I had turkey and the trimmings with some good gravy but there were salads and cold meats if you preferred.  They don't do Xmas pudding over here but I managed to find one in a supermarket yesterday together with some vanilla custard - absolutely no Brandy sauce around - which I will consume with my meal tomorrow. Can't wait!  Enjoyed the Pavlova though and went up for seconds!  Bought some nice blue cheese for after as well. Treated myself to a fillet steak tomorrow as well!  Had another walk after lunch and I'm just waiting for the grandchildren to wake up!! 7.00am in the UK and can't believe they're still in bed!! Probably waiting until the presents are open before they open Skype.  Ipads this year I believe.

A more active day tomorrow.  A walk to Huka Falls and back.  There's an open air pool here too and if its open Boxing Day I'll go for a swim when I get back.  Mount Tauhara on Friday for the views.  They call it a mountain but its only 1100 metres or so.  The big ones are to come on the South Island.  Then I plan to hire a bike for two days and do a bit around the lake.

Couple more beers tonight and a chat with some of the young people for a while and then bed.  I'm by far and away the oldest swinger in town here!!

Still waiting for the Grand kids to phone!!

God Bless.  Have great day.

Glen

Merry Christmas cont.

Sorry the pics I meant to attach are here!

He's on his way!

Looking over Lake Taupo

Have a good one!

Glen

Merry Christmas

Hi Guys,

Arrived in Taupo early afternoon, got organised and had a quick mooch around. Cracking the flags again today but clouded over a bit later.  Got my bearings and popped down to the lake.  Accommodation is fine, clean and comfortable.   Just got back from the Christingle service at the local church. It was wonderful. Great to share a bit of Xmas with kids and watch them make the Christingles and sing some carols. Well,  I've had my hair cut, trimmed my nails, nose and ears, so I'm all ready for it really! Desperately missing Julie and family right now so I'm having a couple of beers to commiserate with myself.  Splashed out on a fillet steak for tonight and some cheese and biscuits and I suppose I'll have to endure a glass or two of wine with it! I've bought into the hostel Xmas lunch tomorrow. They're cooking for about 90!   Well,  he's already on his way here with a long way to go in the next day or so! But I'm sure he'll make it!

Pics

He's definitely on his way!

A shot of Taupo lake

Have a wonderful Christmas time. Thinking of you and much love,

Glen x

Glen

I'm up to speed!

Well, that was a marathon and it's taken me most if the day. But I think I'm getting the hang of it now. Have done so much since I've been here I haven't even looked around Rotorua itself yet. So I'm going in now for a couple of hours and then off for a swim in an open air 50 metre pool. For those of you who grew up with me,  they were the days eh.  We should really have gone to school you know! Will report back on the town if there's anything to talk about. Washing and ironing day tomorrow (joy) before moving to Lake Taupo on Xmas Eve. I forgot to mention another couple of friends I met in Paihia.  Anyway picture attached!

Tarawera Falls

The first one is from the official view point.  For the second I performed a bit of a scrambleto the bottom and back. Enjoy!

Tarawera Falls

This spectacle is 'right up there'. A fantastic river walk with some falls to surpass any so far. Apparently there are some higher ones but they will have to go some to top these. I'll try to find them on my way back as I know they are further north and I'm heading south again from here. First a couple of river shots before showing you  this great phenomenon!

A swim pool in the river with a jump spot.

The river gathering a bit of speed before going underground to the falls.

Whakarewarewa Forrest

A wonderful walk through a redwood forrest to a viewpoint overlooking Lake Rotorua.

Okere Falls

Worth seeing but not the best.  It's part of a rafting run ad I hope the pictures show

Hamurana Springs

The clearest water I have ever seen!  The Spring actually discharges a couple of metres underwater at a  rate of a million gallons an hour, with the water taking 70 years to get there!  Don't know whether my picture looking down into it will do it justice on a computer but it certainly doesn't on my phone. The other picture is the stream that the spring feeds.

Rainbow Mountain

Sorry, forgot to attach the pics!

Rainbow Mountain

Rainbow Mountain is a good climb with not a lot to comnend the actual walk but the views are spectacular!

Kerosene Creek

Kerosene Creek is a natural stream and creek, heated naturally to a temperature around 40 degrees Celsius. Extremely popular because its free!

A couple more thermals

Again the colours are quite natural.

Still with the thermal!

A mud pool at boiling point ang a thermal lake. The colours ate entirely natural!

Rotorua

Moved south from the Bay of Islands on the 8th December. Spent another couple of nights at the university in Auckland both to break up the bus journey and to catch up on washing, before heading for Rotorua. It's a geothermal area with geysers and hot springs and mud pools and lakes and mountains and things. Accomodaton well worn but clean enough. And met some great human beings. In fact I feel I've been blessed in this way since I arrived. As with the Bay of Islands the weather has been variable but always warm. So I started with a bit of the thermal stuff and a trip to Wai-to-pu 'wonderland'.

A couple of shots of Lady Knox Geyser. It fires up at 10.15 am on the dot 364 days a year.  The only day it misses is Xmas day.  Isn't that amazing? Not reall because it's induced! And they don't open on Xmas day! !

Yet more Bay of Islands boat trip

I should have mentioned hanging on to a boom at the back of th boat and being dragged along. For the Kids really but I had a go. Bloody freezing!

Anyway another couple of shots in the bay

More Bay of Islands boat trip.

The 'hole in the wall' rock and beyond into the Pacific

And just looking out into the Pacific!

Bay of Islands boat trip continued

The Lonely Planet guide says there are more than 150 islands in the bay but the locals refer to a lot of the smaller ones as rocks rather than islands. Unfortunately my phone camera just can't aspire to the phenomenal beauty of the place do the place!

A couple of shots from the top of a hill on Urupukapuka Island

Boat Trip round the Bay of Islands

I like what I've seen of nz so far very much. I love the outdoors and some of my experiences here have matched anywhere and anything I have seen or done. But I have to say this trip was breathtaking.  Not only do I like to be outside but I also love the sea.  If there is a God he certainly gave this place some very special attention. The tour lasted a full day and it was one of those experiences you just don't want to end. I was hoping to swim with dolphins but couldn't because the pods that we saw all had babies with them, therefore not allowed. I'll get other opportunities while I'm here. And have you ever tried to take a still of a performing dolphin? I must have taken 40 shots and all I got was  couple of sub surface efforts. Should have taken a video I hear you say. I'll know next time!

Me on the back of the boat!

Looking into a bay on one of the islands.

Ruhurhu Falls

Ruhurhu Falls are a couple of hours hike up along the Waitangi River, again only a short distance north of Paihia.   Unfortunately I have to say that the walk was somewhat more inspiring than the falls. Most people drive up to the car park adjacent to the falls which was good for me because once again I never saw a soul. All of the river birds nest along the bank and of course chicks are hatching at this time over here. Some of the sights of chicks being fed-I was literally 5 or 6 metres away-was so, so beautiful and listening to  the birdsong against the backdrop of a meandering river was just so peaceful. Sorry but that is how it was! Then I arrived at the falls! At least I haf the walk down again!

Looking down on the Waitangi River

The Rohurhu Falls

Waitangi Treaty House

Waitangi Treaty House is only a couple of kilometres north of Paihia and is the place where the first ever accord was signed between the native Maori and european usurpers.  Unfortunately,  my early experience of nz is that like all colonised countries, the indigenous peoples still play a long second fiddle to the invaders. However,  I thoroughly enjoyed the half day history lesson whilst also meeting another new friend!

Waitangi Treaty House

My new friend

The kids perform at Cape Rienga and Glen in the Manginangina Forrest