With the weather still a bit blustery from the previous day, we skipped the early morning caving expedition and instead headed toward our first stop of the day -- the beautiful Huka Falls. We disembarked into drizzly gray weather and walked the short path to view the powerful Huka Falls on the Waikato River. The cascading ice-blue water surges through a gorge only 20 meters wide, creating magnificent falls and rapids as it pours through the channel. It was a mesmerizing sight. Leaving Huka Falls, we passed through Tongariro National Park, the oldest national park in New Zealand and a dual World Heritage Site, recognized for both its natural beauty and its Maori cultural associations. Tongariro National Park is also home to several Lord of the Rings landmarks, including the Gates of Mordor and the familiar cone-shaped mountain Ngauruhoe (Na-ru-hoe-e), better known as 'Mt. Doom.' Several more hours of iPod-fueled driving (I thought this country was supposed to be small?) and we sleepily exited the bus in Taupo -- so named (obviously) because it sits on the shores of Lake Taupo. This magnificent body of water, spanning 616 square kilometres, is the largest lake in Australasia (real word, I swear) and the site of one of the world's largest known volcanic explosions, around 186 AD. To give you an idea of scale, the lake is large enough to fit all of Singapore, with room to spare. We settled into our lodging for the night (New Zealand has the nicest, cleanest hostels) and joined everyone down at the bar for a drink. Or ten.
Note to self: am too old to drink like this.
The next morning, feeling the after-effects of last night's fun, we were secretly relieved to find that our 6+ hour hike through the Tongariro National Park had been postponed due to inclemental weather. But once I had subdued my raging hangover with a pancake breakfast and a much-needed coffee, I was a little disappointed to be missing out on the Tongariro Crossing because it is meant to be one of the most visually stunning (albeit physically challenging) one-day hikes in the world. Ah well, next time. Instead, we spent a refreshingly low-key afternoon reading, watching movies, and catching up on correspondence. Unable to stomach another night of drinking, we retired early to bed, excited for another day of new adventures.
Lake Taupo to River Valley
Dreary weather aside, it was a pleasant surprise to find out - once aboard the bus - that we would not be missing out on the scenic pleasures of the beautiful Tongariro National Park after all. In fact, we had a full-day's worth of activity ahead of us. Our first stop was an invigorating (albeit chilly) two hour hike along the Taranaki Falls trail. The hike began with short climb through low beech forest, then slowly emerged into alpine shrubland with panoramic views of the mountains - Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe - before spilling out in front of the plunging Taranaki Falls. All around us, the swirling gray mist covered the landscape like a blanket, concealing the mountains and softening the edges of the horizon. From here we continued our walk through native bush and beech forest to the Tawhai Falls (yet another Lord of the Rings location), a small but beautiful waterfall spilling out from the edge of an ancient lava flow. Piling back on the bus, we began the winding, scenic drive to the verdant green River Valley, where we disembarked at the remote River Valley Adventure Lodge -- a cozy, rustic lodge situated at the base of towering shrub-covered hills along the Rangitikei River. It felt a bit like sleepaway camp, as we spent the night playing card games in front of the crackling fireplace, gorging ourselves on a delicious meal of homemade roast, and finally - after a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit - clambering up the ladder into the massive 10-person bunk bed to fall fast asleep.
