Volcanoes March 29, 2011

It was cold this morning. Frosty as they say here. We are off to visit the volcanoes again. We are hiking to Taranaki Falls, a much shorter route than the Tongariro Passing. It really is a wonderful day for a hike. Cool and clear once again, with morning fog hanging over the distant valleys. As we started down the track, we were passed by a group of English teenagers and two leaders. They were headed to the falls to do some abseiling. It is another word for rappelling. We looked over the edge and were amazed at their bravery to go down the face of this cliff, with the waterfall just feet away. At the bottom of the falls there was a small crowd watching. The first girl backed off, but the next one hooked up to the rope and came down. The crowd cheered.

The trail gave us a great view of Ngauruhoe (or Mt. Doom from the Lord of the Rings).

After lunch we headed back up the road to where it ends at Iwikau Village on Mt. Ruapehu. A short uphill hike took us to a wonderful view of Mt. Doom. Some filming of the Lord of the Rings was done from this spot. Two chair lifts later we were way up the mountain. The view is not panoramic as the ticket lady assured Mike, but there were stunning views down the valley.

Signs posted on the poles holding up the chairlift reminded us that we were near an active volcano. If the sirens went off, you were directed to go to the ridges, as lava flows down the valley.

An observation on the camper van rentals in New Zealand; there are lots of different companies. We like this one; Juicy. You can also find Britz and Backpacker. Large camper vans and small mini vans and stationwagons all with at the least, beds built in. There are lots of campgrounds, but as Stuart, our wine guide from the first day said, it is expensive to use the campers and you can go to a campground and just rent a camper for the night.