In the first week I was here I went on what was called the "Double Tu Meke" trip. In Mauri "tu meke" means "too much." So the idea is to do two really intense adventures back to back. I am proud to say that I started my trip off with a "Double Tu Meke," and I just closed it with one.
This weekend my buddy Teddy and I did the Tongariro Alpine crossing and the Waitomo Caves "Lost World Epic" Adventure.
We left Saturday morning to head to Tongariro National Park and stopped along the way at the South Auckland Market.
There were some beautiful views along the way.
We arrived in Tongariro with plenty of sunlight left so we did a number of the smaller walks/hikes in the area. Tongariro National Park is where many of the scenes depicting Mordor in Lord of the Rings were filmed, and we had a great view of Mount Ngauruhoe aka Mt. Doom in the films.
Mt.Doom!!
Some artsy-fartsy moss photos :)
Had to get a handstand photo in front of Mt.Doom!
We drove a ways up Mt Ruapehu where the Whakapapa ski area is and found some more Lord of the Rings sites.
Look out for orcs!
The next morning we woke up early to catch the shuttle that would take us to the entry for the Tongariro Alpine crossing. When you read about the crossing in guide books, most of the pictures that they show you look like this:
Unfortunately we didn't think about the fact that these pictures are taken in the height of summer and we were trying to do the crossing in spring after a winter of very heavy snowfall, so it turned out to be much more of an arctic expedition than we had planned! (which in the end made it much more exciting and rewarding of an adventure!)
Luckily we had a really great driver and he loaned us a bunch of gear and took us to a shop where we could rent appropriate clothing.
The sign suggests the crossing will take about 8 hours but we managed to cross it in exactly 5, Even with the crazy rough conditions!
Their suggestion was that if it seems as though the volcano is erupting to get off the mountain as soon as possible. Comforting? Not really!
If the weather had been nicer we could have actually gone up Mt. Ngauruhoe (aka Mt. Doom) But unfortunately we had zero visability. When it's fogged in they don't allow anyone to go up it since it is apparently very easy to go up it and then come down the wrong way and get completely lost! So we stuck to the crossing trail.
Once we made it to the tail end of the crossing the scenery changed dramatically.
"It's so pretty it hurts!"
Had a nice rest as we waited for the shuttle to pick us up at the other end of the crossing.
Back at our hostel I had a great cuddle session with the owner's Dalmatian named Zac!
The next day we headed off to Waitomo in the morning for our next big adventure.
This is one of the views of Lake Taupo along the way.
There's a lion with his tongue out in the clouds!
We made it to Waitomo early to do a big of exploring before we started our tour.
I realized a bit of my childhood fear of caves might still be with me a little bit..
My first cave experience when I was 2 1/2
But trips like this are all about facing our fears and getting out of your comfort zone, so into the caves we went!
Our adventure started with a bit of safety training, which is always nice.
Then before we knew it it was time to abseil 100 meters down into the Lost World Cavern! (that's about 330 feet!)
One we made it to the bottom we sat and ate lunch while admiring the incredible view around us.
We then did a little impromptu photoshoot to capture our silhouettes with the iconic light of the Lost World cavern is the background. The guide said jokingly "so if you guys want to do handstands on the rock, that's the perfect thing to do." Boy was he surprised when I took him seriously!
Then we started our 5 hour hike upstream through and out of the cave system!
Scott, one of our guides, giving us the low-down on what to expect.
The most incredible thing about these caves are the glow worms that call it their home. Throughout the journey the ceiling was covered in tiny little blue lights.
Cannon ball!
Some of the boys decided to try and rock climb back up the ledge to jump off again. They had a bit of trouble so I showed them how it was done.
Giving one of the guys some rock climbing advice.
Thought I would step it up and do a front flip cannon ball this time!
Then before we knew it we reached the end of the cave system and continued our hike up the stream and emerged back out onto a farm with sheep running around all over the place. Very different environment than what is below the ground!
After we said our goodbyes, we hopped back in the car and made our way back home to Auckland!
I couldn't have asked for a better set of adventures to end the trip with!
Now it's time to get all my stuff packed and organized and prepare to catch a plane back to the states in one week!
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