Traveling in New Zealand, North Island, must include Tongariro National Park. Only about 2 and half hours drive, we have been trying to find that difficult moment when weather, time and absence of other priorities converge to make it optimal - (possible would be too easy, we go for optimal). And so it was yesterday. I drove up, northwest. Mary drove back. We did it in a single day.
Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe were awesome, majestic, huge and all those other words that describe individual mountains. Ruapehu is the tallest with multiple peaks at about 2900 metres (note the British spelling - we're Kiwi's now). Ngauruhoe (aka Mt Doom) is a classical volvanic cone. Though there was a fairly magnificent eruption of Ruapehu in 1995, these mountains behaved themselves while we were there.
We tramped (the Kiwi word for hiking) about 6 miles (kilometre is just too hard to spell, to get better views and go by Taranaki and Tawhai Falls. Taranaki Falls is the taller seeming to come right out of the rocks to fall as a wide curtain in front of a cave like area into a green pool. Tawhai Falls is shorter and is more like a stream coming over a classic pastoral falls. Tawhai reminded me very much of Abrams Falls in Great Smoky Mountain National Park back home (home - yeah thinking more and more about home - 2weeks and we'll be there). But this park is not comparable to anything back home. The mountains, the falls, the green rolling hills and mountains on the drive.
Privileged to be here, now.
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