Week 3 Ohakune,
Wellington and Picton
December 11, 2011
Today was a brutal day of hiking through the Tongariro
crossing. The crossing itself is only a
one day hike that is considered one of New Zealand’s Great Walks. Unlike most of
the others this day tramp through the mountains is free of cost; well except
for the $40 shuttle ride to and from the carpark. There are multiple towns from which you can
station yourself for the crossing and I selected the happy but quiet little
town of Ohakune. Suggest by a friend I
chose once again hitch hiking as my form of transport out of Taupo and
succeeded in landing a ride south to Wairui after thumbing it for about 25
minutes. After that and despite being on
a low traffic road, a local man who had just retired from work for the day
drove me the final 30 km to Ohakune. My
hostel is one of the finest yet despite having very few guests since Ohakune is
primarily a winter ski town.
Anyway, the crossing today was fantastic. The trail itself is about 19 km and is loaded
with heaps of people throughout the summer season. There are two optional additions to the trail,
one being the summit of Mt. Ngauruhoe and the other the summit of Mt
Tongariro. I opted to do both. While it didn’t add more than maybe 5 or 6
km, the hike up Mt Ngauruhoe was killer.
If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan then you already know that Ngauruhoe
is also known as Mt. Doom. I’ll admit
that LOTR embellished the magmatic contents of the mountain but it needed
little if any makeup to present it as a formidable beast of a mountain to
climb. Due to its volcanic structure
there is no easy way to climb the scree ridden face of the mountain. My numbers are not exact but just picture
yourself climbing up a loose gravel and lava rock mountain at a 60 degree slant
for about 1/3 of a mile. That’s pretty good reason enough to name it Mt. Doom. The views throughout the entire trek were
superb as the weather held out to provide a seemingly endless horizon as we
walked the crater rim and contemplated our descent.
Although the trail was loaded with tourists I tried to
avoid the masses and yet I found myself continually running into the same
fellow. Finally half way through we
struck up conversation and carried on as such for the duration of our walk. It is strange really, as I travel and meet
certain people that even such brief encounters can yield real genuine and
meaningful conversations. We can talk at
length on a multitude of subjects and become friends as if we had known each
other for quite some time. And yet it is
not until the moment when one of us must depart that we pause and with a coy
grin extend our hands and exchange our names.
Introductions seem superfluous and if it wasn’t for a some subconscious
afterthought I may never have known Simon’s name.
December 13, 2011
Today has little to mention except that I successfully
hitch hiked out of Ohakune and made my way safely into the bustling metropolis
of Wellington on the far southern tip of the north island. My transport started slowly as I had my thumb
extended for nearly 2 hours, vainly trying to grab the attention of such
passing drivers. I finally elated in
being picked up by a quite decent and affable man working for the phone
company, on his way out to a job in Taihape.
A grandpa already, we chatted for an hour about his life in New Zealand
and anything else that came to mind. I
feel my duty as a passenger should be to engage in conversation at the very
least and it is with a certain pleasure that I can converse with strangers in
such a friendly manner. As I waited
outside the local Taihape McDonald’s it was but 15 minutes before I had secured
my ride for the remainder of the trip as a Auckland businessman was heading
that way this lucky afternoon. Again I
found myself immersed in sporadic conversation for nearly 3 hours until he let
me out in a suburb nearby. With the sun
shining (a rarity for Wellington) I elected to walk the remaining few miles and
finally landed myself at the local YHA hostel.
Tomorrow brings exploration of the city, a change of pace after the
rural trekking that I have been doing.
December 15, 2011
I spent the day walking the city of Wellington despite
its best efforts to drop liquid dissuasion from the sky. Although it is summer here in New Zealand the
weather of Wellington seems to stand in stark contrast to any expectations one
might have about what summer should be like.
Nonetheless, I find peace in exploring a city by foot, specifically its
parks and other exhibits with free admission.
As you might recall I have been engaging in personal treatments of
physical therapy for my torn chest muscle for a few weeks now. This progress is going well if not slow, the
former more of a surprise than the latter.
However it is with great consternation that I have allowed myself to
contract yet another injury, one that has plagued me at random times for many
years now. Inflammation in my wrist has
been treated with steroid injections and seen positive response so I set my
course today in search of a place that might take me in, relieve me of my money
and provide some sort of treatment.
After 3 stops and a few hours later I ended my journey with expected
futility. On the upside I saw parts of
Wellington I would not have otherwise visited and still met 3 very nice
receptionists.
Tomorrow morning I make my way across the Cook Straight
on a 3 hour ferry ride to the south island.
Ferries of similar duration in SE Asia never would have cost me near $50
that I am paying to float a few hours between the two ports. Alas, it is there that I intend to burn a few
days on the northern shores until it is time to join my WWOOF family in the
Marlborough region. WWOOF is an
organization created to allow for people to volunteer on an organic farm in
exchange for accommodation. In practice
these farms can be a real commercial enterprise but in reality many are just
single family units that have transformed one aspect of their lives into an
organic process. New Zealand has a
plethora of such farms; my only setback has been my lack of correspondence in
an early fashion. Of the 10 or so places
I have contacted only one had an opening.
Even for them it wasn’t until after they acknowledged that they were
actually full but based on the merits of my profile they would be willing to
let me share a room with someone else.
And so it might seem that I will in a short while be living with a
family and working on their place for a duration not yet determined but
hopefully encompassing Christmas. It
should be an interesting holiday season after all.
December 18, 2011
Before landing with my WWOOF family I had the opportunity
to spend a few days in the small port town of Picton. Enjoying an amicable ferry ride from the
north to the south island of New Zealand I arrived in Picton and made my way to
the Tombstone Backpackrs, so aptly named for its location adjacent the town’s
cemetery. Although it is a small town
with only a few thousand inhabitants, Picton has revealed itself to be a town
with reasonable offerings. I have
embarked on a myriad of treks, two of which were free and allowed me to pursue
the direct surroundings of Picton but were limited in the duration. I have come to find that I prefer the long
one day hikes in which I am set with a particular length to travel and then
push to see how fast it can be done while still maintaining ample time to break
and absorb my surroundings.
It was my third hike in which I hired a water taxi to
drop me off and then arrange a pick up some hours later so that I might enjoy
one piece of the great walk of the Queen Charlotte. This trail can be done as a multi-day trek
and either camping or lodging can be used for each night’s rest. I opted for a nearly 25 km stretch that was
dubbed the Top of The World as it allowed the trekker to traverse the ridgeline
but to first aby the view by climbing up to the steep ridgeline. Although the trek was just above average and
the weather far from it I found myself taking great pleasure in quietly
plodding the trail for nearly half the day without encountering another
soul. The pleasantries that can be
found in walking a path without another are difficult to describe because by
their very nature the enjoyment within solitude seems to lose its significance
by sharing it; just as the trail itself.
Tomorrow the local mailman will deliver me to the The Hague family as a
special parcel out in the Marlborough Sounds.
Let the WWOOF’ing begin!!
No comments:
Post a Comment