Melbourne, Taupo & the Tongariro Crossing
Hi all,
I thought it might be nice to give you a quick update with what has happened in the last couple of weeks. The weekend before last James and I explored the geothermal hotspot known as Rotorua. This long weekend saw James in Ballarat to compete with the Wollongong men's team at the Australian Ultimate Championships. It was quite an exciting opportunity for them to compete in the division 1 competition and they played very hard. While James was busy playing frisbee (as per usual), I stayed in New Zealand and entertained a visitor from Wollongong! I am still getting the hang of driving the manual (Bachie), but luckily James and I have some lovely friends who offered to swap cars with us for the weekend. It was mutually beneficial, as it meant they could sleep in the car instead of in a tent during their camping trip, and I could take my friend places outside Auckland (where all the good places are).
I've been stressing a little bit in preparation for my term of full-time teaching, so it was great to have a few days' break with a good friend. We decided to head south to Taupo (TOE-paw) to check out some of the best water features the North Island has to offer (Lake Taupo, Waikato River, Huka Falls, Aratiatia Rapids). We also decided to trek the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a 19.4 kilometre hike through alpine, volcanic and forest terrain. The hike took us 9 hours, and today I am sore. I am looking forward to making the trek again with James in the near future; it is very aptly considered the best one-day hike in New Zealand. It also happens to be the home of Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings, which is a prominent feature of the trail.
