On to Mordor

After the much-anticipated Zorb experience, the next stop was the Tongariro Crossing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongariro_Alpine_Crossing) – an all-day strenuous hike across the volcanic Tongariro pass in the North Island (it’s one of the most dramatic hikes in NZ and a World Heritage site). Because of the altitude, December is the earliest that they recommend attempting this crossing, and alas, the weather gods did not smile on us. On the day we planned to do the crossing winds were gusting up to 70 km/hour at the pass, and no buses were running to the trailhead. So we decided to go see the Whakapapa Ski area (which served as Mordor in the Lord of the Rings movie) and then go hiking at lower altitudes. It was really chilly and windy at Whakapapa (in Maori, “wh” is pronounced “f”, so you’ll want to enunciate that word very carefully), and we were quite happy we hadn’t attempted the Crossing! The weather suited the place, though, and it really did look rather evil (the volcanic black rock also added to the sinister feeling). Ben helped us identify exact locations for various scenes. You could almost see the Orcs coming up the hill.

It was relief to descend to lower altitudes and spend the rest of the day hiking in beautiful, warm weather on the Taranaki Falls track. Ben especially enjoyed this hike because it did look very “Lord of the Rings” (LoTR from here on). We even had time after that hike to drive to another LoTR location, which included another dramatic waterfall – Mangawhero Falls. (We were greatly helped in our LoTR location quest by a location book that we bought early in our NZ stay.)

The next day, the weather was better, and some of the hikers who stayed with us at the lodge decided to extend their stay in order to make the hike that day. (One of the hikers was from Germany and had tried to make the Crossing 17 years before, only to be stymied by bad weather. We felt happy for him that he was finally able to do it!) However, we were on a tight schedule and had to leave in time to make the ferry to the South Island, so we couldn’t stay another day (and to tell the truth, it still looked awfully cold and windy!). We did resolve that if our knees hold out, we’ll try to return to make the Crossing sometime in the next 17 years! Next time, we’ll make our attempt in February, when the weather is warmer.