I think it's safe to say this past weekend was one of the more epic weekends of my life (still not sure if it topped the events of August 2nd, 2013, but it was close). For those of you who only read my blog when you have a few minutes to spare and only want the brief details of my adventures, you might want to find a time to sit down for this one. As a study abroad traveler I feel as if it is sort of my job to make everyone back at home fully understand the epic experiences I'm having, so here is a full, minute-by-minute (well maybe more like hour-by-hour), detailed, feel-like-you-were-there story. It's a good one, I recommend it.
For you Long Attention Span Folks....
On Friday night, 20 international students (Americans, Canadians, French, Norwegian, Spanish, British, Germans.... I think that's it) set out in four rental cars for the Tongariro Crossing which was approximately 4-5 hours north of Wellington. Myself, Liga, Emily and our two Canadian friends Anna and Jenn snagged this cute blue car and aptly named him (her?) Cookie Monster because a) it was blue and 2) we had freshly baked cookies (thanks to yours truly) for the car ride which really upset the other cars (sorry.... not sorry).
I did not volunteer to drive. Maybe that's why I made cookies for the drive. Like, "Hey, I made cookies for the drive! By the way, I'm not driving." I'm just not ready to take on the left side of the road yet. Lucky for me, Jenn was a pro on the left and Liga and Emily volunteered as well, so we were all set. The roads in New Zealand are very narrow and winding, including the highway. Add in the fact that we left pretty late in the evening (we didn't arrive at our cabin until midnight) and the drive was definitely a little scary. I was just glad to be a passenger. We also caught an amazing sunset on our drive. Everyone decided to pull over to snap a few pics.
Since I had zero part in planning the trip, I didn't really know what to expect in regards to accomodation, but our cabin turned out to be really cool! Located only a few kilometers (not miles!) from the start of the trek, we stayed at a cute cabin owned by a couple in Wellington. It could easily sleep 30+ people, so I'm glad there were at least 20 of us. Unfortunately when we first got there no one could figure out how to turn the electricity or heat on (you would think that one out of 20 people would be able to flip the right switch....) so we spent the first night shivering in our sleeping bags, but we all survived!
We woke up early the next morning to start the Tongariro Crossing. The Tongariro Crossing is hailed as one of the best one-day treks in the world and THE best single day trek in all of New Zealand. It's a 19.4 km walk/hike through the volcanic terrain of Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe (which is Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies). Both are active volcanos, so yes, I did put my life on the line for this hike. I'm so risky.
We woke up early the next morning to start the Tongariro Crossing. The Tongariro Crossing is hailed as one of the best one-day treks in the world and THE best single day trek in all of New Zealand. It's a 19.4 km walk/hike through the volcanic terrain of Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe (which is Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies). Both are active volcanos, so yes, I did put my life on the line for this hike. I'm so risky.
I'm pretty sure the pictures are illustrative enough of the beauty and spectacular-ness of this hike. It was really just unbelievable. The trek itself did not include the summit of any of the volcanos, but you could choose to do a detour to any of them. On Saturday most of the group summited Mt. Tongariro as it was just a 45 minute detour from a point along the crossing. Mt. Doom, on the other hand, proved to be immensely intimidating and the all-day trek discouraged most of us from doing it the next day.
The walk also consisted of some really cool bodies of water known as the Emerald Lakes. I'm really not sure about the geology behind any of it, but all I have to say is volcanic activity is super cool if it's able to produce lakes that look like these:
The walk also consisted of some really cool bodies of water known as the Emerald Lakes. I'm really not sure about the geology behind any of it, but all I have to say is volcanic activity is super cool if it's able to produce lakes that look like these:
After the lakes the trek led us to a lookout where we zigzagged down the edge of a mountain with a gorgeous view the entire time. Have I mentioned that I love this country????
So then we finished the Tongariro Crossing! All 19.4 kilometers. Ugh we're so outdoorsy.
But this is when the story gets funny. Kind of.
At this point, our cars are all low on gas (I bet you can guess where this story is going). We knew there was a gas station 10+ kilometers from our cabin, so we all went straight there after finishing the trek. When we get to the small town, we come to find that the gas station is closed. "But, it's only 7:30!" is my initial thought. Well that's New Zealand for you.
We pull over on the side of the road with two of the other cars, all of us unsure what to do. One car, driven by Andres, the Spaniard of the group, is no where to be seen. Since they left first we all assumed that they had headed back to the cabin once they realized they couldn't get gas. They also had the cabin key (this is an important detail). Oh, and at this point it's pretty cold outside too.
So, the five of us girls decide we're hungy and find a cool bar in the small town. It's filled with locals watching rugby and drinking beer, so naturally we're pretty excited. After ordering some fish and chips (perhaps my new fave NZ delicacy) we get into watching rugby with the local crowd. We think it would be funny if, whenever a team scores, we yell "TOUCHDOWN!" It was pretty funny. The rest of the crew decided to risk their lingering gas tanks and headed back to the cabin with the idea that they would just have to get gas in the morning. Well, we get a phone call from the two cars we had met on the side of the road saying that they're all huddled outside the cabin without the key or any way to get inside and Andres and his car is no where to be found! Why they called us, I'm not sure... but they were all pretty jealous of our fish and chips.
So we call Andres to figure out what was up. Turns out they didn't have enough gas to get back to the cabin and decided to keep going in search of an open gas station. Well, they didn't find one. So apparently Andres went up to a random house, knocked on the door, interrupted a cute Kiwi family eating dinner and asked for help. And in true Kiwi culture, the family gave them gas and helped them out. I told you Kiwis were great!
We come back to the cabin to find our 15 fellow travelers munching on peanut butter sandwiches and questionable packets of asian noodles. Needless to say they were all pretty jealous of our detour to the bar.
So the original plan for the weekend was for everyone to head back to Tongariro on Sunday and attempt the Mt. Doom summit. Well, due to some blisters and sore muscles our car decided that we had enough cool pictures of Mt. Doom and that we would rather make the trip an hour north to Taupo to check out some natural hot springs. In true cool-kid fashion, we convinced the majority of the rest of the group to come with us. In fact, 14 people ended up going to Taupo while only 6 summitted Mt. Doom. Yay for peer pressure!
Taupo was unbelievably gorgous. We found the thermal hot pools just a few minutes outside of the central town. We hung out here and made some little Kiwi friends while splashing around in the hot springs. Overall, a very solid day.
But this is when the story gets funny. Kind of.
At this point, our cars are all low on gas (I bet you can guess where this story is going). We knew there was a gas station 10+ kilometers from our cabin, so we all went straight there after finishing the trek. When we get to the small town, we come to find that the gas station is closed. "But, it's only 7:30!" is my initial thought. Well that's New Zealand for you.
We pull over on the side of the road with two of the other cars, all of us unsure what to do. One car, driven by Andres, the Spaniard of the group, is no where to be seen. Since they left first we all assumed that they had headed back to the cabin once they realized they couldn't get gas. They also had the cabin key (this is an important detail). Oh, and at this point it's pretty cold outside too.
So, the five of us girls decide we're hungy and find a cool bar in the small town. It's filled with locals watching rugby and drinking beer, so naturally we're pretty excited. After ordering some fish and chips (perhaps my new fave NZ delicacy) we get into watching rugby with the local crowd. We think it would be funny if, whenever a team scores, we yell "TOUCHDOWN!" It was pretty funny. The rest of the crew decided to risk their lingering gas tanks and headed back to the cabin with the idea that they would just have to get gas in the morning. Well, we get a phone call from the two cars we had met on the side of the road saying that they're all huddled outside the cabin without the key or any way to get inside and Andres and his car is no where to be found! Why they called us, I'm not sure... but they were all pretty jealous of our fish and chips.
So we call Andres to figure out what was up. Turns out they didn't have enough gas to get back to the cabin and decided to keep going in search of an open gas station. Well, they didn't find one. So apparently Andres went up to a random house, knocked on the door, interrupted a cute Kiwi family eating dinner and asked for help. And in true Kiwi culture, the family gave them gas and helped them out. I told you Kiwis were great!
We come back to the cabin to find our 15 fellow travelers munching on peanut butter sandwiches and questionable packets of asian noodles. Needless to say they were all pretty jealous of our detour to the bar.
So the original plan for the weekend was for everyone to head back to Tongariro on Sunday and attempt the Mt. Doom summit. Well, due to some blisters and sore muscles our car decided that we had enough cool pictures of Mt. Doom and that we would rather make the trip an hour north to Taupo to check out some natural hot springs. In true cool-kid fashion, we convinced the majority of the rest of the group to come with us. In fact, 14 people ended up going to Taupo while only 6 summitted Mt. Doom. Yay for peer pressure!
Taupo was unbelievably gorgous. We found the thermal hot pools just a few minutes outside of the central town. We hung out here and made some little Kiwi friends while splashing around in the hot springs. Overall, a very solid day.
Arguably my favorite part of the day was not at the hot springs, but was actually during the car ride home. As we were driving (well, Liga was driving, I was shot gun) the sun started setting and the sky became an exquisite palette of pinks, purples, and oranges. Simultaneously we were playing Lorde's Royals and singing in the car. It was an unbelievable weekend and this moment couldn't have captured the essence of how much I love New Zealand any better.
Just today Liga and I were hanging out in her flat, working on our blogs and comparing photos from the weekend and we were discussing how we can't imagine this semester every coming to an end. We're already in the fourth week of class (this is concerning, since I haven't learned much yet...) and while I know July is still pretty far away, I love everything about this country and can't imagine leaving. Maybe I'm a Kiwi at heart.
Just today Liga and I were hanging out in her flat, working on our blogs and comparing photos from the weekend and we were discussing how we can't imagine this semester every coming to an end. We're already in the fourth week of class (this is concerning, since I haven't learned much yet...) and while I know July is still pretty far away, I love everything about this country and can't imagine leaving. Maybe I'm a Kiwi at heart.