So long New Zealand, and thanks for all the fish (and chips)

With heavy hearts we left New Zealand on April 27^th. Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, and the people we met there, treated us very well and we had a fantastic time throughout the four months.

It was funny how our last few weeks in NZ bookended our first few weeks there. Instead of unpacking and settling into our temporary home, we cleaned and packed up and returned a lot of things, including Lego, that Sharon and Chris had lent to us during our stay. Rather then buying our van, we sold it—two days before we left, much to our relief. Instead of meeting people for the first time, we had to say goodbye to friends.

Marshall and Will - Mercury Islands

Shortly before our departure we also got revisit some of our favourite places and activities. On the weekend of April 14, Sharon and Chris had us and Will and Diana out to their bach in Hahei on the Coromandel Peninsula for a last visit. On Saturday morning we all individually or in groups went for a morning beach walk where Marshall, Karen and I gathered a few more shells for our collection.

(Small aside: For our flight from NZ to Australia and our flights within Australia, we have been struggling to be under our baggage weight limits. Part of the problem is we are probably carrying close to 3 kilos in shells, lava rock, and other bits of NZ nature—and this is after paring down our collection before we left NZ.)

Boat Harbor near Hahei

Later on Saturday we went out in the boat for a picnic lunch and sight-see to Boat Harbor. On the way there we set a long-line for snapper and other fish, which we reeled in later on our return to the bach. This was very successful as we caught 12 fish, snapper and gunnard, in total. Marshall was right in there waiting to see what might be on the next hook. We obviously ate well that night and had a great dinner with lots of fun conversation. Later we put on a short slide show of some of our favourite NZ moments.

We made a bit of an earlier start of it on Sunday and boated out to the Mercury Islands. Once there we did some snorkeling off Stanley Island. Although the water was still nippy, we saw a lot of fish and sea urchins. At the beginning of our trip Marshall wasn’t really wild about snorkeling around the kelp beds—he found it a bit creepy. He clearly became more comfortable with it as the trip went on because on this day he was free-diving down as deep as he could go to see more fish and he didn’t really want to get out of the water despite being cold.

After snorkeling we had lunch in a quiet bay and then went out and did some fishing. The snapper were really biting—Marshall caught twenty himself. As you probably have guessed, snapper are great to eat and therefore are one of the main species targeted by fishermen. We didn’t catch a lot that were keeper size, but Marshall didn’t care, he was just happy to catch a lot of fish. My one regret was that I lost a smallish yellow-tailed kingfish. They are a prized catch because of the fight they put up and their taste. Oh well, next time.

With all our fishing, Sunday was a late day, so everyone spent the night and went back to Hamilton on Monday. Karen left early with Sharon and Chris, while Marshall and I went home with Diana and Will. Before we left, the four of us went for a final walk to, and swim at, Cathedral Cove.

Cookson Kauri

Throughout most of our trip Marshall was the only kid in the group. I am sure he was bored sometimes, but on the whole, he did really well having to spend time with groups of 2, 4, or 6 adults. Chris and Sharon and Will and Diana catered to him a lot, so he had it very good. At the same time, being a kid he often added a perspective on what was important and fun that was different than ours. As adults, none of us took ourselves too seriously, but I know having Marshall as part of the group broadened our range of activities. For example, I would not have swam as much if not for him (and his insistence).

Our last weekend in NZ (April 21) required that we go camping and hiking one more time. We went to the Kaueranga Valley in the Coromandel Forest Park with Will and Diana. It was reputed to have some excellent trails and we had tried to hike there one other weekend but got rained out. On Saturday we walked the Cookson Kauri Trail. While it was a scenic walk that brought us to a huge kauri tree, I can’t say it was everyone’s favourite track. Getting to the kauri tree required climbing, according to Marshall, 700 steps (I think it was less, but there were a lot).

Summit of Cookson Kauri Trail,
Coromandel Forest Park

That night we had a fun campfire but no s’mores. A little later in the evening we went searching for kiwi birds one last time. We heard some calling but didn’t see any on the trail. This and our other fruitless searches made me realize just how lucky Marshall and I were to see a wild kiwi near the beginning of our time in NZ. It also got pretty cold that night and we would not have been able to do much more camping unless Karen and I upgraded our sleeping bags. (Campground rating (Catley’s): scenery – 3.5 (good view of surrounding forested mountainsides), facilities – 2.25 (no showers, water, but it did have firepits), noisiness – 5 (we were the only ones in the campground)).

Along the Kauri Dam Trail,
Coromandel Forest Park

On Sunday morning we hiked the Billy Goat and Kauri Dam Tracks. After the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, these were the roughest tracks (least maintained), with a lot of ups and downs, we hiked in NZ (we saved the best for last). I really enjoyed them for their “naturalness” and the surrounding forest, although we all got tired of crossing over and through the same stream about 40 times. Speaking of stream crossings, at the very start of our walk we had to cross a small river. I was standing on a rock and grabbed Marshall’s arm as he tried to step across a wide gap. Whoops, it was a little too wide—Marshall went right in the drink, taking me with him. After a quick return to and change at our campsite, we were back on the trail again. However, this time we took the five-minute detour and used the bridge. Surprisingly for all the walking, climbing, swimming, boating, etc. we did, this was our only really serious slip (provided you don’t count the infamous leg grab in the pool incident).

If I was on the North Island of NZ again, I would do some more hiking in the Kaueranga Valley. The landscape was fantastic, the trails offer some opportunities for more rugged hiking, and it isn’t as touristy as other parks.

After our weekend of camping we spent the next few days working, packing, and visiting with friends. We drove to Auckland on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday (April 26^th, my birthday), we went to Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic World (a small but fun place with different aquaria—penguins, rays, cool fish, etc.) and then out for a late thai lunch to celebrate my birthday. On Friday we were up early for our 7 a.m. flight to Cairns, Australia.

***

I have delayed publishing this post because I have struggled to find the right words to use to elegantly conclude our time in New Zealand. I still haven’t found them, but I am afraid if I wait much longer I will never publish this update.

For all of us, our time in New Zealand was memorable. The four months we were there went by too quickly. We were all ready to come home, but at the same time the tears and feelings of things left undone or goodbyes not fully said attest to the fact that it wasn’t easy to leave.

We met so many fantastic people and saw and experienced so many awesome places—much more than I ever expected we would. After the friends we made, Karen’s highlight was hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, followed by our visits to podocarp forests. For Marshall, we did too much for him to pick a favourite—he loved the exploring we did, the camping, the searching for birds, the swimming and snorkeling and beaches, and, just for Will, all the waterfalls. I loved the ancientness of the podocarp forests. I will also really miss the freedom of being able to so easily access, explore, and use the stunning coastline and ocean.

Living vs. being tourists in New Zealand also pushed all of us out of our comfort zones a bit. This helped each of us to learn new things about ourselves and grow as people.

Most importantly, we had a great time as a family. We spent a lot of wonderful days together and our experiences in and memories of New Zealand will be a shared touchstone for all three of us. With our busy and over-structured lives, I think all families should take a sabbatical every once in awhile.

E noho ra New Zealand.

Tuesday, April 10 - Hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Hello from Australia. We left New Zealand over a week ago. Since then we have been in Australia snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, hugging koalas in Brisbane, and now visiting our friend from grad school, Sebastian, and his partner Justine, in Adelaide. I apologize for the delay in this posting. Our last few weeks in NZ were pretty busy and since we arrived in Australia we have been living in hotels and have not had unfettered access to the internet. Plus, we had a fantastic day doing the Crossing, so I wanted to do the day justice by not rushing through a posting.

Our guidebook describes the Tongariro Alpine Crossing as the “best one day hike in New Zealand.” Not having done every day-hike in NZ, we can’t say whether this is true, but it is spectacular and we would recommend it to any physically fit visitor to New Zealand.

The track for the Crossing is 19.4 kilometres long and takes you between Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe in Tongariro National Park. There is a third mountain in the park, Mt. Ruapehu. All of these mountains are dormant or resting volcanoes (Ruapehu last erupted in 2007). It is this volcanic activity, along with the surrounding vistas, that makes the Crossing so interesting. Most of the day you hike through and up fields of volcanic rocks. The last few kilometers of the hike are a complete contrast as they take you through the thick, green Ketetahi podocarp forest.

We began our hike at 8:30 a.m. Weather-wise it promised to be a perfect day. The sun was up and shining and there was little wind. This was a real bonus because apparently the Crossing is often cloudy/foggy and all the vistas are blocked from sight. We were there to see the landscape and not simply to say we had conquered the Crossing (I can think of better ways to get 7 hours of exercise), so our day got off to a great start.

Tongariro Alpine Crossing early in the morning

For the first hour and a half we walked from the Mangatepopo car park to Soda Springs. This part of the Crossing is pretty flat and most of your walk is on a boardwalk—the trail runs beside and over a small, intermittent stream. Like other walks we did in NZ, the boardwalk took away from the naturalness and ruggedness of the Crossing. However, on some days there can be over 1,000 people doing the Crossing, so without the boardwalk this part of the trail, and park, would become very eroded.

The Kidd Family visits Mt. Doom

The landscape on this part of the walk is dominated by Mt. Ngauruhoe, which is to the right of the trail up to Soda Springs. Mt. Ngauruhoe is the volcano you made for one of your science fair projects. It is perfectly conical and has a single vent at the top. Because of its perfect “volcanoness”, Mt. Ngauruhoe became Mount Doom in the filming of The Lord of the Rings. For those of you who don’t know or have forgotten, throughout the books and movies, Frodo and Sam, hobbits, are on a quest to throw a magical ring into Mount Doom where the ring was originally forged by the evil Sauron. This will melt the ring and destroy Sauron. We were told that since the filming of the movie, people now hike to the top of Mt. Ngauruhoe and throw their own rings into the volcano. (I said to Karen that would certainly make it clear your marriage is over). We didn’t do the side-trip to the top of Mt. Ngauruhoe as it requires a 500 metre ascent and adds around 2.5 hours to your day. One final note about Mount Doom. The motel we stayed at had a DVD of the third part of The Lord of the Rings in which Mount Doom is featured a lot. To get us more in the mood, we watched it the night before our hike.

It is once we reached Soda Springs that our real hike began. From Soda Springs we walked up a steep 350 metre ascent to the South Crater, which took us about 45 minutes. There are some stairs on this part of the Crossing, but for the most part the trail is pretty rugged. It was a stiff walk up, but Marshall did well on it. It became much easier about three quarters of the way up after his mind became occupied with his eating of a really dense chocolate and peanut bar. What I found interesting was how we leapfrogged other groups going up the climb, and throughout the whole Crossing for that matter. We would stop and take a rest or photo break and they would pass us, then they would stop and we would pass them.

Looking back from the top of the Devil's staircase 

Fortunately, the climb up was well worth the effort. Once we reached the top of the Devil’s Staircase, we walked across the South Crater and then up to the Red Crater. I really liked the walks through the South and Central Crater. They are both wide, flat areas of seeming moonscape—very unique. What is nice about the South Crater is that it lies between Mt. Tongariro, to your left, and Mt. Ngauruhoe, to your right and behind you. This is one of the best vantage points from which to take pictures of both mountains. 

We reach the Tongariro Crossing Summit
and the Red Crater 

After the South Crater we did another steep, 250 metre ascent up to the Red Crater, which is the highest point of the Crossing (1900 metres above sea level). We were told the Devil’s Staircase was the hardest part of the Crossing, but as a group, we found this ascent the most difficult. The trail here was very rugged, winding its way through and over rocks and boulders.

The Red Crater is part of Mt. Tongariro, which is a multi-vent volcano. Marshall found it very interesting. He particularly liked the brilliant shades of red in the crater. Looking at makes it clear you are in volcano country. It is also a great vantage point from which to take photos. Standing up there also made us doubly glad for the great weather. At this point in the Crossing a decent wind was blowing even though it had been calm at the base of the Crossing. Because you start to sweat doing the ascent, it is easy to become chilled with the wind blowing over you. Doing it wearing a rain jacket would not be fun.

From the Red Crater we slid down about 150 metres to the Emerald Lakes and the Central Crater. For many people, the walk down from the Red Crater to the Emerald Lakes is the worst part of the Crossing. It is a very steep scree slope which in places feels like you are walking on marbles. The trick is to lean back and dig in with your heels, not your toes, and let gravity do the work. We conquered this part of the walk with no troubles, but we saw a lot of people wiping out on their way down.

Once we reached the Emerald Lakes we stopped for awhile, ate our lunch, and explored. Visually, I think this is the most interesting part of the Crossing, with the bright green of the lakes contrasting with the grays, browns, and blacks of the surrounding humps and bumps. At this point of the Crossing we were still on schedule to meet our shuttle at 4:30, so we spent around 45 minutes at the Emerald Lakes.

An Emerald Lake along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Tongariro Central Crater

After the Emerald Lakes, we crossed the Central Crater and did a short ascent up to Blue Lake. At Blue Lake we got a spectacular view of Lake Taupo to the northeast. Lake Taupo is NZ’s largest lake. It sits in the caldera (bowl) of an older, massive volcano (Tongariro National Park and its three volcanoes would fit inside the caldera). From Blue Lake we began our long descent (1000 metres over 9 kilometres) to the Ketehahi Car Park where our shuttle van was to be waiting for us.

The landscape on this side of the Crossing is much greener, with a lot of grasses and small shrubs. I am not sure why this is—the soil didn’t look much better than the other side, perhaps this side of the park gets more rain or it wasn’t affected by recent eruptions.

Tongariro Alpine Crossing - the descent

Being honest, after the first half of the Crossing, I found this part sort-of disappointing. The scenery is nice but it doesn’t feel unique. Walking through a lush podocarp forest, after the barrenness of the rest of the Crossing, is a neat way to end the hike, but by the time you reach it your mind is focused more on the destination (finishing the hike) vs. enjoying the journey. Also, being all down hill, the walk itself is no longer challenging. If I was to do the Crossing again, I would walk to Blue Lake, do a side trip to either the summit of Mt. Tongariro or Mt. Ngauruhoe, and walk back to Mangatepopo.

Looking at and out over Blue Lake

At around kilometre 14, Marshall began to really slow down and a lot of groups began to pass us. Then we got to a little sitting area at kilometre 16 where we took a break for a minute. It was here that Marshall realized we didn’t have much further to go and thought we could catch a shuttle at 3:15 (we didn’t) rather than the one at 4-4:15. Next thing, he is running down the trail and jumping off all the stairs. Karen didn’t think this was a fun way to end a peaceful day, so she let us race off ahead. Now he and I started passing many of the groups that passed us around kilometers 14 and 15. He and I did the last three kilometers in about 35 minutes. In total it took us a little under 7.5 hours to do the Crossing.

We reach the end

What can I say other than we had an exhilarating day. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing was the last big “want to do” thing for our time in New Zealand and we were all happy not to have missed out on it. We even got the t-shirts to say we were there.

A few final notes about our trip to Tongariro. We stayed two nights at the Adventure Lodge and Motel in the aptly named town of National Park, which offered a really good Tongariro Crossing package. While not the fanciest place, the rooms were clean, the food was excellent, and the owners were very knowledgeable, helpful and accommodating. At the motel we met Stuart and Pat who live on Darlings Island (Hampton, NB), which is about 15 minutes from our home in Quispamsis. They had been touring the South Island of NZ and before going back to Auckland to fly home, had stopped to do the Tongariro Crossing. They were really nice and it was fun talking to them about their trip and their impressions of New Zealand.