SV Jenny - Fwd: Roturoa, Taupo, Turangi and Mount Tongariro 39:12° S:175:63° E

Fwd: Roturoa, Taupo, Turangi and Mount Tongariro 39:12° S:175:63° E

SV Jenny

Alan Franklin/Lynne Gane

Sat 9 Apr 2016 08:14

-----Original Message-----
From: Lynne Gane <lynnegane {CHANGE TO AT} aol {DOT} com>
To: svjenny+diary-597144 <svjenny+diary-597144 {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com>
Sent: Fri, Apr 8, 2016 12:19 pm
Subject: Fwd: Roturoa, Taupo, Turangi and Mount Tongariro 39:12° S:175:63° E

-----Original Message-----
From: Lynne Gane <lynnegane {CHANGE TO AT} aol {DOT} com>
To: svjenny+diary-597144 <svjenny+diary-597144 {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com>
Sent: Fri, Apr 8, 2016 12:07 pm
Subject: Fwd: Roturoa, Taupo, Turangi and Mount Tongariro 39:12° S:175:63° E

-----Original Message-----
From: Lynne Gane <lynnegane {CHANGE TO AT} aol {DOT} com>
To: svjenny+diary-597144 <svjenny+diary-597144 {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com>
Sent: Fri, Apr 8, 2016 12:03 pm
Subject: Roturoa, Taupo, Turangi and Mount Tongariro 39:12° S:175:63° E

Dear Family and Friends,

24-27th March 2016

Photos 1 is from Waimangu thermal park, Roturoa.

Travelling SW, we have reached Turangi via Lake Taupo, Huka falls and Aratiatia falls. The days have not been kind to us, the rain torrential. But I guess as we slide into the autumn it is to be expected.

Photo 2 Aratiatia falls are below a dam, one of 4-5 hydro-electric schemes. The gates are opened at 2 hourly intervals and it is worth the short trip off the highway to watch the spectacle. From barely a trickle through the rocky falls, the gorge becomes a white water torrent in a matter of minutes.

Following on from these a little further on towards Taupo, the Huka falls is the only outlet from the immense Lake Taupo, its immense energy pouring down a narrow and deep ravine, the powerful roar and spray reaching us many tens of feet above.

Photo 3 Huka falls It was a dreadful day, as you can see, perhaps photoshop can improve this when I have the time.

Sadly again it wasn’t the day to go and see the famous Maori rock carvings visible from the lake. But we did manage a brief walk, (miraculously without rain), through a thermal park with a hand held laser temperature reader. Many of the steam vents were around 50C, supporting a micro climate of delicate ferns basking in near tropical temperatures and humidity.

What we could not have wished for was the dive we spent 3 nights in, Turangi Kiwi Holiday Park. The Huts were in a very poor state of repair, all of them, there were just 4 showers and 6 toilets for the entire camp of 121 huts, 1 fridge, 3 cookers, 2 of which were not fully working and everything was peeling paint, decrepit furniture and fittings, God it was awful. Starting life as a 1960s work camp, the furniture was original, the bed broken, the mattress had given up the ghost long away and we were trapped as at Easter everywhere else was full!

Photo 4 Tongariro River

Of course I haven’t mentioned the reason we persisted here. We wanted to walk the Tongariro Alpine crossing, one of the great walks of the world, we are told! Of the 3 days we could have chosen, having looked at the weather forecast we chose what should have been the best and turned out to be the worst, the photos of a soggy and dejected Alan and Josh speak volumes.

Photo 5 Alan and Josh crossing the crater floor, it could have been a sandy beach, fine sand, pebbles, water channels and quite flat, but for the backdrop. We are still a long climb from the top and dripping wet, can you tell!

We reached this climbing through bush on the lower slopes, then a steep and rocky path and steps. Mercifully the rain stopped long enough when we reached the summit for a quick lunch resting on the boulders.

Of the 7 hours and 20km, most was in pouring rain and the marvellous views were shrouded in low cloud. Still we can say we have done it and had the 3 days of aching limbs to prove it. In fairness there were still sights to be enjoyed and the transition from alpine fauna, through bush to lush forest and tree ferns and fording a valley flash flood plain was very interesting. I was just too tired to raise more than a passing nod to it!

Photo 6 The drops were quite something, perhaps it was just as well we could see so little. Having crested the summit of the pass, we slid down a steep narrow ridge of loose scree for some alarming 15-20 minutes, my knees were going all wobbly by the end.

Photo 7 Emerald and blue lakes on the descent, as you can see there was no shortage of lunatics.

All our best,

Lynne, Alan and Josh