We climbed a mountain! As mentioned in the end of the last post, we got some disappointing news from the shuttle drivers that were going to take us to and pick us up from the famous Alpine Crossing hike. The weather was cold, wet, and windy—and I'm sure they were reluctant to run the risk of the helicopter getting called out to save people from the mountain.
Luckily, while I can plan anything, Caitlin thrives in situations like this. I was ready to call it a wash, but she told me to quit being a wimp and stop feeling bad for myself and looked up other hikes in the area. We ended up heading out to conquer a 5-6 hour trek that was supposed to be comparable to the Alpine Crossing in terms of views and difficulty.
It's pretty hard to describe a hike so we might fill this post with more pictures than words. With that said though, the hike to Taranaki Falls and the Tama Lakes was a real challenge—and incredibly wet, cold, windy, with white-out conditions at the top. BUT, it was 100% worth it.
The majority of the hike had well groomed paths, but the rain made them less visible. The most difficult stretch by far was the last bit where there were no paths but only markes that served as guidance. The wind was strong, the snow/sleet made it so we couldn't see where we were hiking to (the summit), and in turn made everything slippery. Only later that night did we go back and read that it is strongly recommended that you don't do this hike in inclement weather. In all, the journey took us 5 hours and we believe about 10 1/2 miles.
Aching, cold, and exhausted we made our way back to town and went to a local bar, grill, and tab (slot machines and horse racing) to have a beer and some excellent calamari. However, the place smelled like cigs and there were a couple of dudes with face tattoos so we made the executive decision to leave—being as how we looked the part of two clueless Americans drifting around town in their rental car.
Jumping back in the car, we headed to Taupo about 30 minutes north. Taupo is where more of the "big money" is in the area, and also part resort town for visitors. We found an excellent little restaurant called The Lake House where we had our best meal yet. I went with the seafood chowder which was loaded with awesomeness and served in a bread bowl. Caitlin went out of her comfort zone and got the margarita pizza.
All in all, it was a very successful and active day. We even saw what I think was a black swan and a pretty okay sunset over the Lake Taupo.
This morning, we were getting ready to take off when Caitlin disappeared. I found her inside our AirBnb hosts' house (Avis and Boyd) having breakfast with their family. Avis had thought we were actors, which I didn't have the heart to tell them that if we were we wouldn't be staying in the detached structure behind their trampoline in their backyard.
Here's the road we stayed on for two days, just a sample of some of the awesome town and street names down here.
P.S. Caitlin asked if I was willing to admit that she saved the day, because I apparently was being moody about our first hike being cancelled (second hike was awesome), angry at the gas pump because it wouldn't work (she figured it out), and upset at how long it was taking us to drive to Taupo (it was well worth it). I don't 100% agree, but you can't win every battle.
Oh, and go Cubs...?