Crossing Tongariro

So, to continue my adventures:
The next day in Taupo (Tuesday) I went ahead with my plans to do the Tongariro Crossing, which is reputedly the best one-day walk in NZ. I met a couple of guys on the bus who were going to do it as well, and we decided to walk together. Monday was a beautiful day, all sunny and nice, and we were all excited to go.

I woke up at 5:30, cursing. The sky was looking a bit miserable, but hey - it always clears up in the end, no?
No. By the time the bus dropped us off at the base of the mountain, it had become even darker, all windy and wet. We decided to push ahead anyway, hoping it would clear up in the afternoon. The walk wasn't too bad in the beginning. We even traversed the steep part (called the Devil's Stairway) a bit ahead of schedule.
As we reached the first summit, we saw a group heading down, One of the women (a local) told us she'd done this maybe 15 times before, and if we think it's miserable down here, wait till we get to the top.
She was right - the walk up there was realy bad, with stong, cold winds and a lot of rain. The decptive part was that it wasn't hard rain (which would probably have turned us back) but a slow, steady drizzle that just seeped into everything.

Now would be a good time to point out that, thanks to some friends who helped me pack (Anat), I had a woolen hat, a scarf, gloves, a thermal undershirt.
It is therefore with great pleasure that I award myself the "Dumbass of the Year" award, for not taking the gear up the mountain with me. I mean, it takes a very special kind of stupidity to actually schlep all that stuff halfway around the world, and then leave it behind the only time it's actually needed, right?
On the flip side, I did at least take my double-sided fleece and my woolen hat, so I wasn't actually cold. My pants and boots did get soaked, but I was wearing walking socks, so I didn't get cold or any blisters. So that's alright.

Just to make things a bit worse - the wind kept blowing at us, and there's a good hours walk where you have little or no shelter. Of course, since it was so cloudy, we didn't actually get to see any of the views. We just kept on walking, and didn't stop because there was basically nothing to see but seas of mist and fog all around.

Think this is over? On the way down, something in my knee just gave. Soon I was limping, and at a certain point the pain was so bad, I had to stop and gasp. Luckily my Dutch friends were around, and one of them actually got out a band of medical tape and stabilized the knee. We then found a walking stick, and I continued doen the mountain, limping, cursing, and looking like Gandalf. Of course I slowed everyone down, but that's alright. We finally made it down, but it was slow and tiring. All in all, the day was worse than a waste - all I got for my efforts were two badly injured knees (yes - once one goes, you put all the pressure on the other one, and the over-compensation makes it buckle as well).

The next day we just headed down to Wellington, without much action - which was good, since I had to rest my leg. The pain was really bad.
After we arrived (at 4PM), we made a little dinner, and then rushed out to a night-time walk in the animal sanctuary. This was supposed to be a highlight - they have Kiwi birds and some other endangered species, and Kiwis only come out at night to feed. However, my luck held fast - not a bird was to be seen or heard in the whole goddamn compound. We heard a couple of Kakas (that's what they're called, true name), and the plaintive cry of the Morepork owl, but that was it.

I will not one good thing - spending a few days with the Dutchies (Reinier and Riana). At least I got to know some really nice people, and they've actually got me cooking, which is a feat in itself.

Other than that, I've spent the last couple of days in Wellington doing all the regular touristy stuff. You know - the Te Papa museum (really nice), House of Parliament (beautiful), a visit to the doctor (well, I had to have someone take a look at my leg). Traveling is FUN.

Crossing over to the South Island tomorrow. Hope all goes well (I could very well fall off the ferry). Wish me luck...