Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Dear Nerds, 

The time has come: I did it. I went to Mordor and I took the ONE Ring with me. 

Before I embarked on this adventure, however, it was Christmas! A very absurd Christmas because it was the middle of summer, meaning it was about 30 degrees and sunny. Quite absurd, as I said, since I felt no real Christmas spirit although all the Christmas hits were played on repeat in the stores and there was snowman chocolate and other treats available for purchase. Additionally, the entire Christmas season was completely packed with extra activities and Christmas parties from work and also celebrations with my friends from work.

Some of these activities included: a goodbye party, a gig by a colleague, Flat-Christmas, Hobbiton Christmas party, Christmas climbing with Alice, and then Orphan-Christmas with all the non-Kiwis without family on December 25. An abundance of social events, all of which were outstanding, and even though it was Christmas, I never really felt alone.

After climbing with Alice, Christmas morning arrived - the one on the 25th, because just like in England, in New Zealand, Christmas is also celebrated on December 25 and not on the evening of the 24th. I spent Christmas morning with Finn, as Yvonne and company were already off on vacation and Kylie had also met with her mother. So Finn and I were a family and we made Christmas waffles in the new waffle maker and watched Finn's favorite Christmas movie together: 'The Muppet Christmas Carol'. A retelling of the Christmas story from the Muppets' perspective. A lovely story and a truly wonderful Christmas morning that I enjoyed with Finn. And as you can imagine, I also made way too much batter, ending up with 6 extra waffles from the mix. Unfortunately, I severely burned my fingers on the second waffle, which contributed to my general grumpy Grinch mood that day.

I also took the remaining waffles along with my freshly baked apple strudel (one vegan and one with lots of butter) to our Orphan Christmas. The Crosbys (a family with three who worked in Hobbiton (Rosy, Sam, and Landen)) invited all 'orphans' to celebrate Christmas with them. About 20 female colleagues arrived in the afternoon with a dish in the garden, and there were super delicious drinks, appetizers, snacks, barbecued goodies, and brought delicacies as the main course, followed by cookies, cakes, ice cream, and other desserts. It was truly a feast, and the Crosbys outdid themselves with the planning, leaving so much food that everyone could still fill extra plates and Tupperware. Additionally, the family made handmade little gifts for each person, which were so cute and heartwarming. A really nice gesture and nobody missed their distant home that evening. As a small thank you, everyone pooled a bit of money together, and we were able to gift the whole family a substantial voucher for their favorite restaurant.

And because I ate sooooo much over Christmas and didn’t walk enough from work (sarcasm), I started a third attempt to tackle the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The two times before, the weather never cooperated, and I didn’t focus on the hike then. However, for that day (December 29), the weather forecast looked really promising, and I tried to gather a few people to go as a group. In the end, it was Anna, a super nice English woman, who went on the great hike with me. So we bought a ticket for the shuttle bus and drove 2.5 hours south in the evening, sleeping a few hours in a small hotel before setting off early at 4 for the parking lot.

Since a ticket for the shuttle bus costs $60, we played the system a bit, and Anna dropped me off at the starting point of the hike before she drove to the shuttle, so we only had to cover the shuttle costs for one person, as the car then waited for us at the end of the hike. So I waited in all my layers in the small shelter until Anna arrived and watched all the other hikers begin their journey. I must really say that there should be a checkpoint to ensure that all hikers are properly equipped, because what I saw there was simply shocking: people going on a 21 km hike with no sandals, no water, no extra clothes, and no sun protection, which includes 700 meters of elevation and not always simple terrain. An imposition on all the rescue teams that have to go up there in case of weather changes or extreme situations to retrieve those idiots!.

And just as Frodo and Sam did, Anna and Britta simply strolled into Mordor carrying the Ring. Luckily for me, I did not find an active volcano to destroy the Ring - but I did manage to take some lovely pictures with the Ring.

The landscape, the volcanic lakes, the track, and the whole package was a dream and is now one of the core memories of New Zealand.

After the hike, which took us a total of 6.5 hours, we drove to a super waterfall nearby and washed off the sweat and dirt from the track. Simply wonderful since the water was cold and refreshing. But as it still wasn’t cold and refreshing enough, we also treated ourselves to a delicious Realfruit ice cream on the way back.

DREAM DAY! Here’s to many more days that I can share with you.

Your Britta