If you paddle a canoe into a tree, you do a somersault

A pre-Christmas hello from us to all bloggers. Time for news. A good time, as the festive season is a time of peace and contemplation😉. The last few days were quite action-packed for us. Within 9 days, we had the opportunity to experience adventures at an altitude of 1800 m and a 170 km canoe trip to Whanganui, which, like many highlights before, will remain unforgettable. Completely cut off from the outside world, we set off for the Tongariro Crossing. A Great Walk up one of the many volcanoes. Unfortunately, we could only start late in the morning and the weather didn't promise anything good. The Te Araroa (our long-distance hiking trail) led us up to the mentioned altitude within 12 km. With 15 kg of luggage on our backs (similar to the weight of the Christmas shopping you're currently doing), our heart rate increased a bit😌 About halfway there, we reached a hut (not a hat or cap) to take a break. Just at that moment, it started pouring rain. It didn't take long for the hut to be full of day trippers coming from the other side. All with small funny backpacks and all of them naturally talking about how terrible it was up there. Nothing to see, how to find the way, etc. So a decision had to be made. Go back or continue to endure or go further up. After a brief exchange, it was decided: "We will continue". And we were to be rewarded. The higher we got, the more the clouds cleared. When we reached the summit; it was madness. A view. Well, see for yourself. We were overwhelmed and totally happy. Every step to the next campsite was easy and shortly afterwards we reached our next camp. A nice hut at the foot of the volcano. Meeting familiar walkers and a beautiful sunset rounded off the evening. The next two days were rather tough mentally for walking. Bad weather, totally soaked ground, often indiscernible path, obstacles due to fallen trees, crossing the river without a boat, etc. At some point after we both fell into the mud, we thought to ourselves: "Nice that they marked the path. Hopefully they will start building it soon.😁". But we mastered that as well. On December 11th, we arrived at the National Park Tongariro Highway, where we were picked up in the early afternoon by a shuttle from the Canoe Company and taken to their canoe center. Arriving there, we received initial instructions for the upcoming 6-day tour, which continued the next morning. We just wanted to paddle a bit😌😯 But the following days would show that these safety precautions make sense. The next morning (we were able to camp there for free), we took the canoe and 6 packed barrels in the car (1h10) to Whakahoro for the start of the Whanganui River. Finally, it was time to go. With excitement, we completed the first kilometers and arrived at the first campsite near the river after 37 km. A perfect first day. We are canoeists. Nothing can stop us. We thought. On Day 2, just after setting off, we completed the first rapid of the day. Glad to have survived it, we drove into a tree in the water and suddenly we were in the water. Fully capsized. With combined strength and fear in our limbs, we pulled the boat with all our belongings and ourselves onto land. First river victim: Koe's sunglasses. But nobody was hurt and all the belongings (barrels) were dry and still there. This should be the only "canoe roll". Otherwise, we learned a lot about canoeing on a big river through "learning by doing". The second river victim - Susi's baseball cap - was lost in a strong gust of wind right in the middle of the landing maneuver. Every day on the river was brilliant. Sunshine every day, nature like in a picture book, great campsites with very nice hosts. Just fantastic. Yesterday was the finish line at Whanganui River Holiday Park. It was beautiful days. About team building: Sometimes there were also 2 captains on board and each one wanted to "lead". The result: the boat sitting on a rock in the water. But with a glass of wine, this was very professionally worked out😂😂😂 So, we will now take 3 rest days and then Christmas is planned on the way to Wellington at the beach. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas in the company of family and friends, which will surely also be contemplative due to recent events. Our greatest Christmas gift was your support and encouragement for our time out, dear family and friends. Thank you very much.

Merry Christmas!

Susi and Andreas