Tourist on Tour

After our stay in Rotorua, we continued on to Taupo and the Central Plateau. Taupo is located on the northeastern shore of Lake Taupo, which is New Zealand's largest lake and is located in the crater of a volcano that erupted over 300,000 years ago.

We spent several days there and visited the Huka Falls, where the longest river in New Zealand - the Waikato River - rushes before these impressive waterfalls.

We also bathed in the Spa Park Hot Springs, where the hot thermal water of the Otumuheke River and the cool water of the Waikato River meet under a bridge to create a great natural free spa pool.

We also took the time to plan some highlights of our trip. The Tongariro Northern Circuit and the Whanganui Journey.

Both hikes are part of the official Great Walks in New Zealand and are among the most popular routes in the country.

- Tongariro Northern Circuit

We started our adventure from Taupo and had our destination, the legendary Tongariro National Park, always in sight.

The national park is located in the heart of the North Island, its landmarks are the three active volcanoes Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. The national park also has double Unesco World Heritage status, recognizing the spectacular volcanic landscape as well as the important cultural heritage of the Maori.

Unfortunately, we were a bit late with our booking and could only reserve a place in the Oturere Hut for our hike. So we had to complete the 43 km long loop around Ngauruhoe in just two days.

On the first day, we started our hike from Whakapapa Village. From there, it was relatively flat to the Waihohonu Hut. 

We had the best weather and enjoyed our almost Bavarian lunch (cheese, salami, Philadelphia and not nearly as good bread as at home) on the terrace of the hut. After our break, we continued through a forest and not only the vegetation changed, but the paths were no longer flat. So it went up and down....until we finally reached our camp for the night. Completely happy and exhausted, we spent the evening there and were fascinated by the view.

The next day, we left the hut very early, our goal was to be at the Emerald Lakes and the Red Crater before the other tourists (this section is where the day hikers of the Tongariro Crossing - the most famous hike in NZ - meet the hikers of the TNC).

Unfortunately, we reached our goal too late and the other tourists rushed towards us. Nevertheless, the view was truly unique and beautiful. 

Then it went downhill very quickly and we reached our lunch destination early. The last section was probably not the most challenging, but for us it was the toughest because our feet were starting to hurt. In the afternoon, we finally returned to Whakapapa Village where Rogi was eagerly waiting for us!!

From the national park, our journey took us directly to Taumarunui, where the family business Taumarunui Canoe Hire was recommended to us at the i-site. 

After spending a day on the wonderful property of the family, we packed our things into the barrels in the evening and enjoyed the starry night sky of New Zealand. 

Our alarm clock rang at half past 6, we had breakfast, packed our things and went to the conference room where we received a brief introduction and were shown the challenging sections of the river. We also received a little refreshment and coffee (for once real coffee - otherwise it's just instant coffee).

With great anticipation, we boarded the bus with our group and the oldest son of the family drove us to the entry point.

We were lucky on our first day, the sky was cloudless. We spent 8 hours on the water, winding through wild forests and breathtaking nature. Domi and I had underestimated this type of travel and thought we could just drift most of the time.

Wrong thought.

After the first 5 minutes of our journey, some of our group were already in the water, as they had underestimated a rapid, and we realized that this would not be a leisurely trip.

At the end of the first day, we were relieved to finally reach our hut and quickly set up our tent. In the hut's kitchen, we prepared our pasta and then happily devoured it.

After a pleasant night (I only woke up hysterically once and thought a rat was sitting on my stomach. Domi had his arm on me. Everyone had warned us that the rats sometimes chew through tents to get to food), our journey continued.

In mediocre weather, we covered some more kilometers and visited the Bridge to Nowhere for lunch.

After the wind didn't treat us well in the afternoon, we struggled heavily in the last meters before our campsite, as the wind pushed us from right to left, making us feel like we weren't making any progress. In return, we were then given a small upgrade at the campsite and got to sleep in a small cabin (by now, we can be made happy with so many little things).

In the evening, we had a cool beer and enjoyed the view from the lodge.

In my opinion, the last day was the best day. We had to tackle some difficult sections, so our joy was always huge when we mastered a section, and our laughter was even bigger when we got mercilessly soaked at the last difficult section (picture below) and only our barrels kept us afloat.

At the end of our trip, Jona picked us up again and the best part: he had juice and muffins for us. After everyone had enjoyed their muffins, it was quiet on the bus, everyone was asleep and totally exhausted from the exciting journey on the Whanganui River.