So I'm in Turangi which is located in the middle-ish of the North Island right at the heart of where 3 or 4 Volcanoes converge. I ferried over to Wellington (the capital of this fine nation) Monday morning and spent the day there. It wasn't my favorite spot, but I saw a few sites (as well as overloaded Irish pubs... the bloody Irish are everywhere..) and then headed north Tuesday morning. It was a 5 hr bus ride and on the "lunch break" stop who should I see getting off my bus but my German friend Oliver who I met at Hopewell. We'd been hoping to meet up in this area, but his plans at the time were for a few days earlier so I figured I had missed him. In anycase, it was great catching up- and we plan to kick around for the next few days... though we're currently in different towns (go figure). I'm heading over to Taupo where he's at tomorrow. 
So, I'm in Turangi and just finished a 18km hike through the Tongariro Crossing right through the heart of the volcano mess I mentioned earlier. Mt Ngauruhoe (which I skirted the base of) or Mount Doom for those of you Lord of the Rings fans out there, is still slightly active and spurting steam. Starting out at 6am gave me a slight advantage against the hords of other trekkers out there and the whole place is quite Lord of the Rings-esque and feels quite magical (thank god I watched those films before I left so I could have a few semi-intelligent conversations about that!).
The way down had some hot springs and steam pockets of sorts and reminded me a bit of Yellowstone. Though the vegetation around volcanic activity contains such amazing colors and textures- it was quite an exotic environment I thought. In any case- here's (again) hoping I can walk tomorrow.
Speaking of walking- what is up with people walking around this country barefoot? It seems quite common to see people here and there in stores etc, just kicking around without any shoes on. Even happened on the plane over here. Curious thing really.
On another note: I think I've mastered the drugged out English rocker hairstyle I'm such a fan of. I do think the secret is washing your hair at night, going to bed with it slightly damp and never combing it really. Comes out quite nice. (You know what I'm talking about KT... don't you!)
Well, I'm actually rather tired and out of it from the days adventures. Just wanted to jot a few lines before too much time went by.
Here's hoping your St. Paddy's day was everything you'd hoped for and more.
Cheers!
lovejen
So, I'm in Turangi and just finished a 18km hike through the Tongariro Crossing right through the heart of the volcano mess I mentioned earlier. Mt Ngauruhoe (which I skirted the base of) or Mount Doom for those of you Lord of the Rings fans out there, is still slightly active and spurting steam. Starting out at 6am gave me a slight advantage against the hords of other trekkers out there and the whole place is quite Lord of the Rings-esque and feels quite magical (thank god I watched those films before I left so I could have a few semi-intelligent conversations about that!).
The way down had some hot springs and steam pockets of sorts and reminded me a bit of Yellowstone. Though the vegetation around volcanic activity contains such amazing colors and textures- it was quite an exotic environment I thought. In any case- here's (again) hoping I can walk tomorrow.Speaking of walking- what is up with people walking around this country barefoot? It seems quite common to see people here and there in stores etc, just kicking around without any shoes on. Even happened on the plane over here. Curious thing really.
On another note: I think I've mastered the drugged out English rocker hairstyle I'm such a fan of. I do think the secret is washing your hair at night, going to bed with it slightly damp and never combing it really. Comes out quite nice. (You know what I'm talking about KT... don't you!)
Well, I'm actually rather tired and out of it from the days adventures. Just wanted to jot a few lines before too much time went by.
Here's hoping your St. Paddy's day was everything you'd hoped for and more.
Cheers!
lovejen
1 comment:
send pictures of your hairstyle! st. paddy's was fan TAS tic over here...we had green eggs, ham, green pasta, green salad (gasp!) and green milk...it was great. Is it st. paddy's over there yet or are you still a day away? love you jen, keep rockin!
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