Huka Falls and Lake Taupo

On the way back from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing Marcell and I made a short stop at Lake Taupo and its adjacent Huka Falls.

We parked at a car-park that was located nearby and embarked onto a short walk of about 15 minutes that led us to the waterfall. So here´s a few pictures of the Huka Falls and Lake Taupo:

Sunset at Lake Taupo

Mount Taranaki

Our first real trip here on the North Island (except from exploring the city of Wellington) was the ascending of Mount Taranaki, the lonely mountain on the western side of the island. In case you´re pondering about the name, Mt Taranaki is a perfectly shaped volcano and the only mountain within a radius of hundreds of kilometers, which makes the term perfectly suitable in my opinion.

Unfortunately the mountain had concealed itself in clouds and fog by the time of our arrival, so we actually couldn´t see anything of the mountain itself. I just took this picture above from the internet to give you an idea of this staggering place.  

Although we weren´t sure if we would escape the fog by ascending the path to the top and whether we would be able to catch a glance of the impressive summit or not, we decided to climb up the mountain anyway. So we took our small backpack, filled it with snacks and water-bottles and off we went.

The path leading up to the crater ushered us directly into the wall of fog and clouds.

Somewhere about half way up to the top we found this transmitter mast and reckoned it was a decent place to have a short break and gormandize some muesli bars and cookies to invigorate ourselves before continuing our climb of the lonely mountain.  

The path got steeper and steeper and we climbed higher and higher and eventually reached an altitude where we left the thick layer of fog and finally caught a first glimpse of the snow-covered, stunningly perfect formed crater that had finally disclosed itself. 

As we ascended further, we soon reached the first snow. Mount Taranaki is about 2500 meters high and therefore covered in snow all year round. Fortunately for us there had already been some other bold adventurers who had climbed the mountain a few days before, and had left their footprints in the snow and therefore had created a tiny path through the snowfields so that we didn´t sink in too much.

The summit was in reach - but dusk was already approaching and we didn´t have the necessary equipment like ice-picks etc to master the perilous climb through the ice. Although the crater seemed to be soo close, we reckoned it too risky and decided to not climb up further and instead go back down. So we had another round of snacks and took some decent pictures before we got ready for the descent. 

The way down - meaning going back into the wall of fog.

Marcell is taking a rest during the "exhausting" way down. 

It was a bummer that we didn´t make it to the summit, but after all we consider ourselves lucky that we at least finally got to see the crater at all, which had concealed itself for so long. Mount Taranaki was definitely one of the most impressive mountains I´ve ever ascended. The lonely mountain creates a very tranquil, divine and unique atmosphere that makes it so special in the legends of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. It was an honor to climb it!

Wellington

On Sunday 8. November, the day after we finished our three day long Abel Tasman hike, Marcell and I drove to Picton Harbour and embarked on a journey with New Zealand´s "Interislander", the ferry that crosses between Wellington on the North Island and Picton on the South Island.  

The boatage itself was with over $250 for the three hour long trip quite expensive, but as this is the only option to get your car from one island to the other, we didn´t really have a choice. But the stunning scenery on the way from Picton Harbor out to the open sea between the two islands made it totally worth it.

Due to a profound miscalculation in the timing of our drive from our hostel in Nelson to Picton, from where we departed at around 10 am, our drive was quite a hassle. We temporarily thought we wouldn´t make it to the boarding on time. But Marcell once more proved his superior driving skills and we made it to the final boarding call right on time - last car to get on the ferry - lucky us.

The first attraction we visited in Wellington was the Weta Cave Workshop, a fascinating atelier where props and requisites for numerous blockbuster movies like "The Lord Of The Rings" or "halo" were designed and produced. Unfortunately we weren´t allowed to take any pictures inside the workshop, so we only took some pictures with these ginormous troll-fellas, emanated right out of Tolkien´s fantasy.
The workshop itself was really absorbing and we had heaps of fun to learn about how props for movies and TV series are designed and produced at Weta Cave.

Afterwards we drove back to our hostel and strolled around the city centre for some time, had delicious dinner in a Turkish restaurant and drank a cold beer in one of the adjacent bars.
The next morning we got up pretty early and explored Mount Victoria, a 250 metre high lookout hill, located at the outer southern boarder of the city, from where we had a fantastic panorama of Wellington and it´s harbor.

Unfortunately it was already time to leave Wellington behind us and decamp for another adventure: Mount Taranaki, also known as the lonely mountain.