To Tongariro or To Not Tongariro…
27th December 2007
Well we drove to Whakapapa Village, the start of the infamous Tongariro Crossing with emerald lakes and scenes from Lord of the Rings. As we drove, the clouds got lower and the rain worsened. Fearing the crossing would be rubbish, we asked at the visitors’ centre and were told that, yes, the winds were ‘gale force’ on the mountain – strong enough to rip branches off trees – and there wouldn’t be much to see up there.
After much umming and ahhing over whether we were ‘wimping out’ or being ‘sensible’ we decided to give it a miss and spend the time driving around the East Cape instead. So we headed up towards Hawkes Bay via Whanganui and spent the night on the shores of Lake Tuiteri.
Tags: Travel
ruthmcohen
No definitely ‘sensible’ – i did it on a good day and the winds were still hellish, almost enough to blow you off the side of the (sheer drop) next to the path! I have vivid memories of sheltering behind the (far too few) large rocks just for some respite!!!