Friday morning i woke up early and was sooo excited for my trip to Taupo 5 hours away from Auckland! The main reason this was a must see town was because of one of New Zealands GREATEST hikes was the Tongariro crossing about an hour outside of Taupo! I have been looking forward to it since i got here in May! Hannah, Brandie and I were on the same bus and it was a huge double decker!! We couldn't wait to get there and meet up with all the others but we were happy to have slept a little longer that morning :)
Since it was evening when we arrived we all decided to take a shuttle to Huka falls and then walk the hour trail to the hot springs then walk to the hostel. I was so excited once we got there because Huka falls was very pretty and the trail was amazing. So peaceful and serene. I love nature so New Zealand is heaven for me!
Huka Falls
The girls!
Me on the trail!
I went off trail to play by the water!
I love ferns and i know i'm a nerd!
treehugger <3
The NZ SILVER FERN! go All Blacks!
Once we made it to the hot springs it was very relaxing just like a hot tub spa! I didn't have my suit on me but i put my feet in for a while and warmed up really fast! Some of my friends went all the way in but had a freezing walk back! lol
too much steam!
We went back after the hot springs and had some pizza hut which was sooo good! and i fell asleep really early so i could be well rested for the big hike tomorrow! We woke up at 5:30 am and go onto the bus to Tongariro, put on our boots, pants, backpacks and other gear on the way and i was ready to do my first hike ever which happens to be grade CHALLENGING, about 8 hours, 19 km (12 MILES) and 19,000 meters (6,000 FEET) high! I was so excited! and since it is winter it was all snow and ice! very intense!
The first hour went by very fast until the first rest stop, i was doing excellent and leading my group! The views were once again beautiful, i say that about everything here but it is true. I loved using my hiking pole and seeing the streams and snow and mountains all around!
I was full of ENERGY all day long and was very happy!
After the first hour we had to go up Devils staircase for about 40 minutes and i did the "snoop stomp" as Hannah calls it! I even made up my own song for the day everyone loved! "hi ho, hi ho, I'm hiking Tongariro! do do do.." haha
At the top of Devils staircase we took a little picture stop and the guide prep talked us for the rest but i didnt need it i was ready to keep going! I was unstoppable and my friends couldn't even keep up they kept asking what got into me since i'm not the most athletic in our group but i was having the time of my life!
I thank God for creating places like this in our world. <3
Almost to the top, then the guide Sarah had to pick at the ice because the original trail was so unsafe! I was right behind her and felt like running past since we were almost to the top! Some people freaked a little going up but all i did was trust the mountain and my feet and i had no worries at all, just an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and joy that i am actually doing it and climbing one of the most challenging trails here!
Me at the TOP of Mt. Tongariro at 19,000 meters!!!!! Very proud and in the center of some pretty amazing views from that height!
Gorgeous!
We all sat and ate lunch at the top and it was the most beautiful place i think i have ever eaten lunch! I didn't want it to end but i knew we had to go down eventually! Video from lunch time... (oh and the bungy video wouldn't upload on here from the Queenstown weekend but its on my facebook and its pretty funny, along with kareoke videos from bay of islands weekend! oh jeeze!)
Pure Happiness. :D
So i was in a pretty goofy mood and full of so much energy even after hours of hiking and climbing and we had to tuck in everything to our pants since we would get to SLIDE down the steep tall mountain to get down to the trail! And i did a pretty darn good erckel impression that everyone loved! I love making my friends laugh! I'm such an entertainment to them sometimes haha
Sara caught me again doing an old man impression and made me pause to get a picture, she's a pro with picture taking!
As we walked down before our turn to slide i couldnt stop my one foot in front and slid almost into a split! Kind of like in Elf when he goes on the escalader! haha it was a close one! two seconds later down...up then down again!!! Kathryn too so i wasn't alone hahaha it was so fun!
Time to slide down! i went so fast!!!!! couldn't see with the backpack on my tummy and admit i screamed some but a fun scream not a scared one! lol I saw kathryn and lara coming down full speed at me i had to duck and roll to move aside before i got taken out!
We hiked a lot longer across pure snow and made snow angels and wrote things in with our hiking poles! I loved it and i wasnt cold at all, it was actually hot from being so active the whole day and the reflection of the sun was stronger than i thought. We came to a few more mini sliding areas and Kathryn and i were in the front and we went down very gracefully... NOT! I was all over the place and my butt hurt after the 4th one! Finally we got to the hut we were going towards for another rest stop, the guides said goodbye and then we had a 2 hour freedom walk to get back down to the bus! We got out of the snow line and looked back to admire the mountains one last time!
Crossing a stream!
After we hiked through tussock plains we came to the native New Zealand forest and it was so beautiful and green!
Almost to the end!
The hike was one of my favorite things i have done here so far. It was also one of the best days of my life. I will never forget the feeling and the experience of doing something like this. It really is undescribable and something that everyone should go out and do. I feel so accomplished and i achieved something i never imagined doing. I have changed so much by being here, i am definitely no longer a chicken and i am up for trying so many things because that's really LIVING. I feel like i've grown so much since day one and i am so lucky to be here so i can do everything i have always dreamed of doing. 
Being lazy and a little sore after the hike!Sunday morning we would have went kayaking to the Maori rock carvings but a storm came in, we made it just in time for the crossing but kayaking was canceled so instead we watched movies until Sara, Kathryn and i decided to see if the boat would take us instead and the skipper said okay!
Lake Taupo <3 The carvings each have so much meaning it makes me love the Maori culture even more and they were beautiful!
Once again another successfully planned weekend trip that will stay in my memories forever. I wish you could all be here to share this experience with me, i love you all and really miss you!
Lake Taupo <3 The carvings each have so much meaning it makes me love the Maori culture even more and they were beautiful!
Once again another successfully planned weekend trip that will stay in my memories forever. I wish you could all be here to share this experience with me, i love you all and really miss you!
