Epic Day

The drive from Wellington to Tongariro National Park was beautiful. We could make out the three dramatic volcanos and the saddle that we'd be hiking in the morning, Tongariro Alpine Crossing . We woke at five to catch the van that the holiday park supplies to drop people off at the start and pick up at the other end in the afternoon. It was dark and so foggy and misty that I could only make out Justin's headlamp and nothing else from about 50 yards. Maybe that should have tipped us off that the weather wasn't too great but we both figured that if it was bad at the top the van wouldn't go or the holiday park folks would warn us. We got to the trail head and the mist was still very thick and we were told that the wind could be gusty and there could be some showers throughout the morning. The hike takes about 7 hours up the side of a volcano and across some beautiful terrain near lakes and craters. Too bad we didn't see any of it. We trudged for about 2 hours up, up, up (literally up stairs for the last 45 min - that's how steep it is) and we were soaked. From about 20 min into the hike even with "waterproof" jackets we were absolutely soaked to the bone. When we got to just below the highest point along the hike the wind was so strong that it threatened to blow us right off the side of the volcano and the rain was just poring down - in short the hike had gone from a fun adventure to a miserable slog. We decided the best and safest option would be to turn around. Not an easy choice when the vertical climb was accomplished and we had to turn around into the wind but I'm so glad that we did because we were so FREEZING when we got to the trail head that the four hour trek from where we turned around to the pick up location would have been painful. Thankfully there was a Department of Conservation ranger at the trail head who gave us a lift back to the holiday park. It was a bit of an epic day in all.
The real kick in the pants was getting out of the tent this morning and seeing the 100% CLEAR gorgeous day. Boo. We missed the weather by a day. Oh well, we drove to Taupo and went to the farmer's market, had a picnic and did the hot springs. Tomorrow we're on our way to Rotorua for two nights and then Bay of Plenty and the Coromandel Peninsula before the Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga. Didn't take ANY pictures on the hike for fear of ruining the camera but here's some pictures from the road near our holiday park: