Taranaki Falls

When lockdown was over and we were in Level 2, the Chateau Tongariro was advertising special deals to stay- and I decided to take advantage of their offer. The weather was brilliant, and I was able to walk the Taranaki Falls track, perhaps my favourite New Zealand track as it has turned out beside the Hooker track in Mt Cook National Park.

The track started not far from the Chateau itself. It was a loop track, and by accident really, I took the lower of the two tracks first, which in hindsight I am quite pleased about. It descended at times down to streams, and so the views up higher came as a delightful surprise.

 It wasn't long before I was noticing icy deposits near the path.

 You could look back past the alpine scrub to see the Chateau.

 The stream that I walked alongside in places had icy stretches in the shade. The patterns in the ice were quite beautiful.

 Then all of a sudden I found myself climbing a little out into more open alpine scrub. The three young men in this photo were from France- so had obviously been with us through lockdown.

 Up high I came across a stream that was pretty much completely iced over, and frozen into stillness.

 The Taranaki Falls came into view, and were stunning.

 The white 'circle' around them was ice, as you could see when you went closer. Not a pool to plunge into midwinter!

 I sat beside the waterfall on a rock for ages, just soaking in the unbelievable sunshine and blue skies, listening to the sound of the water falling.

 But then came the return loop. There was a bit of a climb, though not unduly harsh, and soon you were seeing the stream away from the falls from above.

 And above on high you had views of Mts Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu, and also in the distance, Mt Taranaki.

 Later, back in the Chateau I could relax in deep armchairs and enjoy the art deco windows...

 This view of the sunset was from the terrace of the Chateau building, right beneath my window.

 Next morning I drove home via the road near Rangipo and over to Turangi. There was a frost, and the drive was somewhat scary in places with icy roads- but it was so worth it just to see this icy spidersweb- a first for me!

Himatangi Beach

Today it was hard to believe that snow had been such a dramatic sight for us earlier in the week in Palmerston North. It was glorious and I decided to head off down to Himatangi Beach for a walk. You could see the higher parts of the Tararua Ranges from there, and could see that snow still lingered quite thickly on the higher peaks.

 Himatangi Beach is one that I think we Kiwis tend to underestimate as a trifle 'boring', but I have grown to love it: such a long uninterrupted stretch of sand to walk along next to the waves. So many ways the waves can come into shore- and so much they can bring with them. Today I bring you a few photos of some of the shoreline gifts left by the waves.

 Small bits of driftwood were being moved around at the edge of waves today. And each time the gentle front end of the waves rolled in, the various bits of wood were jumbled together in different ways.

And though most of the shells at this beach are of one kind- boring to us, but apparently 'endemic' and special to this region- there were other shells tossed on the sand to amuse my eyes. 

 I walked quite far, as did others. But when it came time to go, I couldn't quite leave the place, and sat on some driftwood, watching others wander by. Near me a small boy was playing with his parents. He was so happy just being at the beach. He rolled his little body along the flat sand for a good ten metres, then he stood up and ran to his mother, then ran back to his father, then climbed a 'mountain' of sand and driftwood, an Everest explorer in the making. The beach was today a place of calmness and relaxation, and sheer fun for all-comers.

Volcanic Plateau

This photo shows Mt Ruapehu with Mt Ngauruhoe in the background- as seen from the Desert Rd last week, before the latest snow storm.

Thanks to my photography tutor I was able to stitch photos together for this landscape :-)

Taranaki Daytrip

This poor blog has been quite neglected- but I am finally reporting here about a daytrip I made up to Taranaki some weeks back now- mainly so I can show off Mt Egmont, that wondrous volcano that dominated my childhood landscapes. (You wonder how I could walk a Camino? I became quite beguiled as a child with landscapes outdoors- who wouldn't be living under such a mountain?!)
It was a bit of a tiki-tour down memory lane. Here is the headstone of my parents, with the mountain behind.
And here is St Joseph's Church, where I remember singing in Latin in the choir loft with my father when I was 5. Apparently the choir loft is now 'dangerous' and they are raising funds to repair it.)
Here is Arohanui posing outside my old primary school. (Arohanui was going to have a post all her own about this trip, but it seems a little bit too much time has gone by since the adventure now!)
This is a beautiful statue of Our Lady in St Joseph's Church, New Plymouth.

And now we return to the mountain. Here is Arohanui posing in front a view near New Plymouth, just to prove she's been there, done that, doesn't need the guidebook!

And now my beautiful Mt Egmont, complete with lush fertile grass growth in front, befitting such a wet spring.And here is a slightly closer version: yes, I was experimenting with the telephoto lens on my new camera.

Road trip to Tekapo

One of the reasons I took my car south was that I was hoping the weather might be suitable for a road trip closer to the winter mountains. I was not to be disappointed on this occasion!
Friday morning I escaped Christchurch city, heading for the inland tourist route south, quickly discovering that the frost was much heavier inland. There were glimpses of the mountains at this stage, but they were largely draped in mist, and I wasn't sure if I was going to be lucky or not. However, somewhere around the region of Mt Hutt, the mist all cleared. I headed southwards with the sight of glorious snow-covered mountains to my right.

At Geraldine I turned inland again in the direction of the Alps. I loved this drive, seeing the white of the mountains ahead of me, and already I was in heaven.

Then heaven got even better. I know I have driven over Burke's Pass before in the summertime, but didn't find it at all remarkable. It lies at about 700m. As I came to the Pass this day, I entered a winter wonderland, where the snow had obviously covered the road a few days before. Snow was still covering the fields right down to the roadside.

It was all so bewitching that I decided I might even drive on as far as Mt Cook, even though that would make a very long driving day. However, somewhere not too far west of Tekapo, I could see cloud draping the bottom of the mountains, and soon I entered thick fog.

After 15 minutes in the fog, I decided that it was time to be sensible and retreat, and I later heard that this fog extended all the way down to Queenstown.

I drove back into the sunshine. Here you can see just a wisp of the fog, a hint of what lay ahead on the route south.
Instead of driving south I enjoyed a relaxed lunch by the lakeside at Tekapo, walking over frozen snow to get to the lake edge.

The views were just magnificent. What bliss!!

And the historic church at Tekapo had quite a backdrop. What a beautiful road trip it was, a truly magical day.