Tuesday February 4, 2014

We were woken up by the sound of helicopters going over the tent.  It was very misty, not sure how they could see where they were going.

Thank goodness we decided not to push on yesterday.  The hills kept coming this morning.  At least we started today with fresh legs.  It would have been a tough ride yesterday, it was a good ride today.

This section of the road often reports slips.  They have built a berm to stop major slips covering the road, but there is a warning sign not to stop on this section as slips can occur at any time.

Today should have been a rest day, but Taumaruni is not a Town worth staying in too long.  I think the only reason you would come to Taumuruni is because the Forgotten World Highway starts/finishes here and you can tramp (hike) from here through the National Park to the volcanoes. Taumuruni does not have a lot to offer.  In the iSite there is a map which shows that Mount Tongariro erupted in 2012 and is currently considered an active volcano.  The lady at the iSite said “Not too worry as it is still smoking which means it is letting off steam and not building up to explode”.  The information sheet states “Another eruption could happen without warning, the main dangers are burning ash clouds and flying rocks”.

If we are counting natural disasters, we have avoided two earthquakes (Eketahuna), the tail-end of a cyclone (Auckland), 2 landslides (Haast) and now an active volcano.  What could possible go wrong.  This country may not have beasties that can hurt you but it certainly has some natural hazards.

Taumuruni is a little on the run down side and appears to have some gang related problems.

Sometimes we get to see the poorer side of life in New Zealand, it isn\’t always beautiful scenery and nice picturesque towns.

The history of this area is primarily Maori, the European settlers pushed the Maoris back into this area.  The Maori King reportedly through his hat onto a map and claimed it as Maori.  It is called King\’s Country.

We have decided to push on tomorrow and get to Waitomo Caves (85kms).  This is where we are going to do the Blackwater rafting, we will have our rest day on Thursday.  I think we are both ready for a good rest day.