Sunday Snowday
Amy's friend Steph has a bach down on Lake Taupo and kindly let us stay there for the weekend, so we used it as an excuse for another road trip. We piled into Colin's Vulva Volvo (our nickname for his car, since Amy, when asked what type of car he drove, said Vulva, completely seriously. She's not very good with cars)
We made a pitstop in a random town called Tirau that has corrugated iron scupltures,
and another in Taupo for food and to hike up a small mountain - except I managed to trip over my own feet whilst running in the street and faceplanted the floor and ripped my knee open. So I hiked up a bit of the mountain with Sam (who was vomitting every 5 minutes as she's developed an allergy to something but isn't quite sure what it is yet) before we decided we were both too sore/ill to carry on so we headed back down the mountain and waited for the others in the car.
We arrived at Steph's bach with a few daylight hours spare, made dinner and chilled out ready for our big Sunday Snowday.
We had originally planned to do the Tongariro crossing by night but apparenlty 2 people had died in the past week so we took Steph's advice and instead we did a bit of the crossing during the day. To be honest I just wanted to see lots of snow and that's what I got!!
I did the crossing when I first got to NZ and it was really nice to go back in winter - the snow makes it so beautiful.
We went to Soda Springs, a little waterfall that had frozen over, and then found a slope which we spent a good while sliding down. I tried to get to the top to slide down a few times but kept losing grip and sliding down to the beginning which was getting tiring so promptly gave up and sat watching everyone else do it instead :)
This weekend I spent a lot of money but also got a lot of bargains - I went to a shopping outlet centre (my new favourite place) and bought a pair of running trainers for $90 and a goosedown 3 season sleeping bag which only weighs 0.8kg (AMAZING) for $150 reduced down from $549 which is a right bloody bargain. It packs down so small too!!! I also got a new tramping rucksack (when I say that over here people look at me so blankly, it's 'backpack' and nothing else is acceptable) which is a proper hiking one with sleeping bag compartment and mat straps and stuff. It's so exciting! I am kinda like - wow, I should have just bought all of this when I first got here then at least I would have used it a few times and got my money's worth. Ahh well.
Oh I also bought a bike!!!! It's SO PRETTY AND COOL. I feel like I should wear bright yellow spandex when I ride it. It's a road bike and scary to ride as I am not used to it but hopefully I'll use it...again another bargain at $85!
Last night Ben and I went to a play called "Mating in Captivity" which was hilarious. It was a play based around 3 main characters - a couple who were newly engaged and the guy's ex partner, who's a man, who turns up unexpectedly. It was so so so so funny and would have been terrible for prudes as it featured a lot of nudity. The way it was staged was awesome and I felt like I was watching through the window of someone's home rather than watching a play. If it's ever near you I highly recommend it.
Today I got up early and Camilla, Ben and I drove to Whatipu and did a gorgeous 4 hour bush/coastal hike called the Omanawanui track. Both Matt and Adam had recommended it and I am glad we did it early as meant we had the rest of the afternoon to do boring life admin and blog writing chores. I am not a huge fan of Auckland but I do love how you can drive for an hour and be in the most beautiful areas and feel like you're the only one around - it's great!
We made a pitstop in a random town called Tirau that has corrugated iron scupltures,
and another in Taupo for food and to hike up a small mountain - except I managed to trip over my own feet whilst running in the street and faceplanted the floor and ripped my knee open. So I hiked up a bit of the mountain with Sam (who was vomitting every 5 minutes as she's developed an allergy to something but isn't quite sure what it is yet) before we decided we were both too sore/ill to carry on so we headed back down the mountain and waited for the others in the car.
We arrived at Steph's bach with a few daylight hours spare, made dinner and chilled out ready for our big Sunday Snowday.
We had originally planned to do the Tongariro crossing by night but apparenlty 2 people had died in the past week so we took Steph's advice and instead we did a bit of the crossing during the day. To be honest I just wanted to see lots of snow and that's what I got!!
I did the crossing when I first got to NZ and it was really nice to go back in winter - the snow makes it so beautiful.
We went to Soda Springs, a little waterfall that had frozen over, and then found a slope which we spent a good while sliding down. I tried to get to the top to slide down a few times but kept losing grip and sliding down to the beginning which was getting tiring so promptly gave up and sat watching everyone else do it instead :)
This weekend I spent a lot of money but also got a lot of bargains - I went to a shopping outlet centre (my new favourite place) and bought a pair of running trainers for $90 and a goosedown 3 season sleeping bag which only weighs 0.8kg (AMAZING) for $150 reduced down from $549 which is a right bloody bargain. It packs down so small too!!! I also got a new tramping rucksack (when I say that over here people look at me so blankly, it's 'backpack' and nothing else is acceptable) which is a proper hiking one with sleeping bag compartment and mat straps and stuff. It's so exciting! I am kinda like - wow, I should have just bought all of this when I first got here then at least I would have used it a few times and got my money's worth. Ahh well.
Oh I also bought a bike!!!! It's SO PRETTY AND COOL. I feel like I should wear bright yellow spandex when I ride it. It's a road bike and scary to ride as I am not used to it but hopefully I'll use it...again another bargain at $85!
Last night Ben and I went to a play called "Mating in Captivity" which was hilarious. It was a play based around 3 main characters - a couple who were newly engaged and the guy's ex partner, who's a man, who turns up unexpectedly. It was so so so so funny and would have been terrible for prudes as it featured a lot of nudity. The way it was staged was awesome and I felt like I was watching through the window of someone's home rather than watching a play. If it's ever near you I highly recommend it.
Today I got up early and Camilla, Ben and I drove to Whatipu and did a gorgeous 4 hour bush/coastal hike called the Omanawanui track. Both Matt and Adam had recommended it and I am glad we did it early as meant we had the rest of the afternoon to do boring life admin and blog writing chores. I am not a huge fan of Auckland but I do love how you can drive for an hour and be in the most beautiful areas and feel like you're the only one around - it's great!
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