Highs and Lows — HaffsWay Around The World

Let me first say this: we are lucky.

So incredibly, mind-bogglingly lucky. Lucky, or smiled upon by the universe, or blessed by god, or in the good graces of pachamama... or whatever other spiritual explanation humans have come up with to explain the magic of things just really going their way. Whatever you prefer to call it, I need more than two appendages to count the number of times that luck has been on our side. Whether it be almost locking our one set of keys in Big Red, or the incredible weather we have been gifted just exactly when it matters most, or the chance meetings of amazing people, we have been lucky. That's not even including how lucky (read: priviledged) we are to be able to set out on an adventure like this in the first place.

All of this being said, this leg of our adventure has allowed us to experience both literal and figurative highs and lows, from the top of Mt Tongariro during an unforgettable backpacking trip, to the floor of a motel bathroom in the not-so-memorable town of Masterson. Like a nighttime talk with my campers back at Phantom Lake YMCA Camp, I'll be breaking this (rather lengthy, sorry) blog post down into this leg's "Highs and Lows."

High: The Tongariro Northern Circuit

Directly after Will's last blog, we set out on a four-day backpacking trip. In Aotearoa New Zealand there are nine backpacking treks that are so popular and/or beautiful and/or epic, that the Department of Conservation has named them "Great Walks" and started to monitor them and regulate use more carefully. The Tongariro Northern Circuit, consisting of four days of "tramping" (Kiwi's term for hiking) around three active volcanoes in Tongariro National Park, is one of these Great Walks. The circuit was made especially famous thanks to Lord of The Rings, as one of the central volcanoes (Mt Ngauruhoe) was cast as the now infamous Mt. Doom in the movie series!

Before starting the trek we were very concerned about the weather, as many hikers have had to cancel planned trips through this region due to poor weather conditions. These volcanoes are just like any other alpine region: if the weather is poor, it's simply too dangerous to go, and unlikely to yield any views even if your crazy risky butt did make it safely to the top and back. As the day of our departure from Awhi farm neared, the weather forecast began to look better and better, and our excitement and anticipation grew. We did some last minute shopping, laundry, packing, re-packing, and were finally ready to set out.

On Day One we drove to nearby Whakapapa Village to start the trek. After heaving our laden packs on and sending a humble plea to pachamama for fair weather, we set out from the trail head. The tricky river gullied path led us up gradual inclines to our first campsite : Mangatepopo. While the path was tricky, the weather was great and afforded us views of cone-shaped Mt Ngauruhoe, flat-topped Mt Tongariro, and snowy Mt Ruapehu.

On all of the Great Walks there is the option to stay at a traditional campsite, or opt for a slightly more luxurious abode of a backcountry hut. For some reason when booking the trek, for our first night I decided it would be a great idea to save $40 and camp. Our campsite had an incredible view of Mt Ngauruhoe, but the nighttime alpine winds (getting up to 55 km per hr) definitely gave my little Sierra Designs ultralight backpacking tent (named Sierra of course) a chance to show us what she was made of! Throughout the cold night, as we huddled close in our zipped-together sleeping bags, we hoped that our tent would not give out like our unfortunate french neighbor, who had a tent pole break under the pressure of the insistent wind even before the sun set.

Our first campsite, with Ngauruhoe (cone-shaped Mt Doom) peeking out. — Our first campsite, with Ngauruhoe (cone-shaped Mt Doom) peeking out.

At dawn however, we found that we (and Sierra) had made it in one piece- and awoke to a glorious morning with plenty of sunshine. The forecast was perfect for the most important section of the trek: Day Two. This section can also be accessed as a day-hike, called the Tongariro Crossing, and we soon started seeing the hordes of weekend walkers coming up the path to attempt what is often called New Zealand's best one-day hike.

The trek started with a section aptly named "Devil's Staircase" which was a painstaking ascent towards the saddle between Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe. I often looked over at the numerous day-hikers (with their small or non-exisitent packs) with a mixture of pride and jealousy. Pride, because my heavy pack marked me as one of the few circuit walkers and therefore in my mind, very "legit." Jealousy of course, due to their easy scampering up stairs and slopes, as I hauled my not-quite-in-shape body loaded down with the essentials (and some perhaps non-essentials) up and up and up. It should be noted that William helped enormously with the load, carrying all of the food by himself along with the tent. It should also be noted that this being our first long trek together, I may have overestimated the amount of food needed. Lesson Learned: we do NOT ever need two jars of peanut butter. (Sorry Will!)

Setting out on the "crossing" portion, Day Two of the trek.

High: Summitting Mt. Tongariro (1978 m)

Despite the difficult ascent to the top, surrounded by many people, the breath-taking scenery of this section was a "High" for both of us. Once we reached the saddle, with views of several craters and peaks, we opted to tackle the side trek and summit Mt. Tongariro. When we finally reached the top of Tongariro's 1,978 meters, we felt that familiar hiker-high mixture of pride at our accomplishment and joy at being able to set down the packs and enjoy the absolutely jaw-dropping views around us. The earth is so cool and amazing and terrifying all at once! While it was beautiful and sunny for us (albiet cold with the wind), it is easy to imagine how different that summit would feel if the weather turned.

A flatter respite on the climb of the snowy and icy summit of Tongariro!

Views! Like nothing we have seen before.

After lunch at the summit, we picked our way down towards the volcanic lakes called Emerald Lakes. Finally branching off from the day-hikers, we made our way to our hut for the night: Oturere.

From left to right: Emerald Lakes, Red Crater, and Ngauruhoe.

The descent to Oturere Hut. It felt like it took forever!

Oturere Hut is the trek's most popular, but also the smallest hut on the track. The cozy hut was packed with tired but happy circuit-trampers. In the hut, to maximize space, the bunks are all lined up against one another, creating a space almost like a long bed. But with an empty bunk next to Will and myself against the wall, we felt we had more than enough room. Cue Mr. Sleep Apnea stage left...

Low: The Snorer

At one point in the night, a fellow tramper decided he was too hot in the top bunks, and lumbered down to cozy up next to William. This would have been a slightly surprising, albeit totally fine, thing to wake up to had the story ended there. However, we were graced that night with a snoring performance the likes neither of us (nor any other in the hut we were informed the next morning) had ever experienced before. As I lay awake listening to the raucous symphony, which was totally audible even through ear plugs, I couldn't help but think of my Aunt Yvonne (who works as a sleep study technician) and the diagnoses she might give this man.

Cozy Oturere Hut (feat William lounging center).

The next day however, after who knows how much sleep, we were greeted by yet another sunny day. Day Three was a short and fun 8 km hike over a windy ridge, and through a pretty forested section. After crossing a river, it ended at Waihohonu Hut at midday. After the close-quarters of Oturere, we were awed by the ski-lodge like expansive hut, with grand windows overlooking the river and the volcano peaks. The hut was sparse that night, but two new trail friends we had met at the last hut joined us for little day hikes, cards, and stories. And of course lent a hand in the constant mission to finish the endless peanut butter supply.

Day Three: walking the ridge towards Waihohonu.

The view from the "hut." (feat. Herro Leather belt, which doubles as a cribbage board! It was the envy up all hut-goers and circuit-walkers!)

Inside Waihohonu "Hut" (feat. new trail friends Andrew and Michael)

Low: "Will... I think something bad happened."

The last day we did finally wake to rain, and thus started preparing our bodies and packs for a long day through the elements to the finish. As I was packing that morning, I came across the compartment in my pack in which I had been storing our car keys (remember when I mentioned we have ONLY ONE SET OF CAR KEYS) and came to the terrifying realization that they were not there. It was that heart-stopping, stomach-dropping kind of realization that immediately sent my mind into worst-case-scenario mode ("They're just gone forever and we're stuck here forever!"). After muttering swear words and tearing sections of my pack apart, I decided I had to tell Will right away. The look I received after dropping that bomb was a cross between "WTF," "I'm Disappointed in You," and "Don't Freak Out. Don't Freak Out. Don't Freak Out." You'll all be happy to know however that after a frantic 20 minutes, in which I told every person in that hut that I had lost the keys FOREVER, I did locate them in the bottom of the main section of my pack. A triumphant whoop was heard all the way back at the Tongariro Summit.

We finished the rainy and windy 15 km that day in record time, and as we came to the end of the 47 km circuit, we kissed the leaves and ground at the finish of the trail in a personal ritual of mine (in which I thank pachamama for the weather and earth that we've been so lucky to experience). She has not let me down yet, I must say. We took the definitely NOT lost keys, started up trusty Big Red, and headed back to Awhi Farm for the night.

Almost back to Big Red, with a quick stop at Taranaki Falls.

High: Beautiful Napier!

The next day we headed down to the Hawke's Bay area, which surprised us with its under-rated charm and beauty. The gem of this region is the city of Napier, nestled in wine country and known for it's unique art deco and spanish mission style architecture. After lunch and a wine tasting at Mission Estate Winery (in which we tasted wine alongside another Wisconsinite AND Minnesotan), we checked in with our friendly couch surfing hosts and treated ourselves to a SECOND (*gasp*) meal out for the day. It was a totally lovely day, and we were surprised by Napier and the feeling of "I could totally live here" that we got from the coastal city. The next day we climbed nearby Te Mata Peak and checked out Kidnappers bay, before heading to a rather strange (but free!) campsite further south.

Mission Estate Winery, oldest in New Zealand. We felt weirded out being back in civilization and needing to wear, like, real clothes.

Feelin' all Fancy at Mission Estate. (feat. Shameless 'Murica Sunglasses)

View from our couchsurfing hosts' porch. Napier and the ocean in the distance.

Te Mata Peak with views of the Hawke's Bay region

Descending from Te Mata Peak- simply gorgeous.

Low: "Does your stomach feel weird too?"

I have learned in our nearly seven weeks of travel now, that sometimes (as much as you'd like it to not) real life catches up to you on the road. You argue about small things. You argue about big things. You back down, and offer olive branches, and compromise. You leave things behind on accident and have to adjust plans. It rains for a fourth day in a row. People back home are sick or sad, or you yourself feel homesick. You fret over the price of this and that. You get a speeding ticket in the mail. You feed off of each other's negative energy and just have to go to sleep to reset...

... You both get a mysterious stomach bug at a strange (but free!) campsite, that hasn't had it's only toilets cleaned in probably six to twelve to a million months.

I won't go into details (only my nurse parents care about those), but it was a rough 24 hours. I have always been a, er, medically fragile human. I know how to be sick. I am like a professional sick person, and happen to have an esteemed colleague in the business of gastrointestinal problems by my side. You hunker down, complain a lot, and get through it. But it sucks to be sick on the road. Where do you hunker? You long for creature comforts of a bed, a private bathroom, and a TV to take your mind off of it. So, although it hurt our pocketbooks and meant missing out on some things, we hunkered. We bought a motel room for the night with the bed, the private bathroom, and the mindless hours of TV. And we got through it. an added bonus: there aren't many moments when you feel more in love with your partner, than when you're at your most fragile and pathetic and they're doing such a darn good job taking care of you.

Real life happens! And honestly, it was probably the best time for it to catch up to us. The next day, a little healthier and definitely better rested, we headed off to the capital city of Wellington.

High and Low: Wellington!

To end this already lengthy post, I cannot forget Wellington. Wellington is one of those cities that everyone along the way has recommended to us, and we could quickly see why. Great food, great coffee, great beer, and a beautiful location with lovely hills bordering an ocean bay. Our first day in Wellington we were reunited with three wwoofer friends, William, Lucille and Ava Rose, who joined us at our Air BNB apartment for tea, catching up, and a round of my new favorite game: Carcassonne. It was so lovely to see them again, but after their departure being back in a busy city, along with not quite feeling totally well yet, put Will and I both in little funks. For Will, having missed out on some great things over the last 48 hours was causing a restless disappointment to brew. For me, being surrounded by people again, hearing them laugh out on the street as they celebrated Halloween in a city that in some ways reminded me of home, brought back homesick and anxious feelings. We both put ourselves to bed commenting that it had been a weird few days, and I hoped the feelings would pass in the morning.

The sunny day this morning did a lot to ease the disjointedness of the last few days, along with a great coffee, stroll around the city, and trip to the museum. Although I have never been to Portland, Wellington seems a lot like how everyone describes Portland: The chilly and wet ocean breeze, fondness for good coffee and food and beer, and an inherent quirkiness that the people are proud of... and A LOT of hipsters. There are beautiful murals on many of the shop walls, and little side streets to wander down. Between the sunshine, good company, real food, and full day, we both got home feeling much better. Wellington is definitely a place we could comfortably call home one day!

Tuesday we will set sail with Big Red on the ferry to the South Island, and leave this beautiful North Island and all of the wonderful people we have met so far behind- for at least awhile. For now, we will continue to experience Wellington, and await the next great highs and really-not-that-bad lows of living that nomad life!