misty crater crossing |
jax at Emerald Lakes |
.. ia amazing! it lasts forever with a promise of a few more months. gorgeous climate. shorts and tee's are the mandatory wardrobe. the small holiday wardrobe I've had for then last 15 years (which only got an airing about 2 weeks per year in the UK), are wearing out fast!..
so in hot hot January, we've had cyclone threats that only amounted to a few days of heavy tropical rain and winds. in the middle of Cyclone Vanja, Mat'ts parents arrived. luckily the weather vastly improved when the jet lag wore off! they planned their 7 week vacation on a spread sheet, and we planned to chip in and meet up with them en route.
the highlight of January has to be walking the 'Tongaririo crossing with them;. ( Of Mount Doom fame- from the Lord of the rings film) (Rated as the best one day trek in New Zealand and listed by many in the top 10 day treks in the world) Many who complete the 18.5 kilometre journey will tell you the climbs can be steep and the weather can be unpredictable.
the weather turned out beaut, with the odd application of jackets, as we were so high up- it was quite cold and windy in places.
Mount Doom |
Emerald lakes from top |
scary ridge walk to Summit |
descending scree to lakes |
we were quite stiff for the next couple of days- but was one of the best walks we have done.
see here for more pics ..
Tongaririo photos
January also brought Will, Matts cousin, from Canada. who had a great 2 weeks Tiki-tour around the north island and needs to spend longer on his next vacation!
the summer rolls on and on, and we love going going to deserted beaches at the weekend, chilling and walking etc... we have never been so brown without trying :)
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