Where was I? Ah, I was lake hopping. From the humble Tutira to the giant Taupo via Waikaremoana (For the non NZ folk, get prepared for stranger names). The journey from Lake Tutira started on a beautiful sunny morning. That morning I had no idea I would be driving for more than 12 hours at a stretch or that I would jump into a pristine lake in the middle of nowhere or that I'd be scared to death wishing that my car didn't give up on us before we reached humanity. Yet, life's all about surprises and I've given them all out at the very beginning of the post.
Before we set off north from Tutira, we decided to quickly explore Cape Kidnappers in Hawkes Bay. The bit of research we missed is that the Cape is only accessible on foot and it can only be accessed during a low tide. Well, so much for trying. We reached the place, clicked a quick pic (not a selfie, I promise) and rushed north. It was a crisp summer day. The sky was extra blue and trees were extra green. The lush green contrasted the stark blue all through the morning. Although, we thought those kind of days would be the most magical, dreamy days. You know, the perfect summer days.Well, that day wasn't. It was bright and beautiful alright, but practically, we were cruising through mirages, inside a metal cage heated constantly with excessive solar energy. No matter how much you strip, no matter how much sunscreen you slap on and no matter how much you crank up your aircon, the searing rays find their way onto your body. As we kept travelling through beautiful valleys, with brief breaks, we reached the end of the road.. end of a sealed road. The gravel road ahead looked scarily unkempt and we were hoping that it wouldn't last for too long. And oh, we were wrong.
As we drudged through that gravel, we were constantly reassessing our situation. Unfortunately, we were at a point of no return. You see, I chose this road assuming I'd cheat one of the Great Walks of NZ, by exploring it's beauty by travelling by road instead of on foot. And the punishment it gave us was vicious. The Urewera National Park is beautiful and to keep it pristine, they haven't developed it more than bare necessity. So, the next 90 odd Kms were pure madness. The dust cloud behind me was so thick, I could've been driving in one of those deserts in Nevada. But even that dusty cloud had a silver lining. Or rather a bluish-green lining - Lake Waikaremoana. We were thrilled by the sight. I forgot what was before and what's after. We all jumped into the lake, the first of many, and enjoyed a few laps across the lake. I'm not a very confident swimmer and so carefully chose the shortest path to cross. Yet, by the end of two laps I was out of breath and would've swallowed about a litre of that algae ridden lake water.
The break delayed us quite a bit. We were far behind schedule. We had a long way to go, and even worse a hard way to go and we were in the middle of no where. Any sight of humanity was rare and we just had to wish the car wouldn't give up on us. Finally, after hours of squinted, careful driving, we reached the real roads. And we did not make it to Taupo until 10:30 pm. And, oh, did I tell you we did not have lunch (except for a tiny fruitbowl) and we did not have a place to stay in Taupo. After quickly hogging our hearts out at KFC, we managed to find a camp site in the middle of the night. This time, setting up the tent was much more quicker. I slept that night thinking about the next day - the big day - the Tongariro crossing day - the day that changed the complete course of the trip.
Before we set off north from Tutira, we decided to quickly explore Cape Kidnappers in Hawkes Bay. The bit of research we missed is that the Cape is only accessible on foot and it can only be accessed during a low tide. Well, so much for trying. We reached the place, clicked a quick pic (not a selfie, I promise) and rushed north. It was a crisp summer day. The sky was extra blue and trees were extra green. The lush green contrasted the stark blue all through the morning. Although, we thought those kind of days would be the most magical, dreamy days. You know, the perfect summer days.Well, that day wasn't. It was bright and beautiful alright, but practically, we were cruising through mirages, inside a metal cage heated constantly with excessive solar energy. No matter how much you strip, no matter how much sunscreen you slap on and no matter how much you crank up your aircon, the searing rays find their way onto your body. As we kept travelling through beautiful valleys, with brief breaks, we reached the end of the road.. end of a sealed road. The gravel road ahead looked scarily unkempt and we were hoping that it wouldn't last for too long. And oh, we were wrong.
As we drudged through that gravel, we were constantly reassessing our situation. Unfortunately, we were at a point of no return. You see, I chose this road assuming I'd cheat one of the Great Walks of NZ, by exploring it's beauty by travelling by road instead of on foot. And the punishment it gave us was vicious. The Urewera National Park is beautiful and to keep it pristine, they haven't developed it more than bare necessity. So, the next 90 odd Kms were pure madness. The dust cloud behind me was so thick, I could've been driving in one of those deserts in Nevada. But even that dusty cloud had a silver lining. Or rather a bluish-green lining - Lake Waikaremoana. We were thrilled by the sight. I forgot what was before and what's after. We all jumped into the lake, the first of many, and enjoyed a few laps across the lake. I'm not a very confident swimmer and so carefully chose the shortest path to cross. Yet, by the end of two laps I was out of breath and would've swallowed about a litre of that algae ridden lake water.
The break delayed us quite a bit. We were far behind schedule. We had a long way to go, and even worse a hard way to go and we were in the middle of no where. Any sight of humanity was rare and we just had to wish the car wouldn't give up on us. Finally, after hours of squinted, careful driving, we reached the real roads. And we did not make it to Taupo until 10:30 pm. And, oh, did I tell you we did not have lunch (except for a tiny fruitbowl) and we did not have a place to stay in Taupo. After quickly hogging our hearts out at KFC, we managed to find a camp site in the middle of the night. This time, setting up the tent was much more quicker. I slept that night thinking about the next day - the big day - the Tongariro crossing day - the day that changed the complete course of the trip.
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