Volcano

After the craziness of the planning in Taumaruni, I hiked a peaceful twenty four mile section of forest road to Owango. Thorsten, Saad and I found a great cafe in town and hung out there until they closed. We didn’t really have a plan for where we were going to stay that night so we wandered down to the abandoned-looking hostel at the corner called the Owango Hotel. The cleaning company was there when we arrived but no sight of the owners. They let us in to get out of the rain and we found the owner’s cell phone number behind the bar and texted Grant to see if we could stay. It took a few texts but he said no problem and we settled in. As the day wore on, more and more hikers showed up but Grant never showed up. We ended up with about ten hikers all crashing in random beds and couches and hoping Grant would show up to take control of the situation. Morning came and no Grant. There were hikers sprawled all over the place in the morning and I left some money hidden in the microwave behind the bar and texted a thanks to Grant. A weird way to run a hostel but honestly, it kinda worked. Hikers are easy to please and very very honest. Everyone left money for Grant and the place tidy for the next crew. I’m not sure how many Michelin stars Grant would get but it’s a solid three in my book. A clean bed, hot shower and coffee. Can’t be beat.

The hike out of Owango was tough. A mix of forest service roads and then miles of nearly impassable new trails that look like they were cut by some drunk guy with a Bobcat that didn’t bother to put the shovel down. It was deeply rutted and muddy and made for very slow hiking, sliding and falling. I was cussing pretty loud during this section but finally made it out to more service road that was covered in water after the three days of constant rain. I came across a pig hunter that had a dog with him that was badly injured. The dog had a terrible cut on his head and legs and the hunter told me that the ferel pig that he was hunting had killed his other two dogs earlier that morning. It was heartbreaking to see this dog so injured and listen to this story. I told him goodbye so he could get on his way to a veterinary clinic. His next words were devastating. He said that vets are too expensive and he was going to treat the wound with a staple gun. I just couldn’t get my head around the cruelty and had to press on. My heart went out to that poor dog and I wanted so badly to carry him away for proper treatment. I felt sad and heavy for the rest of the day.

I met Thorsten and Saad at the Tongoriro Holiday Park and we had a good nights sleep before the big climb up the Tongoriro volcano today. The rain stopped and there was just a little fog and wind hanging on to the top of the mountain when I started my climb. It took about four hours to summit but it was pretty spectacular. This is a very active volcano and there are several craters that are releasing strong sulfur steam. The rocks are orange and the water is not potable on the mountain. The final crossing over the summit was intense. The last section was really steep and I was leaning into strong winds and rain along a narrow path of volcanic sand next to eerie deep green lakes. It was one of the best days I’ve had so far on the trail – nice steady hard climbing with incredible views

The descent was fun and fast. Maybe a little too fast as I caught my foot on a rock while I was admiring a waterfall and landed on my face pretty hard on a rock. No major damage but it hurt. I dusted myself off and headed down a few more miles to the rest hut and made myself a cup of coffee and met a nice couple from the Netherlands. We ended up chatting for way too long. I rushed the next six miles into Whakapapa and met Thorsten and Saad for a goodbye dinner for Thorsten. He is leaving the trail in a few days to head off to his honeymoon in Tasmania. Trail families are strange creatures. They form quickly and we share intense experiences together. Then, they come apart as quickly as they started. He is a good man and a great hiking buddy and I will miss him. He liked to start early and go long like me. We shared food, music, laundry duties and planning, Lots and lots of trail planning. I know that we will see each other again but tomorrow’s hike will be bittersweet for sure. I have a few easy days until we meet the canoe company and I’m going to take advantage of the downtime to sleep in, read and eat. Fingers are crossed that the river is going to be in good enough shape for our trip but we won’t know for sure few more days.