it’s a bit saddening that my plans are not going through accordingly. weather conditions in tongariro national park is still bad that tongariro expedition has never operated their bus since i arrived taupo. meanwhile, my roommates and myself decided to make the time more useful by hiking up mt tauhara, which is not so far, and it could be a good practice for the tongariro hike. so, at past 11 in the morning, the jonases (both of their names are jonas, both of them are from germany too) and i got a ride from jb (hostel host) up to the base of the mountain.
the hike going up took about more or less than an hour, with some steep ravines, but still manageable. at the summit, the sky was clear enough to see the whole of lake taupo, and the surrounding areas. with just too much similarities, both jonases could do hand stand as well, a trick i’ve yet to learn! we stayed for a while at the top, had some food, tried to make paper planes fly as long as possible (but failed!), took several pictures, and as if uncontented that we reached the summit, climbed on top of the summit triangular frame.
going down was of course easier, but still have to control as the steepness sometimes push me down hurriedly. the major issue upon reaching the ground was how to get back to the hostel, which is some 8 or 9 kms away. we walked our way to the main road, and after a few minutes tried to hitchhike. hitching this time feels safer as there are 3 of us, but sometimes it’s harder because they might not have enough room for 3 people. the first car that we saw stopped, and it is a camper van with huge space at the back for all of us to get in, so that was quite a fortune.
at the town, passed by pack and save for some grocery, and hurriedly walked to the hostel as all of us were starving. after eating, we tried the free spa at the backyard, and it was just perfect for the tiring day hike! hot spa for 10 minutes, then jump unto freezing icy swimming pool (it was less than 10C outside) for awhile, and then back again to the hot spa. it was really weird feeling, you can’t realize if you are feeling cold or hot, the numbness is confusing!
