Spritzers, Sandwiches, and Singletrack

10.28.2007
Turangi Day 3

We (Kathy and I) had a pretty mellow day checking out the town of Turangi and walking along the Tongariro River. Don and Leslie went on a hike on the bottom part of the famed track (famed in New Zealand anyway): The Tongariro Crossing. I dropped them off at 8:30 this morning and left them until 2:00 this afternoon. The complete hike takes about 8 hours and spends a lot of time above timberline. The trail conditions right now are snow packed up high and they recommended that crampons and an ice axe be carried just in case. Leslie and Don made it to the lower hut before turning around. When we pulled up to get them this afternoon they were resting under the rain shelter in the parking lot. Their faces lit up when Kathy and I busted out fried chicken, chips (french fries) and ice tea.
While the other two were off hiking Kathy and I checked out the monthly market (interesting and bleak all at the same time) and took a walk on an angler’s access trail up the river. The Tongariro River is set up to access on foot easily along a 7 km stretch upriver from town and several kilometers down river to Lake Taupo. The trail is open to bikes as well so I scouted it out a little bit for Leslie and I later. Kathy and I hiked just under 2 hours total before we had to hustle back to get the other two at the trailhead.
When we returned to the condominium Leslie and I donned our bikes and rode a bit of trail for 10 kilometers or so. The highlight of the trail was the two river crossings on narrow suspension bridges 25’ above the water. We rode them and it was a little spooky looking at the cracks in between the boards all the way to the crystal blue water below. Thank goodness the bridges didn’t sway too much.
We decided to do a leftover night for dinner tonight. Cold cuts, salad and plum liqueur spritzers hit the spot. Life is tough.
CK