Streams, cascades and waterfalls

Early up! I had to catch the shuttle to Whakapapa. The next village, where a lot of tracks start, about 36 km away. First, we dropped of all the enthousiasts, who wanted to hike the Tongariro Crossing. A beautifull hike, quite high rated. Not for me, not today. 

In Whakapapa, I started in the visitor center. Was curious about the area. Tongariro National Park, basically, was given to the people of New Zealand bij the (regional) Maori tribes. They all together created a sacred spot near the center, where every tribe contributed an sacred stone of its area to the collaborative gift. The insciption says that in this way the mountains are connected with the sacred world of Maori and nowerdays use as a National Park.

In the center, a 45 minute documentary is shown about the volcanic system of and around New Zealand, which is part of the Ring of Fire. Never realised – not even after learning about the pūrākau legend – that New Zealand, a bit like Iceland, is a ticking time bomb. The question is not if mayor parts of the system will take off again, the questions are “When” and “How can we deal with it”. Living on vulcanos. It’s quite a choice. 

Finally, I took the Tanakiri Walk. Not a big one – but doted with waterfalls. I love waterfalls (in case you didn’t know, already). And taking in those places takes time! I stopped, of course, by each and every one. Loved every second!

Back in the village, I liked to have a bite. Seems, there are no restaurants or cafés at all. Just one streetfoodcontainer at the main parking spot. Excellent quality! Just got my spinach-feta-wrap, when it started to rain. Became quite a thunderstorm. Not much later, helicopters came in and up the mountain. About 20 minutes later, the sirens went off. Meanwhile, everything in the village was closed, including the visitor center. Thus. We see and wait. About 15 minutes later, the shuttle came. A truck with firefighters on the other site of the road. Lighting had struck. Heavenly.