All I can say is thank goodness we did a squat challenge the month before the trip! All of us recovered really well from the first day of hiking, which was surprising and wonderful. After a hot and broken sleep we were up at 6am to get started on day 2. We were sore and tired so we packed up slowly, but we left the hut by 7:30am after eating a bunch of snacks for breakfast. We left after a few people but we were ahead of most others.
The start was brutal working out the sore muscles, but not bad once we got back in the zone. The scenery was really beautiful, with clear views of Mount Doom (Mount Ngauruhoe) and Mount Ruapehu which still had some snow on it. The terrain was like a desert with varying degrees of plants and rocks.
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| Photo credit: Ryan R |
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| Photo credit: Ryan R |
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| Photo credit: Ryan R |
Eventually we went down through a gully, up through a forest (which made us all very hot and sweaty), then down the other side of the hill. Our first destination was Waihohonu Hut (which we named Super Hut because it was massive and beautiful with fantastic facilities). Our goal was to get there by 10:30am, and when we were cutting it close Ryan R actually ran there and got to it 4 minutes early. The rest of us were not so energetic.
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| Photo credit: Kat |
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| Photo credit: Kat |
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| Photo credit: Ryan P |
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| Photo credit: Ryan R |
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| Photo credit: Ryan R |
After our stop at the hut the scenery didn't change much, and nothing particularly interesting happened after that. There were a lot of false ridges so we kept checking our map thinking we had made more progress than we actually had. We had a 30 minute lunch break, then I hit my wall. I had my first meltdown at about 1pm, then plodded along painfully until our next break. After lunch took serious dedication with very sore feet. About 2 hours before the end I picked up speed, left everyone behind, and just focused. Unfortunately then we passed a sign for Taranaki falls which said we had an hour still to go, but I thought we were much closer so I had my second meltdown. We could see the hotel at the end of the hike, but it never seemed to get much closer.
Finally we made it to the end, with three of us in pain, and Ryan R literally running circles around us. It was like he was crazy on speed or something! I have no idea where he got so much energy.
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| Photo credit: Ryan P |
We got to the visitor centre just before it closed so we could check our hut reservation and buy some much needed aloe vera for our sunburns. Then we went as fast as we could manage to the Discovery Lodge where we had treated ourselves to a hotel room instead of camping for the night. I lost the rock, paper, scissors, so Ryan P and I got the pull-out couch, but it was worth it to get the hot shower first. When we all felt human again we headed out to buy some food and wine, then have dinner out at a local pub. The food was kind of mediocre, but at least we didn't have to cook!
Back at the hotel we drank more delicious New Zealand wine while we planned out the rest of our trip. We just had lots of fun chatting and really enjoying our time together before finally passing out at 10:30pm, with hopes of still being able to walk the next day.
I have to say, this hike is one of the things I'm most proud of. I was in the best shape of my life so far, walked most of it like a champ, and did something epic. Definitely the highlight of New Zealand, hands down!
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