Jerusalem, Ohakune & Tongariro National Park
Trip Start
Nov 05, 2002
1
55
69
Trip End
Aug 13, 2003
Taupo,
New Zealand
Sunday, June 22, 2003
After leaving Wanganui we followed the Wanganui river north through some very quiet and remote countryside. We really got the feeling that we were lost but this is what having your own transport is all about! I doubt these roads have ever seen a public bus! This area is known for Maori culture, heritage, the Whanganui National Park and river adventures (canoeing the river is a very popular activity). In the early 1900's, visitors called the Whanganui River the 'Rhine of New Zealand' - it's the longest navigable river in the country, with 239 rapids and stunning bush scenery. We stopped along the way at a tiny hamlet called Jerusalem. It has a gorgeous little catholic church which we had a look around, almost feeling as if we were intruding.
Back on the road we eventually made it to Ohakune, the town marking the southern gateway to the Tongariro National Park, a World heritage site, and only a short drive to the most southern of the 3 volcanoes that make up the park, Mt Ruapehu. The town is known as the après ski capital of the north island, the carrot capital of New Zealand and a forestry and farming centre. It acts as an attractive base for numerous outdoor activities and a lively snow sports centre in winter, especially for the nearby Turoa ski field. The ski season proper is still a few weeks from kicking off and so the town is still relatively quiet. The town is becoming known as the 'Breckenridge' of the southern hemisphere, and heading down the main street, lined with lovingly renovated historic buildings, you will realise why. We had a good night out drinking and watching rugby (Australia, shock horror, loosing to England) in the local O Bar.
In the 1950's and 60's, the can-do spirit of the Ohakune people came to the fore as they built the Ohakune mountain road, providing access to the southern slopes of Mt Ruapehu. This spirit continued later with the efforts to attract a commercial operator of the ski fields of Turoa. We heard the views of the volcano from Ohakune were amazing but unfortunately the low lying cloud obscured our view. We did however drive up the aforementioned mountain road to the Turoa ski field which, once above the clouds, gave some amazing views of the surrounding landscape.
Mt. Ruapehu itself is a stratovolcano and it has erupted about 50 times since 1861. At the top of the volcano there is an acidic crater lake. Most eruptions are phreatic (steam explosions caused by the contact of lava and water). The most recent major phreatic eruption was in 1975. Thankfully when we were there enjoying the views the volcano behaved itself.
We headed back down to Ohakune and continuing north, we drove around the western base of Mt Ruapehu before ascending the other side of the volcano. Destination, the Whakapapa ski field at Iwikau village. Here again they were waiting for the first proper snow to kick off the ski season but they had a small area of artificial snow to keep the impatient few happy. I had another reason for wanting to see this area. The almost martian like terrain here on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu and the rock formations around the Whakapapa ski field served as primary filming locations for Mordor and various battle scenes in the Lord of The Rings movie trilogy and most of the pre production during shooting was carried out in the nearby, and very plush, Bayview Chateau Tongariro hotel which we passed driving up and down the Whakapapa ski field road.
Once off Mt Ruapehu we continued heading north through the Tongariro National Park with the views of the other 2 volcanoes of the park, Mt Tongariro & Mt Ngauruhoe, to our right. Mt Ngauruhoe (New Zealand's most active volcano with 61 eruptions since 1839) looked sublime; its a classic conical shape volcano and it's summit was toped in white snow. We eventually arrived earlier today in Taupo, a town on the shore of Lake Taupo. As we continue to head north this area will mark the end of the Tongariro national park and the start of the thermally active area of the north island. We have a 4am flight to Fiji on Saturday morning so we have 5 days left in New Zealand. We have to drop the van off in Auckland on Thursday which gives us 3 more days with it. Make sure to keep an eye on us to see what we get up to between now and then. We'll try make it exciting! Ha..
Dave and B
