Take A Hike!!!

 Day 13 - Friday, Jan 2 – Zorbie, The “Walk” and The Show

While our families in the US had yet to celebrate the New Year, we were up and preparing for our very busy day. Rest assured that through the power of technology we’re able to connect to the college football playoffs on NYD. We were quite interested to see the Indiana-Alabama game at 10AM NZ time.  

We had a hearty breakfast and got ready for our first adventure – Zorbie! This was another audible. Our planned adventure didn’t start until 11:00AM and when we were driving into Rotorua we passed the Zorbie amusement. Now, we had seen this online and it looked like fun but we couldn’t figure out how to work it into our schedule. Well, Monica found us a time slot first thing at 9AM. Zorbie is a giant plastic ball with a spherical plastic compartment inside. People climb into the inner ball/compartment, they add a little water, and then you get rolled down a hill. See picture below. There are several paths to roll – straight, winding, steep. Evan, Carter and ruby elected to give it a try and they did two rolls – straight and winding. They came out of their Zorbie ball at the end of each run laughing hysterically. Gordon didn’t want not participate and I don’t blame him. Anyway, we got to check yet another adventure off the list.

 

Our first planned excursion for the day was a crater walk about 25 miles outside Rotorua. “Walk” was the description from tour company and our travel agent. Hold that thought. 

We took a 20-minute drive in a shuttle bus and along the way we saw an erupting geyser. Now, as some educational notes, I will alert you that NZ lies on the fault lines of two tectonic plates. Thus, there are mountains, geysers, volcanoes and the propensity for earthquakes. Rotorua is a hot bed (pardon the pun) of geothermal activity. 

Our shuttle bus driver happens to be the owner of this adventure and a business woman who has other bars, restaurants and adventure/tour companies. Long story short. She got acquainted with the CEOs of Quantas and Virgin Australia during COVID and to this day she arranges a private trout fishing adventure for them on Oct 2, the first day of trout season. They are avid fishermen.

After she dropped us at a lake known for trout fishing, we were picked up by a more rugged off-road vehicle to drive us through the rain forest and up part of the volcanic mountain. When I say “off-road” I mean “OFF-ROAD!” Winding, bumpy, gravelly (if that’s a word), narrow … much like Indiana!

After 40 minutes of bump and bounce, we reached a dead end where we parked. There were two vans in our caravan as we were joined by another group of four people. We were staring straight up to the volcanic peak and straight down into the depths of the caldera. We were to walk along the volcanic rim to reach the summit of the volcano, and it looked pretty daunting.

The “walk” started with a moderately steep – let’s call it a hike up the loose volcanic rock/gravel/sand. It’s called scoria. It can be very soft so that it gives the feeling of walking on a beach – you know, it takes extra effort to push and move forward. It can also be like loose gravel that makes footing a bit more uneasy. Add to that the steepness of the hill and it makes for … well … something much more vigorous than a walk. We had two guides, and they led us to the first stop where we could regroup and catch our breath. They also used those opportunities to share some history and geology information.

 

 

We also got a glimpse of the path down the other side of the rim – at least one part of it where we were to descend into the caldera (that’s the big crater left by the exploding volcano when the magna settles back down). It looked impossibly steep – like straight down. See the white-ish line down the middle of the picture below. We couldn’t believe it, but they assured us it was just the distance across the volcano and the depth perception that were deceiving us. It was quite do-able. OK – if you say so.

 

After five minutes we were off to the next section of the … let’s call it a trek instead of a hike. Again, various grades of steepness on our ascent to the  top of the volcanic rim trekking through scoria all the way. Another vigorous ascent where we established a second base camp to catch our breath. Now, I must say, when I got enough oxygen back to my brain, and my visual acuity increased, the views were breathtaking (again, pardon the pun).

 

   

  

 

It was at this point that the guides noted that this was the point of no return. The next part of the path was very steep and they started talking about 3 to 4 points of contact. That is, both feet and at least one hand on something else, and two if possible. Wait! Are we going to be crawling up this volcano? Are we doing rock climbing without ropes? They said that anyone who wanted to stop here could do so, but if you chose to go on, then it is better to persist through the rest of the … I am now going not call it mountain climbing excursion. One person from the other group bowed out, but the Helfrichs Including 8-year-old Ruby and the now 70-year-old Grandpa chose to go forward.

So, up we went! And yes, we were using 3-4 points of contact on some parts of this CLIMB! There was a leather strap near the top of this ascent that we could grab, and one of the guides would help pull people up. Yes … we were now using ropes to get to our destination!! And this was described as a “walk”?!?!?

Well, we made it to the top of the rim – 1,111 meters or 3560 feet. Wow! There was a cool breeze blowing at the top that helped with the warmth and sweat we generated during our “walk” up the mountain. We heard stories of how this volcano – Mt. Tarawera – erupted on June 10, 1886 with devasting consequences. First, at 2AM, there was a series of large earthquakes, followed by three volcanic domes erupting with enormous explosive force. The end result was an enormous 17km rift in the landscape and three remnants of the volcanos, each with its own peak and crater. Of course, we hiked, trekked, climbed to the highest one. You can see the huge fissue splitting through the volcanoes and disappearing off in the distance.

 

  

 

  

 

 After resting at the top and taking plenty of pictures, we headed back down the other side of the volcanic rim. Along the way there is a spot where people place a stone in memory of someone they have lost or loved. So, we did that as well. 

Yes, we were about to go over a cliff!

  

Now it was time for the steep descent into the crater – the one I showed you earlier. And, NO! Our eyes did not deceive us; it was ridiculously steep and nothing but soft volcanic sand and pea gravel. We had to learn and practice walking heel first to dig into the scoria and letting it shift beneath us as we did kind of a slide down the soft surface. It was a long hike – not to mention the side of the narrow path fell off into the crater hundreds of feet below. What the …? Evan practically ran down the path, almost like a free fall with heels digging in along the way. [Note: Evan is the barely visible tiny speck in the second picture near the bottom of the path (he is not the black speck down the path - that is the one guide - but a smaller white-ish speck at the bottom that is not really visible in this size image.] Hopefully that gives you a little perspective on the steepness and the length of the descent.] The gift of stamina and balance of the young, well-conditioned athlete. The rest of us worked our way down more carefully, and one of the guides put Ruby on his back about halfway down to give her an easy ride to the bottom. We were thankful for that as it was not only difficult for her but a bit scary as well. I wonder why?!?!? When I got to the bottom the guide told me that it was a 200+ meter descent (i.e., 625 feet!).

Once at the bottom, we emptied our shoes of sand and gravel, and we took more pictures. Then we had to climb out … up the “Punishing Steps” as they are called. It was a real challenge, and Grandpa had to take an unscheduled break ascending 400 feet to catch his breath and then finish the remaining 200-foot climb.

  

What a “walk”!! We were all pretty tired and amazed that the excursion was billed as a walk.

We took the winding, bumpy drive back down the volcanic hillside, and our driver took us immediately to our next adventure – Te Pa Tu – the Maori cultural experience [Note: the Maori are the original people who populated the islands in the 1400’s.] We started by visiting four different areas of a the Maori village, which was nestled in a beautiful forest. We experienced games, dance, natural medicine and cultural experiences. We then were entertained by a group of Maori performing their traditional songs and dance. It was excellent, and similar to what might be seen in other Polynesian cultures like Hawaiian and Tongan (for those familiar with the Tongan choir of Maria Lanakila Church in Maui). This was all followed by a sumptuous dinner with all sorts of fine appetizers, vegetables and meats (beef, lamb, duck). It wasn’t as special for the kids who shied away from some of the more exotic delicacies, but the adults went away very full!

 

    

 

  Examining the dessert menu with Ruby.

 After that, it was back on the bus to the hotel and a well-deserved night of sleep.