I awoke this morning, at first, at 5am. I wondered for a moment if it was from the time difference between Australia and here (2 hours) then rolled over, then wondered if I should've done the Tongariro Alpine trek, laughed at myself and went to bed again.
It was a late start for me. I didn't end up leaving my 1970s communal living facility here in the wilderness until a little after 10am. My trusty LL Bean Day Trekker 25 pack packed up and ready for the road ahead, for the first time getting exposure to what it was actually meant for - day hikes. I stopped first at the gas station to check out the mini supermarket and put some petrol in the car. I did $20 to start and got barely anything, but was very confused on what to do next so I let it be. I couldn't even look around the supermarket for long because there was a line of people behind me waiting to also get gas so I paid and left.
First I drove to the visitors center, which was open, and as soon as I got close I saw a ton of cars and camper vans. Camper vans seem to be very popular here, people just drive around and sleep in the back wherever they can find parking for the night. I skipped the first parking lot and drove straight to the visitor's center one to find out it was completely full, then went back to the original parking lot. The visitor's center was actually a mini museum about the area and the mountains (of which Mount Doom is the most active volcano in the world!) which I really enjoyed looking at. From there I already knew where I was going more or less so I left and headed to the trail.
The day before, when I returned my bus ticket to the Tongariro Alpine Pass, the receptionist slash owner of my hostel recommended a trek called Taranaki Falls. She said it wasn't very difficult and that the view of the falls was amazing, so that's where I headed. They call it tramping here, anything shorter then 6 hours of hiking, and that was what I thought of as I stomped my way down the field into the jungle. I kept seeing people walk the opposite way so I knew that where I was going was probably right (and there was simply no where else to go).
It was when I got to the jungle area that things got harder. There were makeshift stairs heading down deeper into the forest. Some of them as high as my knee with sloping mud under them. It made me wish I bought a set of trekking poles (which are now on my Amazon wishlist) because there was nothing to hold on to and only a hard fall below. I took off my backpack and put down my camera and gently lowered myself to the next step before gearing back up and continuing down.
After all those stairs were more stairs, this time up, and then a loose gravel path. I could hear rushing water and thought I was close only to find it was a rushing river besides the path. Tree roots blocked the way up and I had to navigate those then it was more stairs and a long hill. Finally I stopped to have some water, the sweat pouring off of my face and body. When I took off my pack I noticed the shoulder straps and back were soaked. The water was tepid at best but so refreshing. I continued my climb.
More stairs, more hills, more tree roots, more swatting away the flys and knocking silk worms off of me (and at one point a very large and scary looking spider) and then the path finally gave way to a small bridge and the jungle was behind me. I crossed the bridge and continued my journey in the scorching sun without the protection of the green canopy of trees. Up more hills, over more rocks and then I looked up and breathlessly said out loud, "wow."
The waterfall had finally revealed itself to me and I continued closer. Down another rocky hill and there I was at the foot of it. The sound of the water rushing over the end of the cliff and hitting the rocks below was surprisingly loud. There was a small, circular wooden table slash bench and I saw an older couple sitting on it. I put my pack down on it and sat there with them for a moment. I was off staring at the waterfall when I heard the man say, "From America are ya?"
I soon found myself talking to the two of them. The man saw the LL Bean logo on my bag and told me that could only mean that I'm American. The woman was from Oregon and the man from the south island of New Zealand. They had a son about my age and asked if I was traveling alone. The woman said that it must be so nice to go alone and not have to worry about compromising ("negotiate sounds better," said her husband) about where to go or what to see. The man said that he hoped his son would be brave enough to travel on his own and see the world like I was doing.
I've never thought of myself as brave, especially when it comes to travel. Foolhardy? sure. Impatient? probably. Ambitious? absolutely. But it's often a word people put on me when I tell them all the places that I've gone alone. Even in the case of this couple I told them I wasn't brave at all, just don't have anyone who could do a big trip like this with me. Looking around this hostel though I see what the couple, my parents, and a lot of my friends mean though. Here I am in the common room and I'm surrounded by pairs, couples, and small groups. I don't mind it though, mostly because I wasn't going to wait until I had someone by my side to see such a magnificent place.
Anyway, the couple asked if I came from the high path and pointed behind me. I said yes and the woman said that they always do that part second because it is so difficult. She told me that the next half of my journey would be easy, "all downhill and open," which brought an unexpected sigh of relief. Then the man said, "yea once you get up there it's quite easy," and pointed to the top of the waterfall.
A few moments later I was alone again, sitting at the base of my next climb. A series of mud and wood steps winding it's way up the side of the waterfall. I started and stopped maybe three times before finally reaching the top and taking a rest on one of the rocks there. After I caught my breath and drank some more water I got up and started the walk home. The couple was right, it was a very easy walk with the exception for the mud puddle and one of the stairs which was over 2ft high. I passed a lot of people heading down to the waterfall saying hello to each one (which I learned on my way that it is customary to do so when hiking and passing a person on the trail). The walk was super easy though and I was so happy that I didn't turn back while I was struggling through the jungle.
Once I was back in civilization, and walked to my car, the exhaustion of what I had done fell on me like a ton of bricks. The walk I did was only 6km, less then half of the Alpine Pass which made me thank everything sacred that I didn't do it and did this walk instead. It was still relatively early, about 2:30 in the afternoon, too early to think about sleep. I was very hungry though, having skipped breakfast and gone straight to the walk, and remembered that the couple said that the restaurant at the top of the scenic chairlift was very good so I headed there.
The scenic chairlift is actually just a regular chairlift on a ski mountain out of season. In the off season they sell you a moderately priced lift ticket ($35) and you can go to the top where they have a restaurant and an amazing view of the whole park. After navigating the winding mountain road there and buying my ticket, I hopped on the lift and thoroughly enjoyed the ride up. I put on my t-shirt and sweater for the ride and although it wasn't very cold I was glad I did as the cool wind blew across my face and I was lifted higher and higher into the air.
At the top was a beautiful little cafe with an amazing view. I went in and it looked like they were starting to shut it down for the evening but I thought, "oh I'll just get a toastie or something small," before I looked at the menu and saw that "something small" was going to set me back at least $20. No thank you! So I took a bunch of pictures and drank the rest of my gatorade after feeling a little light headed then headed back down. The view going down was infinitely better then the one going up and I made it at the right time - when I reached the bottom the attendant said that I got on just in time to miss the rain that was starting at the top.
Back down the mountain I decided that I was long overdue for my first meal of the day. I headed for the second of the two restaurants that the receptionist at my hostel recommended, the one that turned me away the night before. I got there a little early, as did another couple. We waited the 10 minutes for their opening time only to find out that the head slash only waitress was running late, approximately 30 more minutes late. The couple left but I didn't mind. I was enjoying the warm sun and reading my book on my phone ("Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" by Michael Wolff which is riveting so far). Soon enough I was sitting at a table and looking at a menu.
I got the mussels (which just arrived today) and the lamb pizza. Two entrees but I thought I deserve it slash mussels isn't generally a big meal or I should say a big enough meal to make up for the two I didn't eat and the 6km tramp I did. I went back to my book for a while why the cooked it up and then chowed down. The mussels were huge and had a delicious ball of rice in the center of the plate and the pizza had real lamb on it, as well as a slice of kiwi in the middle. I later asked about the kiwi and was told, "we put it on everything!" The waitress came over and said that she could bring me a take away container for whatever I didn't finish then looked down at the plates and said, "well I guess you won't be needing it after all!" I paid my bill and left for the hostel soon after where I found myself packing up my bag for the long ride and flight ahead of me tomorrow.
I'm sitting here in my pajamas in the common room writing this and watching the sun slowly set over the mountains. While I'm not too happy that I have to drive four hours to the airport and then spend nearly 12 hours on a flight to China, I am really happy. Happy I decided to drive down here, happy that I pushed myself to finish the tramp, and happy that I've experienced a truly remarkable and life changing trip so far. Who only knows what awaits me in Taiwan.
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