Whakapapaita

So what have I done today?  Well I was very pleased to wake up and find that although I could tell I had walked yesterday, I wasn't as sore or as stiff as you might expect after a 12 mile high altitude walk.  Unfortunately, I couldn't manage a full days walk as the first thing I needed to do was drive to the nearest town (50km) and find a working internet connection to make sure my campsite booking for New Years Eve had been confirmed, which, fortunately, it had so I could head straight back to the campsite at Whakapapa!

One of the walks I'd had recommended to me was a track called the Whakapapaiti Track (pronounced more like fock-a-pa-pa-ee-tee).  This was 4 - 5 hours one way, starting 3 miles up the road from my campsite and coming out  right next to it.  Mainly downhill, unless you decided to start from the campsite and finish at the road :-)

Transport was of course the problem.  I didn't fancy a 3 mile road walk or hitching a ride and the campsite were not prepared to drive me to the far end of the walk.  So I decided that I would just have to do an "out and back", walk up the track from the campsite and turn around when I'd had enough.  I set off at 1pm with the intent of being back by 6:30 latest.  In the event, I was back shortly after 5.  I'd managed 8.2 miles but my legs were very tired and although there was no significant climb in the walk, there were various sections of track where you had to climb up some very big steps and my muscles were just running out of oomph.

Still, it was another lovely walking day.  No disasters so no need to call out the search and rescue teams....  and some lovely views of Mt Ruapehu on the way out (see below photo) and Mt Ngauruhoe on the way back to keep you motivated.

Tomorrow I will leave the Tongariro National Park and head over to Napier and Hawke's Bay for New Year.  I'm hoping to find a wine tour that I can book on to before I head up to Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty.