Volcanoes and Zorbs

Continuing our vulcanistic intrepidity, it was time to climb a volcano. The Tongariro crossing is a walk that climbs mount tongariro, then goes across a huge crater, which has a perfectly flat and oddly soft layer of dust and rubble in it, which makes it very easy to imagine it as being the surface of the moon or Mars, and then continues up a ridge and down the other side offering the most spectacular views of other far less hospitably craters and jaggy bits. There were volcanic pools and steam coming from cracks and the hole thing just felt very primal. It was great. It was a full day's walk and by the end of the day, the five of us(Tania, Nicki, Warwick, Dennis -Nic & Tania's dad - and I) were quite knackered. One week after we were there, the neighbouring volcano, which had a big lake in its crater shoogled a bit and now there's not a lake there any more, so it's all still very active and exciting.

The following day we intended to visit a park that has mud pools and geysers but in the end we felt the price was a bit steep so we left it be. Instead we went along to the public park in Rotorua where it had some of the most incredibly stuff I've ever seen in a public park. Some holes with steam, some idle mud pools doing very little, some bellowing mini volcanoes, some huge big mud pools spitting and shouting at you and then this massive lake of steaming bubbling water with a rickety old boardwalk going across. Out of curiosity I quickly flicked the water to test the temperature (just to gauge my security on the bridge) and the water was scalding, so we decided not to jump up and down too much. The rest of the park, on the grass, where kids run around kicking balls was dotted with little patches of darker grass that seemed to be growing a bit longer than the rest and when you touched it, sometimes the ground was warm there, and always it was soft. You were told not to step on that if you found it because they were probably going to fall in to mud pools below but in the meantime, there was no fences or anything since they keep coming and going all the time, it was crazy.

In the afternoon, we went zorbing. Which was the most fun ever. Zorbing is the big hamster ball things that you climb into through a little port hole and then get thrown down a hillside in. You're not strapped in but left to tumble and fly around because, as it's all inflated, there's nothing really to hurt yourself on. A bucket of warm water is thrown on too for good measure to help you as you slip and scream down the hill side. The two of us went first of all, in the same one together and that goes straight down the hill side and next we did individual ones where you get sent down a zig zagging course. Thirdly I had one more go to see if i could run straight down the hill inside it standing up all the way because if you mange it you get a free t-shirt and your name immortalised on laminated paper inside the shop window. Unsurprising, i didn't stand a chance and my argument that, okay i was on my back but i didn't stop running didn't seem to count. Zorbing though has to be tried by anyone who has a chance, it was absolutely hilarious.