First of all, apologies for the delayed post. We (still) don't have internet in the new house, so I can only get a little writing done on the few times I can escape to an internet cafe or the library. Now that we've had a few weeks to explore the area, I think it's time to spend a few posts on specific aspects of the country, our region in-particular. This week: Mount Taranaki (or Mount Egmont, depending on how colonial you're feeling).
At 8260 feet-tall, this active but quiescent (fingers crossed) volcano is the dominant feature of the Taranaki region. It's one of the most symmetric volcanoes in the world, and was used as the backdrop for the movie
The Last Samurai because it looks so much like Mount Fuji.
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| Mt. Taranaki |
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| Mt. Fuji (Wikipedia) |
It's an active volcano and has minor eruptions every 90 or so years, with major eruptions every 300-500 years (the last being around 1655). We're apparently overdue for an eruption, and should expect something sizable in the next 100 years, although the city (New Plymouth) seems to be relatively clear from any major destructive paths. We did pick a rental house on top of a hill (thanks Jonny), just in case. For the geeks out there, I put a link from the GNS Science Webpage about the Taranaki/Egmont Volcano Geology to the right.
The volcanoes of the North Island seem to be truly sacred to those who live here, so I'll discuss them briefly. Most of the central part of the island is basically one big volcanic plateau. Lake Taupo is a 238 square-mile lake that sits in the caldera of what sounds like an apocalyptic supervolcano eruption 27,000 years ago. South of this lake is the mountainous region Ruapehu which contains three active volcanoes Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu. This area is Tongariro National Park and it was the first National Park in the world to be gifted by indigenous people (the Tuwharetoa Māori), who did so on condition the land be kept sacred. It's now a dual World Heritage Site for its natural and culture value. And then of course there is Taranaki, where we live.
The Māori legends surrounding the volcanoes are spectacular. In them, all the volcanoes were once gods and warriors. There were all male, except one (Pihanga), who was so stunningly beautiful that all the other mountains were in love with her. One night there was a great battle (think volanco: lava, smoke, ground shaking) which was ultimately won by Tongariro, who became the king of the land.
He commanded the other volcanoes to vacate and, come daybreak, they would be frozen for all time wherever they stood. Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu moved just to the south of Tongariro (and together form that National Park I was previously discussing). Putauaki moved east to a town now called Rotorua, and became sacred in its own way. Tauhara was stricken with grief and stayed on the shore of Lake Taupo so he could forever gaze at his lost love. Taranaki, on the other hand, was so angry over the loss that he left a great gash in the land as he stormed off to live by the sea. The tears he cried filled the gap and created the Whanganui River. The breathtaking Taranaki sunsets are said to be Taranaki showing off to Pihanga.
Surrounding Mount Taranaki is New Zealand's second National Park, Egmont National Park (Tongariro was the first), which contains some great old-growth forests ("a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance" -- from Wikipedia). A NASA satellite image impressively shows where the National Forest ends and the dairy farming begins.
During our two weeks pre-work, we had several opportunities to explore Egmont and are seriously impressed with the vast networks of trails and how well everything is kept. There are free guides everywhere about different walking and hiking trails (several under 2 hours and kid-friendly) both in and around New Plymouth and the Park itself. Here are some photos from our two most recent hikes.
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| snacks at the top |
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| so strong! |
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| an unbelievable number of stairs |
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| taking a break with dad |
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| on our way to Dawson Falls, before the rain |
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| crossing a stream, baby-in-tow |
It helps, especially when hiking with children, that New Zealand has no poisonous snakes, spiders, or scorpions and has no warm-blooded mammal predators except what has been introduced by settlers. Coming from the death-trap that was New Mexico, it's nice to know that that rustling in the bushes is, at worst, a pig or a possum (as opposed to a bear or a mountain lion). The mosquitoes are also relatively free from the nasty things (no malaria or West Nile here), although they're just as annoying. And I already got stung by a bee while putting up the laundry. Yuck.
Pat and I wound eventually like to get up the Mount Taranaki Summit Track (14kms, lots of vertical gain), but I think we should first work on making it through a morning hike without someone falling asleep.
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| Passed Out |
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| Cheeks still full of apple bits |
Fun (fun?) fact about New Zealand, speaking of the beach, is how intense the sun is down here. For those who don't know, the UV index is a standard measurement of the strength of the sun at any place and time. Starts at zero (nighttime), you should wear sunscreen above 3, and usually tops out around 14 near the equator (although apparently the world record was 43 (similar to Mars), Bolivia, 2003). In the summer months, we routinely get up around 12-13 during mid-day. New Zealand has the second highest rate of skin cancer in the world (after Australia). Public outdoor events almost always feature this sign and have sunscreen stations next to the water stations.
