Taranaki Falls

About a month ago, one of my dear friends from college was able to visit, so we had lots of fun adventuring around parts of the North Island, mostly to places I had not yet visited (yay!). 

Our first stop was Tongariro National Park. This area has three volcanoes in it, and offers a huge variety of activities for the outdoors lover. Mt. Ruapehu offers some of the best skiing in New Zealand, Mt. Tongariro is known for the Tongariro Alpine crossing which takes you across the mountain and to the emerald lakes (on my to-do list for the summer), and Mt. Ngauruhoe which was used as Mt. Doom for the Lord of the Rings films. 

We spent a cozy night in one of the lodges in National Park Village, which by the way has only one restaurant, which is also the only pub, so if you are hungry, get there early for dinner to avoid a long wait. The food was yum though, and the portions incredibly generous, so I thought it was worth the wait. 

When we got up the next morning, the weather was not good enough for any major hiking or treks which would have much elevation due to clouds and a bit of rain, so we opted for a tramp  out to Taranai Falls. It was a two hour loop track that goes through varying areas of bush, and along the Wairere Stream. The falls are 20 meters tall (65 feet) and fall over the edge of a lava flow that erupted from Mt. Ruapehu 15,000 years ago. Had the sun come out and burned the clouds away, there would have been excellent views of the mountain peaks, but as it was the view was stunning.

The Chateau at Whakapapa Village--where I'll
stay when I'm rich and famous haha

Start of the track

Snow-covered Ruapehu trying to peek out of the clouds

Top of the falls

Steps down to the falls (or up if you started the
 track on the other end, which thankfully we didn't!

The Grand Canyon

The final major stop on our trip before heading to KC for time with family and friends there was the West rim of the Grand Canyon. Since Las Vegas is not terribly far from there (at least by US travel standards), we booked a bus tour from there so we did not have to worry over driving, etc. After a good American breakfast of donuts (hard to find in NZ), we set off for a day of adventuring.

The first stop along the way was at Hoover Dam. I had never been to a desert before, and it was quite a change after living right on the coast. It is difficult for me to imagine living in such a dry place. The Hoover dam is built in the Black Canyon on the Colorado River, at the border between Arizona and Nevada. It was built during the Depression and is now a historic landmark.

Power Station by the dam

The Colorado River

We had one more stop along the way, for coffee etc. in a very quaint looking Southwestern community, and then were on the final stage of the journey to our destination. We visited the West Rim, which is located on an Indian Reservation Hualapai tribe. We were dropped out at the visitor center with our entry passes, a map, and suggestions on how best to plan the 4 hours allowed on the Reservation.

We started with the Skywalk, an attraction since 2007 which allows you to walk right out over part of the canyon. Not quite my cup of tea, I decided I was happy looking down with solid ground under my feet. No cameras allowed on the Skywalk, they preferred to make a bit of extra income by stationing professional photographers on the walk to take pictures for you. This part of the Canyon is called Eagle point. After our Skywalk, we got to meander through displays of Native American housing and take in the sights for this part of the canyon.

The Skywalk....clear floor so you can see straight down

The oven

This house was my favorite, it was nice and cool inside :)

He might be taller....but we're still the boss!

When we were ready to move on, we caught a shuttle to Guano Point, the other area we were allowed access. This was definitely my favorite, as you could find a high point and get an almost 360 degree view of the Canyon. It is hard to describe, and the photos do not even begin to do it justice, but here are my favorites just the same. 

Leftover from mining days

Clearly we showed them up :)