Mt Taawea May 2024

TARAWERA TRAMPER

Mt Tarawera 11-12 May

Saturday

We left Auckland at 8am, Epsom, and met at McLaren Falls Park information centre Carpark at 10:30am. We began to enter lakeside track and around the lake, there were beautiful autumn colours attracting us. After taking lots of photos, we went on to the waterfalls. Around 12pm we sat down at the picnic area for lunch.

We went on to Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park at 2pm. After checking in we drove 20 minutes to Rainbow Mountain carpark, and hiked on the track to the summit. We did half of the trail which took 1 hour 20 minutes, distance was 3.8 km. We went back to the holiday park and into the hot pool to relax.

After eating a delicious Tunisian Cuisines, Tina gave the devotions, sharing about a humble servant Rod from her church. Mat 25:37-40 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' Rod left us a legacy of humility-serving God from adults to children, from global concerns to special assessment conditions, big or small.

Sunday

Around 8:30am, we were picked up for the 4whd trip up to around 800m asl. On the rough and narrow private road, we saw a wallaby run through. We drove 8.2 km to base camp after a toilet stop, then a further 5 mins to Craters Edge. Then we hiked up to the summit, the climb to the summit was challenging but the 360 degree panoramic views from White Island to Ruapehu and beyond were stunning, encompassing the unique landscape and history of the area. A knowledgeable local girl guided us through this experience, the history and landscape of Mt Tarawera. Mt Tarawera erupted on June 10th 1886. The eruption destroyed the legendary Pink and White terraces but also created the world's youngest geothermal valley of Waimangu. The walk back to the minibus involved descending a scree slope into the crater and climbing the "punisher" steps back to the crater rim!

On the way back we saw a display about the eruption of White Island. We had our quick lunch at the holiday park then drove back to Auckland around 2pm. Unfortunately on SH5 there was an accident, and we had to take a detour back home. After the simple Mother's Day dinner at Matamata, we were back home safely around 9pm.