Days 57-59: Rest Days, National Park

I’m now settled in for 3 days of rest at the YHA in National Park village - I’ll be leaving early on January 9th. So until then, the only walking I’ll be doing will be to the bar for dinner or to the 4-Square shop for supplies.

After the first night in the dorm, I’ve now been able to move into my own room here, which means I get some peace and quiet and privacy - and that I can unpack and dry everything.

National Park basically consists of the YHA, a service station and 4-Square, and Schnapps Bar. The wifi data at the YHA is capped, so I have been sitting in Schnapps Bar each afternoon to use their wifi instead, catching up on my recent blog entries. There are a lot of hikers passing through here, and as the bar gets busy the wifi grinds to a halt, so it took me two full afternoons to get the blog up to date - but I had nothing much else to do!

The weather has been cloudy and drizzly, with some heavy downpours overnight, so it’s a good time to be resting up. Tongariro seems to have remained closed throughout, still due to hazardous conditions. I’m glad I made it over when I did!

My big concern at the moment is the weather for my  Whanganui River trip. The river has been closed for several days because of the rain, and while it will have reopened when I leave National Park on Jan 9, there is another heavy rain front (Cyclone Hale!) coming in after that. So nothing at the moment is certain.

Meanwhile, here are a few pics from National Park:

Breakfast at the YHA

This is most of National Park village - the YHA, a bar, and a big wooden kiwi 

Moving into my own room - yay! Immediately unpacked everything and made myself at home.

Fellow TA-ers Frank, Ayumi and Kevin bravely attempting to tackle the infamous ribs at Schnapps Bar

And my attempt. They are huge!

Sculpture of the local wildlife

And some occasional views of Ruapehu, when the clouds part

Finally, a clear view!

My last supper at the YHA. DIY curry: a can of lentils, a bag of spinach, and a jar of rogan josh sauce. Mmm.

After I leave on January 9th, the plan is to hike two days to the Whanganui River, then head down by kayak/canoe for five days to Whanganui, arriving on the 15th. I’ll be out of cellphone coverage probably the entire time until Whanganui, so there may not be any further blog updates until the 15th. And don’t worry if you don’t hear from me on the 15th - it will just mean my river trip has been delayed a couple of days by the weather. (If it turns out to be cancelled, I’ll hike back here to National Park and end my trip here).

It’s been good to rest my feet and stay dry for a few days. But now it’s time to repack, and get ready for an early final night. Tomorrow it’s back on the road. Fingers crossed for the weather. See you in Whanganui!