It's been a while since my partner and I haven't spent time on holiday. The pandemic has interrupted many of our plans. The desire to go home to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with family and friends has not yet been fulfilled. Luckily, we live in New Zealand so there are still quite a few beautiful and majestic places for us to explore.
Our upcoming trip to conquer the red crater at Mt Tongariro Alpine crossing is just a few days away. Thanks to the Xmas holiday, we have time every day to climb small hills around our city to build up our endurance and physical strength.
To get motivated for the next hiking trip, today I will take you to the mountain that I climbed on New Year's Day 2021 - Mt Holdsworth. To me, it is not a difficult mountain, however, due to inaccurate information, it made the climb up to the overnight hut a bit difficult.
We drove from Wellington to Tararua Forest Part - the read circle
We set out from Wellington on the last day of 2020. Based on online reviews, I thought the climb to the cabin would be quite easy, so I decided to stop at a few attractions along the way in the morning.
One of the interesting stops is “Stonehenge Aotearoa”, which as its name implies, recreates the enigmatic structure in Great Britain. For those who are interested in basic astronomy, it is interesting to learn about our universe. I think it would be much more fun to visit this place on a clear night and be able to see the constellations.
Since we arrived during the day, the scene was not as beautiful as it is in the website's advertisement photos. But we were able to take these amazing photos playing with the panoramic function.
Discovering a cool function on our Iphones
We arrived at the bottom of the mountain around midday. I can see there are a few children playing with water in a small stream. From afar, some families were gathering to have fun BBQs. Laughter and chatter filled the place.
The first part of our hike includes ascending to the Powell cabin on a "friendly" path. The first few kilometres seemed pleasant on the whole. I actually enjoyed walking through the forest and chatting with people on the way. However, the last kilometre and a half of an aggressive ascent through the forested hill was a nightmare for me.
The first part was super nice through beech-podocarp forest
Start going up hills, taking off my jacket and tight up my hair. It was really hot going up.
This is where I told my partner, this is my last time to climb the mountain, so tough
The incorrect signposts, the weight of my backpack, and the wide steps (for a short person like me), all make this climb an unforgettable experience. Frankly, I didn't get tired because of the walk, I was tired of my mind telling me "We are about to get there, the Power Hut cabin is not too far away". Then disappointed to see the next part to climb.
I remember in the last moments, I was telling myself and my partner "this will be the last time I climb mountains. It is bloody tiring and I couldn't stand it anymore. We won't climb any mountain next year".
Deep down inside I know the track is not that difficult, but my expectation of reaching the cabin after a few hours of climbing made my mind panic. After all, this part was quite a journey for two full-time office workers who underestimated the hike.
Fortunately, we arrived at the hut just in time to get the last beds. Interestingly, there is no lock or pincode to access the hut. Literally, everyone can get in without booking the place. This basic hut is run by the department of conservation. Despite there are not many options in the kitchen area, I really like the fact that it is powered by solar energy.
Breath-taking view of the Power Hut - I love it is powered by solar energy
There is little to highlight about the dinner and “celebration” for the end of the year, apart from the fact that we shared a Catena Zapata Malbec, a beautiful red wine from Argentina, with a local family from Masterton. We had a good chat about our lives, enjoying some games and then go to bed early as we would climb the submit early tomorrow.
2021 dawned splendidly, and very early. I was enjoying the first sunlight of 2021 and said hello to the dog
We had breakfast and we attack the summit of the mountain only with a light backpack. The journey was quite deceptive; On several occasions, the mountain hinted that its summit was near, but when we reached it we only discovered that it was much further away. Anyway, in about an hour we arrived to see the breath-taking view from the top of the mountain range.
I thought it was the summit but no, we had to climb much more
I was so thrilled to see this plant flowering on the top of the moutain
On the top of the mountain now, so happy to make it
Views from the top, not bad for the very first day of the year, right?
We returned to the cabin to prepare for the rest of the day. Once again with heavy backpacks on our back, we went back up the wooded hill, but after an hour and a half, we took another path that was much steeper than the one we did at the beginning. Although we were going downhill, it was very painful for our legs and knees.
Not much more to count, we came back exhausted. We quickly stretch our legs and back before going back home.
Due to the lack of physical preparation for last year's trek, this year we consciously prepare for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. With 2 hours of walking up and down hills every day. I hope it won't be too hard for us and will be a fun trip to celebrate the 2022 New Year.
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What an epoic hike / climb! :) The nature is just so breathtakingly beautiful over there. I wish I could teleport there right now from this freezing madness...
@tipu curate
Thank you. I am trying to make the most of it. Summer is in full swing from now to the end of Feb. Hopefully we will have some good days to go for swimming. The place where I live - Wellington, NZ- has a lot of wind so even on a sunny day, we couldn't go for swimming on the beach.
Wishing you a great holiday with family and friends
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nhìn hùng vĩ quá chị ơi
Cám ơn e, uh bên này có mấy cái ngọn núi nhìn hùng vĩ bao la lắm. Tết dương c lại còn đi leo ngọn núi lửa nổi tiếng nữa cơ
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Mt Holdsworth đẹp quá nàng ạ, nhìn chuyến đi của đôi lứa mà thấy thèm, mấy bức panoramic nhìn vui và hấp dẫn quá nàng. Ngày trước ở NZ mỗi lần đi hike tui cũng thiếu sự chuẩn bị kỹ càng nên mỗi lần về là đau từ mông xuống chân haha.
Chúc Vc có chuyến đi vui vẻ ở Tongariro Alpine Crossing nhé
Much !LUV
Cám ơn bà nhé. Uh lần nào đi mà ko tập luyện trước là tôi cũng ê ẩm hết từ mông, đùi rồi bắp chân. Ôi chao cái buổi sáng hôm ngủ dậy sau khi về, phải nói là ko bước nổi. Thế nên lần này có dự trù là sẽ tương tự khi leo Tongariro, hy vọng là nhờ tập luyện thì sẽ đỡ đi phần nào
Nhìn người ta đi mà mình thèm quá, tối ngày cứ quanh quẩn gần nhà 😢
Gần nhà mà đẹp như thế thì lại may quá ko phải đi xa ý. Nhất San vì có biển đẹp tựa tranh vẽ ngay gần nhà
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What a spectacular view!! Worth every step 😍
Thank you for stopping by. I find NZ mountains are all beautiful and unique. so glad I could visit them
Yes you are indeed lucky!! The views in NZ are truly mesmerizing 😍
Ở lào cai cũng có một khu rừng giống như vậy á chị. Hình ảnh trong bài viết của chị cũng rất đẹp, mong một ngày nào đó được đến đất nước này một lần :)
ÔI thế hả em, c ko biết chỗ nào ở Lào Cai, ngày xưa c đi leo Fan nó cũng có một số đoạn tương tự, giống giống cái núi này. Sau này theo chân @trangbaby qua NZ đc đó Khánh. Trang qua đây chắc vẫn cần ng chụp ảnh chuyên nghiệp nhể
The scene is so beautiful 😍
Thank you. It reminds me the mountain landscape in Vietnam :)
Yay thêm một chỗ nữa để đi holiday! Mà công nhận so với mấy năm trước bây giờ sức khoẻ kém thật, leo tí thôi đã mệt bở hơi tai.
uh công nhận so với đợt làm farm sức khỏe kém hơn nhiều. Thế nên lần này mỗi ngày t đều tập luyện leo đồi núi 2 tiếng, hy vọng leo Tongariro về ko bị đau mông với đùi
Bao giờ cậu đi Tongariro đấy?
Mai t xuống Turangi ở một đêm và sẽ leo vào hôm mùng 1. Thấy dự báo thời tiết đẹp nên đang háo hức đây
Ở Tuarangi có thermal pool đấy cậu. Chỗ đấy là TokaanuThermal pool. Đi leo núi xong mà đc ngâm mình trong nước nóng thì gân cốt đc thư giãn biết bao. Have a nice trip nha!
hình như mùng 1 họ đều đóng cửa, t cũng định đi về sẽ chạy ra đó ngâm thư giãn nên định đi một cái ở Taupo. C đi cái Tokaanu đó có ok k?
Tớ đi cái thermal pool đó mấy lần rồi. Ổn áp phết. Đừng chọn mấy cái private room nhá, đc có 30' mà đắt hơn nhiều, nước lại còn nóng lột da luôn. Cậu chọn cái public tốt hơn.
What a great way to celebrate the new year!
I think you should make it a tradition 😁
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Amazing place Ch ơi 😍😍😍
Đi nhiều nghiện thôi chị, lần nào leo e cũng thấy nản rồi tự hứa, mà có làm được đâu.
I'm speechless. Everything is so beautiful.
Is this the trip you practiced for?It's awsome @dora381
Oh no this was the mountain I climbed last year. I am on the way to the Tongariro crossing, famous volcanic area, we are going to climb it tomorrow. So excited
I’ll seat here and wait for your pics about that climbing.
And wish you a Happy New Year Dora.Good luck @dora381
Thank you. The summer has arrived and we are trying to make the most out of it. I am going to climb a vocalno on the first day of the new year. Hope the weather will be nice so we can do it.
Hope you have a nice break and Happy New Year