From Matamata we drove on further into the center of the island. I have written little so far of the diversity of this place...flora and fauna, geography, culture, and the rest. It really is beyond belief. In the north of the island, you would think you were in England. OK, there are no Norman churches, nor castles, nor hill forts. But there are beautiful small towns, rolling green hills, dotted with woods here and there, and sheep and sheep and more sheep, and also lots of dairy cattle. When you look at the woods more closely, however, you begin to see fern trees, Kauri trees, radial pines, and many other sorts of vegetation that don't belong in England. And although there are no hill forts nor castles, many, many of the hills are terraced. At first, we thought we were looking at something like Mt. Dumbo in Missoula, where the terraces resulted from varying shorelines of glacial lake Missoula. But here the terraced hills are all over the island, some right on the sea. It turns out these are remnants of Maori hill villages, fortifications, ramparts, staircases, and the rest. The extent of the works is more than impressive.
The northern half of the island, such as we saw, was bays and beaches, and harbors and islands, and beautiful green rolling hills and forests. In the interior now, at a place called Whakapapa, we are in the mountainous volcanic zone of the northern island, just west of an enormous caldera/lake. From Matamata west, one is in a seismic zone comparable to Yellowstone, geysers and mudpots, and the like, but all towered over by three snow-capped and active volcanoes. We are at a hotel at the foot of Mt. Ruapehu (about 8,000 feet), which last erupted in 1995. (The largest volcanic explosion in recorded history occurred here in AD 181, creating the giant Lake Taupo.) This afternoon we drove up to the ski area above Whakapapa, where a variety of scenes from LOTR were shot, most notably some of those from Mordor and Emyn Muil. The rain and mist have stayed all day, and only added to the gloomy and forbidding sense of the place.
Family and friends will be relieved to know that, despite the surroundings, we are having as much of a traditional Christmas as is possible. We don't recall ever having a Christmas just the two us, in forty or more years. However, we bought and decorated a small Bongo-sized (artificial) Christmas tree, we have bought and wrapped small presents for each other, and we have even had the traditional Christmas eve fondue dinner, the cheese and chocolate courses anyway.
The northern half of the island, such as we saw, was bays and beaches, and harbors and islands, and beautiful green rolling hills and forests. In the interior now, at a place called Whakapapa, we are in the mountainous volcanic zone of the northern island, just west of an enormous caldera/lake. From Matamata west, one is in a seismic zone comparable to Yellowstone, geysers and mudpots, and the like, but all towered over by three snow-capped and active volcanoes. We are at a hotel at the foot of Mt. Ruapehu (about 8,000 feet), which last erupted in 1995. (The largest volcanic explosion in recorded history occurred here in AD 181, creating the giant Lake Taupo.) This afternoon we drove up to the ski area above Whakapapa, where a variety of scenes from LOTR were shot, most notably some of those from Mordor and Emyn Muil. The rain and mist have stayed all day, and only added to the gloomy and forbidding sense of the place.
Family and friends will be relieved to know that, despite the surroundings, we are having as much of a traditional Christmas as is possible. We don't recall ever having a Christmas just the two us, in forty or more years. However, we bought and decorated a small Bongo-sized (artificial) Christmas tree, we have bought and wrapped small presents for each other, and we have even had the traditional Christmas eve fondue dinner, the cheese and chocolate courses anyway.
Vicki adds:
Christmas Eve, 2008—Mordor—Tongariro National Park, New Zealand
Yes, we are in Mordor and this afternoon walked the path that Frodo, Sam and Gollum took out of Emyn Muil and into Mordor. Yesterday, I walked through Bilbo Baggins door at Bag End and took the first step “out the door” and onto The Road Goes Ever On. I had my picture made in front of the Party Tree and collected bark from the oak that grew from the top of Bag End. I am in Hobbit heaven and having a very Merry and unforgettable Christmas. What is missing is sharing it with family and friends. When I bought the cheese for our Christmas Eve fondue today, I wished the deli clerk a Merry Christmas and started crying. But we are having a good Christmas.
We have a tiny tree that was strapped down in the van and tonight we are in a hotel (the highest in New Zealand) on the flanks of a volcano with two more right next door. We have moved the tree onto the tv set and laid out the presents. For dinner we clandestinely made cheese fondue on our one burner stove and then chocolate fondue with fruit. We have also managed to squeeze in watching half of Christmas Vacation on our Ipod and a quick trip to the hot tub. After presents and a hotel breakfast in the morning we head off for Ohakune to see Ithilien and part of the River Anduin. We have a very busy next three days leaving the Shire and visiting Wellington before we take the ferry to the South Island and start our first 5 day trek along the coastline at Abel Tasmin Park.
I am very behind in my blog as we only allowed 2 weeks for the North Island and it needs about 2 months. We have been camping most nights and sightseeing and driving from early in the morning to late in the evening. There has been lots of light since as you know, December 21st is the longest day of the year! Having summer in December takes a lot of getting used to even for native Floridians.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Vicki
Christmas Eve, 2008—Mordor—Tongariro National Park, New Zealand
Yes, we are in Mordor and this afternoon walked the path that Frodo, Sam and Gollum took out of Emyn Muil and into Mordor. Yesterday, I walked through Bilbo Baggins door at Bag End and took the first step “out the door” and onto The Road Goes Ever On. I had my picture made in front of the Party Tree and collected bark from the oak that grew from the top of Bag End. I am in Hobbit heaven and having a very Merry and unforgettable Christmas. What is missing is sharing it with family and friends. When I bought the cheese for our Christmas Eve fondue today, I wished the deli clerk a Merry Christmas and started crying. But we are having a good Christmas.
We have a tiny tree that was strapped down in the van and tonight we are in a hotel (the highest in New Zealand) on the flanks of a volcano with two more right next door. We have moved the tree onto the tv set and laid out the presents. For dinner we clandestinely made cheese fondue on our one burner stove and then chocolate fondue with fruit. We have also managed to squeeze in watching half of Christmas Vacation on our Ipod and a quick trip to the hot tub. After presents and a hotel breakfast in the morning we head off for Ohakune to see Ithilien and part of the River Anduin. We have a very busy next three days leaving the Shire and visiting Wellington before we take the ferry to the South Island and start our first 5 day trek along the coastline at Abel Tasmin Park.
I am very behind in my blog as we only allowed 2 weeks for the North Island and it needs about 2 months. We have been camping most nights and sightseeing and driving from early in the morning to late in the evening. There has been lots of light since as you know, December 21st is the longest day of the year! Having summer in December takes a lot of getting used to even for native Floridians.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Vicki
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