Once again, we went to the indoor soccer final (division 3 - last season we have been paying in division 4))...this time we lost...but we got a trophy anyway (2nd place one).
Despite July being one of the worst months of Winter time in New Zealand, me and Bastien have been biking a lot: in Wainuiomata, on the Rimutaka trail and a bit of the famous 42Traverse!!! :)
The
Rimutaka trail was very nice...me, Bastien, Dion and Briget were biking; there were several tunnels (that used to be part of the railway)...we did a return trip...which, in total, was about 40km.
When we came back to the car, I realized that my wallet, cell phone and backpack (with note and text books inside) were stolen...what to do? Obviously, report it to the police and "play the waiting game"!!! :(
Since Bastien is about to leave New Zealand to go back to France, me and him have been on a crazy weekend - we have decided to do
Tongariro crossing (famous 1-day walk of about 18.5 km) in one day and the
42 Traverse (biking trail of about 47 km) in the next one. We have used Alistair's place, in Tokaanu (near Taupo, where we had already been in June) as base for our adventure.
In the end, because of "logistic issues", we ended up in crossing half of Tongariro and we had to return when we were almost at the top of Tongariro mountain, it was too slippery because of the ice (and we had no proper gear, like ice axes and crampons). Anyway, great landscapes...and a lot of snow!!! :)
Also because of a "logistic issue", we couldn't manage to complete the 42 Traverse - instead, we decided to do some loop, so that we could end up back at the car (couldn't manage to find any transportation from ending to starting point where we have left the car). But in the end, we missed the route and had to update the plan...and twice more again...until we had realized we were a bit lost. Fortunately, Bastien had his GPS and...headlamp, since it was completely dark, and we manage to find the way back to the car. The result was 2 exhausted guys driving back to Wellington on Sunday evening...well, at least no one got (seriously) hurt! :)
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| Tongariro crosssing I |
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| Tongariro crossing II |
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| Ali's thermal pool (once again) |
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| 42 Traverse I |
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| 42 Traverse II |
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| The car inside, after the weekend in Tongariro National Park (biking and walking) |
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| The bikes, after being the weekend - too many puddles!!! |
