Above the Clouds: Climbing Mt. Taranaki

1/10/14

Three days ago, Simon and I ventured into the New Zealand wild just outside New Plymouth to climb Mt. Taranaki.  We had read in our New Zealand travel guide that Taranaki is the most beautiful mountain in the entire country, and we came to New Plymouth for the sole reason of seeing it for ourselves.  Upon arriving at the base of the mountain, we quickly realized that this endeavor would be no simple hike; only about halfway up the mountain we could see massive deposits of snow, despite the fact that it is the middle of summer here in the southern hemisphere.  With nothing more than a bottle of water each, we started to make our way up the trail.

            The path up the mountain began in what looked more like a gravel road than a hiking trail.  As we ascended, the path got narrower and narrower, until it became two strips of crude gravel pavement that provided access to a small lodge on the mountainside.  This driveway was incredibly steep, and I found myself wondering what kinds of cars could even make it up to the lodge.  Surely, I thought, only the mightiest of four by fours would ever stand a chance.

            The real climbing began after we got up the driveway and past the lodge.  The pavement gave way to a dirt trail that wound itself around rocks and brush-covered ridges, until we found ourselves gazing up a massive flight of stairs built in to the side of the mountain.  Many of the stairs were covered in rocks that had fallen from above, and I often caught myself glancing upwards and to either side to ensure that no more rockslides were tumbling over the mountain’s ridges to crash down upon us. 

            On our way up the stairs, we found that already we had climbed high enough to be in the midst of the clouds.  They move incredibly fast when you are so close, and they seem to take a far less defined shape as wisps of white swirl away into the wind, much like the smoke from a campfire.  This path, I thought, was a very literal stairway to heaven.

            At the top of the long staircase, we were above the clouds and looking down on them.  They moved with such natural grace that they appeared to dance, and we settled down for a while upon a large boulder to watch the show.

  There was no longer any form of vegetation to be seen at this height, and we resumed our ascent up a long stretch of small rocks.  This part of the trek strongly resembled the climb up to the summit of Mt. Doom, if only a little less steep.

  There was no trail to be followed now, but the best way up the mountain was roughly marked by orange stakes jutting out from the rocks.  We found this to be much more helpful than the way up Mt. Doom, which provides no paths or guidance whatsoever.

            We encountered the first patch of snow about halfway up the stretch of small rocks.  The snow deposits became bigger and more frequent as we made our way up, until the small rocks became big ones and the incline of the mountain increased.  Here, we always required the use of at least one hand to continue making progress towards the summit, and often I had to hold my nearly empty bottle of water clenched between my teeth so as to free up both hands and be able to pull myself up the rocks.  At this point, we were essentially climbing as you would a rock wall, only without the burden of ropes and a harness.

            We continued in this manner for about two hours, until the incline finally leveled out and revealed a gigantic field of snow.  

There was a rocky peak on either side, the one on the right being the highest, and we estimated that we only had about twenty more minutes worth of climbing before we would reach the summit.  After pausing briefly to fill our empty water bottles with snow, we resumed our trek upwards.

            We reached the summit in fifteen minutes, and the panoramic view was absolutely breathtaking.  

We stayed at the top for about an hour, soaking in the scenery, taking pictures, and marveling at how high above the clouds we were.  We met several really friendly people who were doing the same thing, as we all took shelter from the ridiculously strong and equally cold wind behind the biggest rock that we could find.  Most of those that we met were Kiwis, and all but one of them were climbing Mt. Taranaki for the first time.  Everyone agreed that the stunning views were well worth the trek up.

            We made our way back down the mountain in about two hours, stopping only to fill our bottles up with more snow and empty our shoes of pebbles accumulated from sliding down the rocky parts of the mountain, much like we had on our descent of Mt. Doom.  We met another American who hailed from California in the parking lot as we reached the car.  After we found out we were all bound for Wellington the next day, he asked us if we had any room in the car, and I told him that we did.  We then discovered that we were all staying at the same hostel, which further simplified our travel plans.  His name was Boots, and he was a very laid-back and amiable fellow.

            The next morning, I called a number that I had seen written in soap on a Jeep four by four two days before, which was for sale at a very affordable price.  A guy named John answered, and I asked him if I might take a quick look at the truck.  He said I could, and I met him immediately afterwards at the spot where I had seen the Jeep parked.  It had sixty thousand less kilometers on it than our Honda, and it seemed to me a very solid car that had aged well.  I took it in for a pre-purchase mechanical inspection, and the mechanic wholly agreed with me…it had no major issues, needing only an oil change, a new oil filter, and a wheel alignment.  The engine was also reportedly in outstanding shape.  Given this information, I began talking with John to see if we could find an agreeable price, and we quickly settled on $1,000 (eight hundred U.S. dollars).  I’m now the proud owner of an army green 1995 Jeep Cherokee.  

I took my new truck into a garage immediately after to have all the necessary work done, and Boots and I were quickly on our way to Wellington, all my worries of getting stuck in the deep snow of the South Island forgotten.

            We arrived in Wellington at about 6:30, and I was immediately struck by how much it reminded me of San Francisco.  It’s virtually indistinguishable from typical American cities, and the whole place is remarkably hilly, making for lots of dangerously steep roads.  Boots and I checked in to the hostel Kellogg and Simon had arrived at a little while before, and we went out to get some groceries to cook a hearty dinner and settle in for the night.

            Kellogg found a job working construction the next day, and he agreed to buy Simon and I out of our shares in the Honda, as he would be needing the car on a daily basis to get to and from work.  Simon and I spent most of the day walking around the city to get a feel for the place, as well as stopping in to hostels to see if we could work for accommodation.  We then browsed the job listings to see if there was any promising work in the area, but quickly agreed that another WWOOFing gig sounded much more appealing than anything we were turning up so far.  The day after, we drove the Jeep out to the shore to explore a few capes and beaches there, where we were very happy to find some seals lazing about on the rocks.  

We also took the Jeep off-roading, and it did incredibly well driving over beaches, rocks, and even through a shallow river.  Any doubts I’d had about buying an eight hundred dollar car were quickly put to rest.  It’s funny, but I’m somehow really happy to be driving an American car all the way out here on the other side of the world.

            I’m now sitting at the Wellington public library for some free internet, which I’m surprised to find is probably the slowest of anywhere we’ve been so far, despite the size of both the city and its library.  Maybe it’s just because there are more people using it, but I’ve been having real trouble uploading any pictures to either facebook or the blog.  One of my friends I’ve met here in New Zealand who is already on the South Island recently told me that the internet gets significantly worse down there, which I told her I find pretty difficult to believe.  Regardless, I feel like I can hardly wait to see all the famous sights of the South Island, but I’ll be here in Wellington for another month before my ferry leaves.  Simon and I will probably get a WWOOFing gig before then so as to save money on our accommodations, and I’ll write again as soon as we find out what exactly we’ll be doing.

Soaking up the city lights in New Zealand’s best imitation of America,

Jack