Tuesday, March 1, 2011

“Tramping around Middle Earth” Martin’s photos around Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

8220 Tramping around Middle Earth 8221 Martin 8217 s photos around Franz Josef Glacier New Zealand

“Tramping around Middle Earth” Martin’s photos around Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

A TripAdvisor acirc cent TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Franz Josef Glacier New Zealand by TravelPod blogger Martin titled quot Tramping around Middle Earth quot Martin s travel blog entry quot Since my last update I seem to have been speeding around NZ at a fair old pace trying to cram all the sights and activities into the time available Us travellers just get so much stress I hope I have your sympathy From Taupo it was a very early start to drive to Tongariro National Park to attempt what is reputedly the best one day hike or tramp as it is called here in the country - the 6 hour 17km Tongariro Crossing The route passes through alpine scrub between two semi-active volcanoes and up to craters and the bright green emerald lakes see pics The landscape is stunning here and was used in filming some of the Lord of the Rings scenes Unfortunately it was quite misty when we were walking so there were only occaisional glimpses of the perfectly conical shape of Mount Ngauruhoe It was also extremely windy and cold at the highest point so Alison and I were glad to return to National Park village for a big meal with too much wine From the park we spent a day driving to the capital Wellington via Wanganui and the scenic Wanganui River National Park Wellington was in the grip of Lord of the Rings fever because the global premiere of the third film in the trilogy was due to take place a few days after my arrival This meant that accomodation was very difficult to find and tourist office staff had taken to wearing green cloaks and other Middle Earth garb I read that some Japanese Tolkien fanatics had placed an order with the New Zealand company that supplied costumes for the film crew The order was not written in Japanese or English but elveish We found a motel not too far from Cuba Street one of the restaurant districts The local radio station breathlessly announced that some unknown actors who played hobbits had been sighted eating at one of the cafes there Wellington itself was a very charming place if a little traffic congested It is built around a harbour and quite compact I thought it had more going for it than Auckland which is several times larger A big attraction is the new Te Papa Museum at the harbour which celebrates life in New Zealand It was also good to take the cable car up the hill to get the view over the city and walk back down through the Botanic Gardens After three nights of urban therapy to recover from walking around volcanoes and geysers it was time to escape the Lord of the Rings hysteria and take the ferry to Picton on the South Island where the ratio of sheep to people is much higher and there is more dramatic landscape After nine days together Alison headed back north to Auckland We had had a good few days driving around the north island discussing which celebrities we would sleep with and her exclaiming every few minutes Why have I come It looks just like Wales here True - it does have a lot of sheep and people who speak English with a funny accent but I haven t noticed any geysers or volcanoes around Cardiff Picton is in the Marlborough Sound region where the flooded river valleys give the coast a Scandanavian look I drove yep hired another car at Picton to the Marlborough winery region noted for its Sauvignon Blancs but I was very good and avoided a tasting tour whilst driving The vines sure looked good with the snow capped mountains in the background though Near Picton there is a good 4 day hike the Queen Charlotte Trek around the coast and I decided to walk one day of it with Jan who I travelled with in the Bay of Islands see last entry and two German girls he met on the ferry A water taxi dropped us off at Punga Cove to start the walk and on the way we saw 5 or 6 dolphins swimming next to and under the boat jumping playfully through the water Unfortunately I did not get good pics - they were so quick and it was hard to spot where they would jump up next The one day walk was 24km long with a few quot Read and see more at http www travelpod com travel-blog-entries martin great escapade 1070668800 tpod html Photos from this trip 1 quot - View from Tongariro Crossing Walk quot 2 quot - Tongariro Crossing the Emerald lakes quot 3 quot - Wanganui River Valley quot 4 quot - Wellington from the upper cable car station quot 5 quot - Wellington Lord of the Rings figure quot 6 quot - Marlborough Sound approaching Picton quot 7 quot -Dolphin in Marlborough Sound quot 8 quot - View from the Queen Charlotte Trek quot 9 quot - Marlborough Sound quot 10 quot - My tepee at Marahau quot 11 quot - Abel Tasman National Park quot 12 quot - Torrent Bay Abel Tasman National Park quot 13 quot - Tonga Island Abel Tasman NP quot 14 quot - Onetahuti Beach Abel Tasman NP quot 15 quot - Pancake rocks quot See this TripWow and more at http tripwow tripadvisor com tripwow ta-00cb-6666-a368 ytv4 1

Brought to you by Pinoy Videos - The Pinoy Youtube (Pinoy Videos, Pinoy Movies, Philippines TV, Pinoy TV, Pinoy Multimedia Sharing)

No comments:

Post a Comment