After the hubbub that was the US trip, it was time to slow down and ease back into my fitness and professional goals. Yeah Nah. With one week of the snow season left in NZ, my friend and I decided to seize the opportunity and visit Tongariro National Park. We were planning to go in July or August, but for personal reasons on both sides, this was the only time we were both free. We stayed a whole week. I drove from my place; she took the train from Auckland, and we ended up in Waimarino, formerly National Park Village. Here are some of the adventures that we got up to.

Waimarino

Waimarino is the highest-altitude township and a really small town; we run around it five times to get a 5km run in. It mostly contains hotels and food places. A village is more apt, considering the population is around 270. We went to Schnapp’s bar, the Station Café, and the Spiral restaurant. The vegetarian and vegan options at these places were mostly abysmal. But the staff were really friendly and would readily check the ingredients for us. Over the days, we had pizza, pasta, and burgers. As well as crumble, sundaes, and cheesecake. On the first day, we were rained in, so we were able to chill and relax before going up to the mountain.

Whakapapa Ski Fields: day one

In the morning, we headed out for our snowboarding lesson. There had been fresh snow on the mountains, and so only certain vehicles were permitted. We went to Whakapapa ski field, which is one of the three ski fields on the mountain, and it was established in 1923. As I had never driven there, we decided to take a shuttle on our first day. The road is really wide, so I was confident I could drive it later on in the week. We got there early, hired our gear here, and then we were ready for our first lesson in snowboarding.

Yes, I know, snowboarding? My friend wanted to learn, and I was like, “Let me try it.” I chose snowboarding over skiing. I researched it, and snowboarding has less severe injuries than skiing, and you are more likely to hurt your hands and wrists than your legs and knees, which was enough to convince me.

I knew snowboarding was going to be hard when I learned the goofy side exists. With my left-handedness, I knew I would be goofy. I really hoped I wasn’t, but I am that unlucky. The snowboarding lesson we had was pretty comprehensive; we learned about the board, strapping ourselves into it, getting up, how to ride edge side and heel side, and how to turn. For me, the board just moved to the opposite side of where I wanted to go. There were a lot of falls, but the snow was soft, and it wasn’t a problem. During the lunch break, we took the gondola up to the Knoll Ridge Chalet, where we went to the Pataka Eatery. It is the café with the highest altitude in NZ; it is really busy, and the food options were just cafeteria food. Additionally, since it started snowing, we couldn’t see the views, so it seemed a bit disappointing. By the afternoon, when we returned, we continued our snowboarding lesson. We told our instructor that we planned to continue learning, so he gave us some things to practise. Overall, a fun day in the snow. My hair froze the first time, and I was reminiscing about the 33°C degree heat I was in a week ago.

Ohakune

About 20km from Waimarino is Ohakune. We decided to drive there to go to the supermarket and have lunch. Ohakune is a town with about 1400 people. We went to their New World, and it is definitely smaller than Foxton. There was a lot more diversity in food options, so we went to an Indian restaurant. It was ok but did the trick. Oddly, after lunch and stocking up on amenities, we drove to the Whakapapa village.

Silica Rapids Walk

Nearby Whakapapa village, there are many trails and hikes. The Tongariro Crossing is around here (on my bucket list, but not in winter). One of the tracks we were interested in doing was Silica Rapids. Silica Rapids is a 6km track and takes about 2 hours. We went to the upper part, but the parking was in the middle of nowhere, so we decided to start from the lower Silica Rapids track. The parking is close to the information centre and was more secure. Silica Rapids was a well-maintained track with no altitude gain, and it was a bit muddy from the rain. There are parts covered in forest and others exposed. There were also information boards along the walk talking about the cool ecological and geological features, such as the golden rapids, which, contrary to the name, don’t contain gold but looks gold due to heavy iron. After a while, the trees stop growing, and conditions for the plants become pretty severe. There were some good views of the Tongariro and Ruapehu mountains along the way. We reached the Silica Rapids, took some photos, and then we walked back to the car park instead of completing the track to the upper section, calling it a day.

Whakapapa Ski Fields: day two

Our snowboarding instructor told us that we would be really sore the next day. We were, but not where I thought. My arms and back were sore, but my legs were fine. Confusing, as snowboarding requires squatting for ages. So today it was clear, and it didn’t snow. The caveat is that there’s a layer of water above the snow, and it becomes really wet. I was able to do a few rounds of freestyle, but it is clear that I need more guidance. It was fun when you got to snowboard, but everything before and after that, not so much. We went to the café at the ski field; the smoothie was nice.

Tawhai Falls Track

After snowboarding, we went to the Tawhai Falls “track”, which is between Whakapapa village and Waimarino. The track starts from the main road and is a 15-minute walk. It is a pretty popular track, also known as Gollum’s Pool, since The Lord of the Rings filmed those scenes here. There is a lookout and then gated access at the location. There is a pretty waterfall, and the water comes with such force that I was really worried about slipping on the rocks as we got closer. It was popular, so we quickly took photos and were done for the day.

Mangawhero Forest Walk

The next day, with our sore bodies, we went to Ohakune again; this time we went around to the train station side. There are a bunch of eateries here, most open for dinner, but the pub was open, so we had lunch there.

After we left the car by the train station, we walked up to do the Mangawhero Forest track, which is on the way to the Turoa ski field. This is not to be confused with the Mangawhero River track, which is longer than this one. The Mangawhero Forest track is a 3.4km loop and takes about an hour. It was a bit muddy, and we saw these ducks, which are apparently rare around these parts. A bunch of logs were cut to make way for the track. We got some pretty views of the Mangawhero River, and it was quite scenic. Some native trees had signs identifying them. Overall, it was pleasant.

Ohakune Adventure Park

Now, this is really for kids, but I told my friend she couldn’t come to Ohakune without seeing the big carrot, so I took her to see it. The Ohakune carrot is now located in the Ohakune Adventure Park. There are now statues of different vegetables that are produced in the Ohakune farms. The park also has a playground with a pirate ship and a rocket ship, among other things. There are also boards about the town’s history, such as how Ohakune became famous for its carrots. Apparently, in Ohakune, Chinese farmers were able to lease the land they cleared to grow vegetables. This resulted in Ohakune producing about 60% of the carrots on the North Island in season. The large carrot at the park was repurposed from a 1983 ANZ ad, after the Turoa skiing field was becoming popular, as an attempt to put Ohakune on the map. Job well done, I say!

Whakapapa Ski Field: Day 3

Third and last day of snowboarding. We came in the morning and were there early; the day was clear. The night before, we watched snowboarding videos to learn to snowboard and to determine what we needed to practise. But when we got there, it was wet, and the beginner ski field was losing its snow. But the main thing was my body was too sore to snowboard. Honestly, the hardest thing I found about snowboarding was getting up after strapping your feet in. You have to use your entire upper body to lift yourself up to the board, and that, too, in a way that you don’t end up sliding down the hill. My body literally refused to compromise. I still tried to practise slowly, but no dice. An hour in, my friend decided to take snowboarding lessons. I stayed, trying to practise what I’d watched, but really slowly. I then broke my fall really badly, which put an end to my snowboarding career.

I remember, with my sore arms and back, feeling cold, and when our snowboard instructor from the original day asked us how it was going. I asked him, “How do you do this everyday?” and he told me that he does it because he loves snowboarding, his job, the team, the people he teaches, and that he is working in something he is passionate about. Lowkey, I was jealous; I missed being passionate about stuff.

Taranaki Falls Track

On our last day of snowboarding, we then decided to walk the Taranaki Falls Track. This is a 6 km loop that takes about 2 hours. We took a bit longer than that, but the track goes through the Mountain Beech forest and shrubland, and you can see evidence of the many volcanic eruptions in the land over the years. I learned about some of these geographic insights on the walk, as there are information boards along the way. We were really sore, but the view of Taranaki Falls was worth it. It was a clear day, so we could see Mount Ruapehu, and we took some photos of the mountain as well. The track is really well maintained, and a lot of people walk it. We were there at 6pm, but some parts of the track are really rocky, so it could get slippery when it’s wet. After finishing the loop track, we then called it a day and went back to pack.

The Chocolate Éclair Shop

On the way back to our respective homes, I decided to stop in Ohakune to try the chocolate éclairs at the Chocolate Éclair shop. The shop is famous for its éclairs, and I wasn’t going to try them, but my cousin recommended them. I also had a coffee there, and it was good. The chocolate éclair was really large; it was about the size of an A4 sheet of paper. It was really sweet and didn’t taste eggy, but I think I prefer my éclairs with pastry cream rather than whipped cream. It was really filling, so perfect for a long road trip.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the trip was pretty fun. I got to hang out with my friend, who I don’t get to see often, and this trip convinced her to learn to drive, which is something I have been pushing her to do since the start of the year! While studying, I have made the road trip to Auckland many times, so it was nice to take some time to explore nature and towns we normally don’t have time to explore. I think Tongariro National Park is really a tourist spot for locals, and to me, it felt like a day trip or a weekend trip. A week seemed like a lot to me, especially because the food offerings are not dietary-requirement-friendly. If I were to go again, I would take more food with me if I wanted to eat something other than burgers and chips.

I am going to go back to do the Tongariro Crossing one day, but what about snowboarding? I am glad I learned how to snowboard; I have a long way to go, but it was nice to learn something in a low-pressure environment. I can be bad at it, and it doesn’t matter to anyone but me. I like that it was really low stakes. Snowboarding takes longer to master than skiing, but it’s easier to become an expert at it. Take my snowboarding instructor; he has only been snowboarding for a few years, but he comes from a surfing background. It inspired me to try sand surfing because I assume it would be similar and I don’t like being cold. Either way, I need to train my back and arms before snowboarding or sand surfing, because it is brutal, especially since I haven’t been to the Gym since July!

My main takeaways from the trip were that I like walking in nature, that I miss being passionate about something, and that you are never too old to learn something. Also need to try making chocolate éclairs again because I don’t have a photo of my first attempt, so did it even happen?