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| View of Lake Taupo from our apartment |
Lake Taupo is particularly remarkable because
it forms a caldera created 26,500 years ago by the world's largest volcanic eruption (the “Oranui eruption”) in the last 70,000 years, which likely contributed to the last Ice Age. 1,170 cubic kilometers of material were
ejected into the atmosphere. The Central
North Island was covered by materials up to 200 meters deep, and almost 20 cm of
ash was deposited as far as 1000 kilometers away.
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| Last glimpse of the valley below before we disappear in the clouds surrounding Mt. Doom |
Since that time Taupo has experienced about
25 additional eruptions. The most
recent, the Hatepe eruption, was in 180 CE, when 100 cubic kilometers of
material were ejected, making it one of the most violent eruptions in the last
5,000 years. (By comparison, the Mount
Saint Helens eruption in 1980 ejected less than 3 cubic kilometers of
material.)
Our plan for Christmas Eve was to walk the
Tongariro Crossing, a 19km long Alpine track that crosses a mountain pass
between the two prominent volcanoes, Mt. Ruapehu, and Mt. Ngauruhoe just south
of Lake Taupo. Mt. Ngaurohoe features prominently in the Lord of the Rings
movies as Mount Doom.
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| The road into Mordor and towards Mount Doom |
Unfortunately the weather would not cooperate
that day and the mountains were shrouded in deep hanging clouds and mist.
We still drove up into these mountains where
a quick Google Maps search revealed the nearby location of Mordor. iPhone in hand we hiked through the mist
until our physical location perfectly matched the location of Mordor on the
map. What a great place for a picture! Who else has been to Mordor on Christmas Eve?
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| There is no closer to getting to Mordor. We're right there. |
Back in Taupo we spent the rest of Christmas Eve playing family games in our apartment before heading our for dinner at The Bistro, Taupo’s premier restaurant.
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| Gudrun felt right at home when found a ski hut with such a familiar name. |
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