Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Wednesday, 26 September. News Headlines: "New Zealand Volcano Errupts", "Mount Ruapehu volcano wakes up", " Volcano eruption victim loses leg", "Lord of the Smoke Rings". ??!!!!!Its official that Tuesday night whilst lying in my cozy bed and reading my book, some people were fearing for their lives. And why would this be important for me to write about? Because not far from them we were staying in a hotel at the base of Mount Ruapehu, the mountain which " ...sent ash and steam nearly three miles into the air ... while mud and rocks raced down the mountainside and injured at least three people..." [INTERESTING FACTS: The central North Island of NZ is dominated by the Volcanic Plateau - which is an active volcanic and thermal area. Mt Ruapehu (the highest North Island mountain) is one of the more ative volcanoes within the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Oh, and the longest name in the world for a place, is a hill in the Hawke's Bay region, also North Island (remember to have a bottle of wine before you try to say it): Tuamatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatau !! Wow!]It was rather devastating news when we woke up on Wednesday morning and heard about the volcano. (Especially being all geared to go skiing, just to find out that the mountain would be closed for the day. Bummer!). Whilst on the topic of skiing: it was FABULOUS!! And Kirsten: I DID IT!! Yes, i also didn't have much faith in li'l ol' me, but I DID IT! Woo-hoo!! I did skiing and snowboarding, so i can officially say that skiing is much easier to grasp on the first day, but snowboarding is much more fun! Although with snowboarding i found my butt more in the snow than anything else and i ended up being soaking wet, which is not nice when its flipping cold!! Mel and I went up the ski lift to the "upper mountain" (where only the experienced ski-ers ski (?)), and it is such an incredible feeling being so high up the mountain where everything is covered in snow! Like a fairytale! White. Quiet. Cold. Surreal. But the eruption wasn't the only frustration of our holiday. Read Part two for more...
- comments