I could probably climb Everest next.

I am amazing.

Well, most of you already knew that I'm sure, but I am just restating how amazing I am.

I am so amazing, that I completed an 18.5 km hike (UPHILL!!) in 8 hours (including breaks).

Amazed? You should be. I am so out of shape and un-athletic its not even funny. Eoin already described the hike, but I am going to tell you how it really was...

First, it was very misleading. You get dropped off in a parking lot and walk the path that is fairly flat that leads you towards the mountains. Then, there is a boardwalk! How easy. I was totally digging that part, if only the entire walk was on an elevated flat surface...SUDDENLY you see huge rocky staircases that zig-zag all over the world. We started in New Zealand, went through Indonesia, stopped for a breather in Mexico and climbed higher and higher until we made it to the top (or so we thought) in Nigeria. We rested for a bit, drank some water, looked around, and realized there were MORE STAIRS. Who ever invented the Tongariro Crossing must have hated me. Eoin points out, "at least it had stairs"...well shut up Eoin. I hate climbing and exercize, so there. Anway, we climbed the rest of the stairs and found ourselves on Mars crossing a huge crater. This part was also slightly misleading, as we had climbed so much and were rewarded with a perfectly flat walk right up to the most dangerous/vertical/intense climb on the mountain. This was not hiking, my friends, this was rock climbing. Good thing Camp Micah has the rock wall so I was a bit of a professional on the mountain. Hannah Churwin taught me well, I totally made it to the top (except I climbed it, I wasn't hoisted up by buff male-counselors).

This part of the mountain was called the red crater, and it is also the "Point of NO Return". Intense! On bad days, hikers have to literally CRAWL up the rocky ledge. If you slip and fall into the crater, you don't come back out. Thank goodness we had nice weather, huh? At the top of the steep climb is a rocky area that most hikers stopped to have lunch. We ate there too, and then Eoin was all "I'm going to the top of Mt. Tongariro!!!111!!!". This was an extra 1.5 hour hike, and I only went as far as where the snow started. It was fun watching people slip and slide down the side of the mountain, but it got cold after a while waiting for Eoin.

When he returned from the summit we continued our hike. We tramped along until we came to our first downward descent! And guess what, it was 100% Skree. WHat is skree? Well, its basically rocks and dirt that allow you to have no solid footing so you end up sliding down the mountain. Eoin opted for the "Run down the mountain" technique, but I opted for the "Join the old ladies and walk so slow" technique. I ended up with less dirt in my boots, so I think I made the better choice.

At the bottom of this part, were two small lakes that were turquoise/neon green color. Very cool. From this point on it was mostly flat/downhill with a few random and annoying up hill sections. (Really, who puts trails going UP HILL on the way DOWN a mountain??). We stopped for about 10 minutes at the hut (where people doing the overnight hikes stay) and shortly afterward my right ankle began hurting with even the slightest ammount of pressure. The last two hours of our hike I hobbled, but we managed to make it to the end of the trail just in time to catch our bus back to the camp ground.

My legs still hurt, but my ankle is doing much better..despite the fact I now have cankles!!

Anyway. I am running out of time and don't want to bore you all, but I just wanted to do a quick run down of everything else we've done on our mini-vacation so far...

-Zorbing. SO AMAZING. It is basically a giant gerbil ball that Eoin and I went in and rolled down a hill. It was filled with water, and we were slipping and sliding and bouncing all over the place, but it was one of the most fun things I've done.

- Hot Water Beach.Hot water beach is situated on top of a volcanic area, and apparently if you dig a shallow hole you will find hot water! Eoin tried to find us a hot water spot, but couldn't. Neither could anyone else on the beach digging. Sad.

- Cathedral Cove. Awesome beaches and scenery. If it wasn't such a cloudy rainy day when we went we would have most likely stayed all day. However, on an overcast day an hour was plenty of time.

-Hamilton. A nice city where we are currently staying. We went to the zoo today, and walked around the downtown area. Not terribly exciting, but it is nice.

Alright, we are going to get some dinner! I will post pictures later when we have more time/better internet.

Alexa