We started walking the 18k walk at about 7am. The first obstacle was making it up the Devil's Staircase. I would like to say that it was more difficult than I initially thought it would be. After basically rock climbing, we made it to the base of Mt Ngauruhoe (aka Mt Doom from Lord of the Rings). Now, they say that if you have trouble with the Devil's Staircase you shouldn't try climbing Mt Doom. I looked at it wondering if I should and realising I'd regret it if I didn't, I began to climb. I've never actually climbed up a mountain full of volcanic rock before. To say it was difficult is an understatement. I was so tired by the time I made it up, but completely thrilled.
When Chris and I finally made it to the top (I think he stayed behind because he felt sorry for my slow butt! ha) we sat and ate lunch. The view was beyond amazing and I didn't want to leave, but we were on a schedule and didn't want to miss our bus (haha I laugh at this statement).
They say that climbing down should only take about 30 minutes. Once again, because I'd never climbed this sort of mountain before, I found this to be a challenge. I'm not sure that challenge is a strong enough word here, but it will have to do for now. I'm really not sure how long it took me to get down. Let's just say that I thought Chris had left me and was long gone by the time I reached the bottom. Actually, I was almost to the bottom when a guy who was climbing said there was some guy waiting for me. (YAY!) I wanted to cry I was so happy he'd waited but I was already covered in my tears in fear. Yes, you read right. I cried about half way down the mountain. I fell a couple of times and pretty much scared myself so badly I was in tears. I cried, I prayed, I sang some church songs. I did everything I could think of to have enough faith that I was going to make it down. Let's just say that by the time I made it down, Chris and I were about an hour and a half (What?!?) behind schedule and the bus had warned us that they would not wait for anyone. Oh. My. Goodness. How were we going to get to the hostel?
Chris tried to convince me that it wasn't the end of the world if we missed the bus but that we should at least try to make it anyway. And so the very quick walk began. I kept wanting to stop for water and Chris kept saying wait till we reach this point or here have some chocolate, keep walking. Seriously, he was beyond encouraging and I am forever grateful for him putting up with me that day. We reached this bush area and according to our schedule, we had about 1.5 hours left before the bus left and a suggested 2 hours walk ahead of us. When we reached the forest, we had 45 minutes until the bus left and it was suggested that it would take at least an hour. At one point, Chris got a bit ahead of me and seeing as how it freaks me out to be in the woods by myself, I jogged to catch up to him. We finally saw the exit (thank you God!) and our bus was still there! We made it....with two minutes to spare! Wow.
Now, here's a picture of the reason I made it to the bus on time:
And here are some other pictures of amazing things I saw along the way:
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