Ruapehu

We arrived at the guide centre bright and early, and the day was looking clear (apart from a worrying pre-storm cloud on one of Ruapehu's summits).

The guide (spud) however was looking a bit glum and only offering a 50:50 chance of going up due to the aforementioned impeding cyclone. To make matters worse, the chair lift was suffering with mechanical problems.

We hung around for an hour and then Spud said that we could go for it if we were happy to risk walking back down the chairlift run if they closed due to wind. He was still pessimistic about allowing us up to the crater-lake due to strong winds on the summit ridge.

So we went for it.

It was freezing on the chairlift and we finally needed the winter clothes that we've lugged around for the last 6 weeks.

Spud was in regular contact with the base station and their weather reports and was constantly checking his wind meter with a worried look on his face. At one point, he called his mate, who ran a scenic-flight company, and could see the south side of the mountain. Unfortunately his mate was in Taupo, not flying the aeroplane that had just flown over us.

We pressed on as it wasn't getting worse, and eventually made the ridge, to find excellent visibility, and no more wind than you would find on a typical British hillside. Spud looked a bit sheepish and explained how difficult it is to predict NZ weather.

We hiked up the ridge and finally found the crater lake.

Today, it was a metallic grey and steaming gently. The guides reckoned that it is about 25 degrees C, and pH 1.1.
It apparently fluctuations between 15 and 60 degrees on a timescale that depends on what mood Ruapehu is in.

All that remained was to head back down to the chairlift, safe in the knowledge that the light breeze will not have closed it.

As it turned out, there was an easier way down than we'd come up. Simply find a patch of snow and boot-ski down to the chairlift.

Tomorrow morning, we're heading off on the Whanganui river canoe, so you won't hear from us for a week or so.