Back to National Park with Viggy and Meera

Hi-ho, Tom here.  We had a great visit with our two friends from the Garden State, Viggy and Meera!  Of course, what could we do but take them to National Park - you can see those mountains from our house and they draw you to them inexorably.  Better to give in and just go stand before them.

Here are Meera, Viggy, me, and a threatening Aidan:

We hiked the Taranaki Falls walk, a two-hour walk that we made three and a half hours due to many stops.  It is a spectacular hike with amazing scenery at the base of Ruapehu.  The views of Ngauruhoe (aka Mount Doom) are great, too.  Here is Jasper, perched on a little rock near the trail:

We stopped for snacks - super-special cocoa and mint Rice Krispie treats supplied by Meera.  I am undoubtedly dispensing essential fatherly wisdom.

Meera and Viggy are pondering my wisdom, certainly.  I am not sure if Viggy's hand leaped to cover his mouth as he realized the depth of my insight or if he is politely stifling a chortle.  I expect the former.

We made it to the top of the falls.  Here is Meera, relaxing beside the stream that plunges over the falls just off the bottom of this picture.

Here is Aidan pretending to slide into the stream.  This isn't as dangerous as it seems in this photo, I swear.

More wisdom, this time about the stream, likely.

Jasper and Meera, happy:

You can't really get enough of Taranaki Falls.  It is a beautiful plunge in a beautiful setting.  Here is one of about a thousand photos we've taken of the falls:

Jasper, displaying the muscles he is building through the steady consumption of cocoa Rice Krispie treats.

Mount Doom, always awesome, always threatening to unleash an unstoppable evil across the globe.  Don't look at it too long - it will look back and then you will clutch at the ring hanging around your neck and wince in pain with your incredibly soulful blue eyes.

Aidan, pondering the ancient evil:

Evelyn, trying in vain to comfort Jasper in the face of implacable evil:

I have to admit, my heart skipped a beat when he leaned over like this at the edge of this chasm, but that didn't stop me from taking a quick picture before spiriting him away from the edge.  It isn't as dangerous as it looks, I swear.

That's Evelyn and the boys down there.

A bunch of Lord of the Rings scenes were filmed in the park.  This falls and pool were used as the Forbidden Pool that hides the entrance to Faramir's secret lair.  Remember Gollum singing his silly fish song and Frodo saving him from being shot by Faramir's archers in the moonlight?  Surely, you do.  Admit it.  Or watch the movies again, for God's sake.  Why don't you have them memorized?

Here is a funny group shot.  Jasper nailed it.

I'll close with a portrait of Ruapehu.  That's an awesome mountain.  I could look at it all day.  Standing in its shadow makes you understand why early people considered mountains gods.  The Maori don't stand on top of mountains because it is disrespectful and disturbs the sacredness of the place.  I get that when I am looking at Ruapehu.