Mount Taranaki *win*

So two weeks ago we attempted to climb to the summit of Mount Taranaki but we failed because the weather was really terrible... this time we succeeded! The adventure starts out with us heading back to the same black sand beach, this time we swam across a freaking *freezing* river that forms as the tide was going out to sea over to an island.

The river wasn't too deep so don't freak out family...





After leaving the beach we got pulled over by the police.

He harassed Aaron pretty good including quizzing him on what type of "corrective lenses" he wears and breathalyzing him (it was 7pm), we eventually got a ticket for doing 12 over the "posted legal limit" speed limit although Aaron swears that he was not speeding.
That night we hiked (and camped out) through the Ngatoro Track which is also known as the goblin forest but we didn't know that until the next day. Thank God. This was super creepy and I had to keep reminding myself that there aren't any dangerous animals, snakes, or insects in New Zealand. Phew. We did see some huge spiders hanging out in the crazy gnarled trees though. That was really freaky.

We hit the trail early in the morning at about 9am, it was a beautiful and sunny day with only a few wispy clouds as far as the eye could see.

As the tree line faded behind us the first sighting of snow made the tramp (hike) very real. Very quickly the dirt turned into a scoria slushy and we came eye to eye with the clouds. The higher we climbed the thinner the air got and the deeper the snow got. It also got colder! I had to throw on my Eddie Bauer First Ascent midweight baselayer and zip on the leg part of my convertible pants which made me the perfect amount of toasty and breathable.





The top we absolutely stunning!!!!!



At the top we drank beer with mountains on the can and called choc fudge time.












 After we headed into New Plymouth and got fish and chips and some beer then DEVOURED it all. In the morning we headed back into the goblin forest to see what it is like in the day light.  It was a totally different experience!
We found a stream and these two trees that had the same root system that was suspended above the ground, I've never seen something like this before.

We traveled to the White Cliffs walkway on the way home, because we saw a road sign. The walls of the cliff are white with sea salt (we tested this by licking the wall naturally)

This is one of the best weekends of my life. I highly recommend that you do this climb. This weekend starts the beginning of semester break! That's 16 days of no classes and just traveling around on the South Island.