Today we woke up to an unusual surprise – about 5 cm of windblown snow that had accumulated throughout the night. Although Mt. Ruapehu looked like a spectacular winter wonderland from our window, we began packing layers on layers (six for some people) and trundled down the hill from our ski lodge, resembling the kids from A Christmas Story. Our assignment seemed fairly simple for the day - create a detailed map of the geology of a valley at the base of Mount Ngauruhoe, which some might know as Mount Doom from the Lord of the Rings. Mount Doom seemed an appropriate name as we worked through five different elements of rain, sleet, hail, snow, and as Lydia describes, “snail,” a mix of it all. We ventured out to the valley at the base of the mountain for some mapping, armed with only tracing paper and a map. As we hiked several kilometers through the valley, we examined features such as topography, vegetation, and the texture, structure, and composition of the rocks we saw. By examining these features, we were able to determine the age of the geological units as they related to the eruption of the Taupo ignimbrite, 1800 years ago. We were able to determine the relative ages based upon whether or not the landscape had ignimbrite from the Taupo eruption. From there, we used more detailed observations such as amount of erosion and vegetation to pinpoint distinctions between units and their relative ages.
Our apparently simple assignment turned into four hours of off-trail hiking, searching for answers to our seemingly endless questions of Ngauruhoe lava deposits, and whether they were pre-Taupo and post-Taupo. Although we entered the valley with little knowledge of mapping, we left soaked with both rain and geological knowledge. However, our adventures were not to end with us piling into the cars to go home.
When we arrived at the entrance to the road leading to our temporary ski-lodge home, we were met with a closed road and a ranger telling us to turn around. The breathtaking snow from the morning had apparently accumulated throughout the day and compounded with gale-strength winds to make our road impassible. Having to improvise, we decided to make our nightly dinner spot, the Skotel, our home for the night. Once there, we settled into a picturesque 90’s game room complete with VHS tapes and foosball. To our surprise, we discovered that Guil and Lydia took their own advice, Geologists Always Bring Everything, seriously, and had brought all the necessary materials for us to complete our maps. After a hard day’s work, we compiled our notes to create a detailed map of the valley’s lava flows with the help of ample hot chocolate. We ended our night with a well-earned hearty meal. After more hot drinks and laughter, we bundled up for the night, not knowing what New Zealand would throw at us the next day.
Our apparently simple assignment turned into four hours of off-trail hiking, searching for answers to our seemingly endless questions of Ngauruhoe lava deposits, and whether they were pre-Taupo and post-Taupo. Although we entered the valley with little knowledge of mapping, we left soaked with both rain and geological knowledge. However, our adventures were not to end with us piling into the cars to go home.
When we arrived at the entrance to the road leading to our temporary ski-lodge home, we were met with a closed road and a ranger telling us to turn around. The breathtaking snow from the morning had apparently accumulated throughout the day and compounded with gale-strength winds to make our road impassible. Having to improvise, we decided to make our nightly dinner spot, the Skotel, our home for the night. Once there, we settled into a picturesque 90’s game room complete with VHS tapes and foosball. To our surprise, we discovered that Guil and Lydia took their own advice, Geologists Always Bring Everything, seriously, and had brought all the necessary materials for us to complete our maps. After a hard day’s work, we compiled our notes to create a detailed map of the valley’s lava flows with the help of ample hot chocolate. We ended our night with a well-earned hearty meal. After more hot drinks and laughter, we bundled up for the night, not knowing what New Zealand would throw at us the next day.
Stay warm,
Sydney & Lowry
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