Mt. Ruapehu A Painting in the Sky

 

 

 Another photo of Mt. Ruapehu against a backdrop of rain clouds.

The Rainy Day
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Whakapapa Ski Resort On a Summer's Day

 

Whakapapa Ski Area on the north-western slopes of Mt Ruapehu is New Zealand's largest ski area. The drive to the ski resort was astounding, the view was spectacular as far as the eye could see.  It was summer when we visited and it was too windy and cloudy to ride the ski lift so the next best thing was to eat lunch at the Lorenzs' Bar and Café and sight see the valley below.  On a cloudy, windy and misty summer's day, I cannot help but think of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18.

A Summer's Day

William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow’st.
     So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
     So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Mt. Ruapehu - A Maori Love Story

 

Mt. Ruaphue and the surrounding valley was visually stunning. There is a lot of moss at Mt. Ruaphue and it is endangered and very old. It is is the tallest mountain in the North Island and very sacred lands to the local Maori Iwi (tribes).  Scenes from The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey was filmed at Mt. Ruaphue. They had to construct a scaffolding to protect the moss and other plants.

Maori Legend of Mounts Ruapehu and Taranaki (Egmont)

 

Ruapehu, the beautiful maid, was married to Taranaki. One day, while her husband was away hunting, she was wooed and won by Tongariro. When Taranaki returned at the end of the day he surprised the guilty pair. A titanic battle ensued in which Taranaki was defeated. He retreated towards the west coast, carving out the course of the Wanganui River as he went. When he reached the coast he moved northwards to the western extremity of the North Island, where he rested. Taranaki, now sits in silence looking towards his wife and his rival. In spite of her infidelity, Ruapehu still loves her husband and sighs occasionally as she remembers him, while the mist, which drifts eastward from his head, is the visible sign of Taranaki's love for her. For his part, Tongariro, who despairs of ever possessing her again, smokes and smoulders with anger.