Quest through Middle Zealand - Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Abel Tasman Coast Track, Hooker Valley Trail

Every self respecting geek is supposed to perform at least once in their lifetime a holy pilgrimage to the land of hobbits, elves and orcs. While at it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to do some hiking as well. Our very own fellowship (retkue in Finnish) ventured through couple of designated hikes in New Zealand while trying to soak it all in from both north and south islands within two measly weeks back in January 2012.

Visited locations with red star on those covered in this blog entry

Meeting with Twelve Gods - Summiting Mount Olympos in Greece

Ever wonder where lightnings are originated from? Apparently they are coming from the Stefani peak on Mount Olympus in Greece, where great old Zeus is hurling thunderbolts during yet another of his characteristics petty scenes of anger management failure. The whole mountain is literally infested with Gods and lesser deities. Pretty much each of the steep gorges, grottoes and 52 separate peaks is littered with one of the Olympiad or their siblings or offspring. Stefani peak is not the highest point on the Olympus however. The famous twelve Gods met and had their less civil moments of discussion on the peak called Mytikas (2917 m), which is also the highest point in Greece. Guess where I was headed to back in July of 2012.