Tongariro

Woke up this morning to find that we had done OK in the Olympics (the world champion woman shot putter got silver. You can’t complain about that) and that NZ has again shown everyone that geological processes are not merely historical

A thick ash cloud is covering much of the central North Island after Mt Tongariro erupted for the first time in more than a century late last night.

The volcanic alert level for Mt Tongariro has risen from 1 to 2, while the aviation colour code has been raised to red.

Roads are closed, flights are likely to be disrupted and nearby residents are advised to stay indoors as ash and rock spews from the mountain.

Turoa Ski Area manager Chris Thrupp told Firstline the ski field remains open and has not been advised to close. He said the ash has not drifted to Ruapehu, south of Tongariro.

“The ash is the concern – if the wind changes, which we don’t believe it will.”

This could make it difficult to travel to Auckland from Dunedin — the flights are still running and will deviate away from the ash cloud as you fly north to Auckland (and the Ash cloud is flowing East). I’m 1000 km away on another island….

I guess this reminds us that we have limits, we are not God. Which is important to remember.