Our heartfelt thanks to the Tauhara Centre, Taupo for their generous hospitality, housing our entire team last night.

"He kokonga whare e kitea, he kokonga ngakau e kore e kitea."

"The corners of the house may be seen, the corners of the heart cannot be seen."

Team A

We started our day by offering the Tauhara Centre in Taupo a tree, in gratitude for their service to the community and to kindly thank them for hosting our team. The Centre's primary aim is to foster harmony through many spiritual and health programs.

Nasir, Trustee of the Tauhara Centre, together with Katherine, the manager, received the lemon tree as a symbol reflecting the pursuit of harmony.

Many international 'WWOOFERS' (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) accommodated at the Tauhara Centre joined in the ceremony.

No ceremony is ever complete without the World-Harmony-Run theme song composed by Sri Chinmoy.

Next stop Taupo Public Library where we presented the librarians with a Jharna-Kala artwork by Sri Chinmoy, an acrylic painting entitled 'Peace is Priceless', for their newly renovated facility. The staff were delighted with their new acquisition.

A visit to Lake Taupo Christian School was next on the agenda, where a presentation was made to one hundred children from ages 5 through to 18 (sorry that no photographs are available from this visit).

And then on foot, past Lake Taupo towards Turangi for the A team.

At noon we arrived to a huge welcome into Tongariro School in Turangi. Dozens of children lined the school entry, waving and cheering most enthusiastically.

Most touching poems on harmony were recited.

"Where do you feel harmony?"

Time for a World Harmony 'sprint' around the field.

"Can I hold the torch, can I hold the torch, can I hold it!"

Artistic expression of peace was alive...

... on the school pavement!

Thank you Tongariro School, we had a great visit and you were all fantastic!

Back on the road.

The active volcano of Mt Ruapehu in the background as Kallola Brown, at 15 years, runs her 15 km stint for the day.

– Lauren Armstrong

Team B

The skies were blue, the sun was smiling down upon us and Lake Taupo's calm clear waters were sparkling this morning as we took to the road, Torch in hand.

We felt our hearts expanding as we looked out across the vast water's surface and our minds were nearly blown away by the seismic realisation that where the massive lake is today, once stood a mighty volcano which blew apart roughly 2000 years ago. There are records from Rome and China of extraordinary sunsets caused by the volcanic particles hurled into the atmosphere surrounding the entire globe at this time. The gargantuan crater which was left from this gigantically explosive eruption then began to fill with water and lo – the sublime Lake Taupo came into being.

Each step brought us closer to the snowy volcanic peaks of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. Mt Ruapehu is one of the most active volcanoes in the world today. Were we spacing out, or did the mountains really keep on changing places with each other as they appeared to be doing?

Once our running leg was finished, we headed on up to the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre which is set in beautiful bushland leased form the Department of Conservation.

There we met John Maxted who, along with his outdoor training staff, is instructing groups of young people (from the ages of 5 to late teens) in about 50 different activities such as hiking, camping, skiing, kayaking, rock climbing and many others.

As these young people explore the surrounding mountains, lakes, rivers and bush, they are also encouraged to seek something deeper within themselves to help them to develop as human beings. Each of us, the World Harmony runners and OPC's staff, really felt a close identification with each other's kaupapa.

We also presented a Torch-Bearer Award to Ngati Hikairo ki Tongariro, which was accepted by Kevin on behalf of his people who have been continuously strong in their support for the OPC.

From here we ascended into the World Heritage Tongariro National Park.

The mountains now seemed to be staying put for the time being, but were certainly growing before our eyes.

By now the beautiful glowing white of the snow was starting to respond to the late afternoon light and this brilliant, clear, sunny day was shining and fading towards evening.

Peter from Auckland had been skiing all day on Mt Ruapehu, and was delighted to complete a fulfilling day by sharing a moment with the World Harmony Run Torch.

Mt Ruapehu – a truly magnificent and awe-inspiring presence.

– Nigel Webber

Team Members:
Erika Pongracz, Gabor Horvath (both Hungary), Nigel Webber, Prachar Stegemann (both Australia), Rupashri Brown, Kallola Brown, Nipura Brown, Lauren Armstrong, Ujjwala Mettrick, Alan Myers-Daly, Niribili File, Brenda Marshall, Uddipan Brown, Budhsamudra Knox, (all New Zealand)

Gallery: See more images!