Even before we went down for breakfast we were roused from our bleary state by fighter jets taking off from the airstrip which was less than a mile away. As we couldn't drive in Taiwan without an international licence, the hotel had instead suggested that we use a private taxi with driver for the day. We decided to pay nearly twice as much for someone who could speak English - it was still a very reasonable price, and it paid off as he was able to give us some interesting pieces of information and also ensured that we did not miss out any of the main sights; not to mention how stressful we would have found it driving there.
Our destination for Day One was Taroko Gorge, a deep cleft into the mountain chain starting about 20 miles north of the hotel. After about 40 minutes from the hotel we pulled in at the first of many stops of the day, at the entrance gate to the National Park.
We were immediately beset by a plague of postcard vendors, who were quite good natured but insistent. We firmly brushed them away and gazed at the widening river mouth and Chinese gate before getting back into the car for the short hop across to the other side and the excellent visitor centre. All the displays were in English and we could easily have whiled away much more time there but for a restless Emily, who was only really interested in a pair of slides she found in the grounds and completely unappreciative of the magnificent view up the steep-sided valley.
Only a mile away through a tunnel we pulled into another car park and the driver explained that the Shakadang Trail began here and we could go along it as far as we wished. We loaded Emily into the kid carrier and walked across a red iron bridge to some steps down to the river.
The narrow trail ran alongside the gently-flowing water and we followed it for about half a mile as it gradually climbed up, to give extraordinary views down to the sapphire river and huge boulders of limestone and marble.
Ahead, ever-ascending peaks rose into the distance (possibly culminating in Mt Sanjiozhui at 2607m). Just as we were about to turn back to the car park I spotted some movement out of the corner of my eye on the opposite tree-covered bank and realised that there was a group of monkeys over there. We watched them a while, and decided that they must be Formosan macaques.
I could have stayed a lot longer but we were not sure how much time we needed for the other major sights so we returned to the taxi.
A short distance on again, we stopped for another visit, this time to the Eternal Spring shrine, Changchun.
This was raised to commemorate the 200+ men who died in order to build the cross-island highway that carves an east-west path through the unforgiving mountain barrier. We walked the short way to the shrine and stayed briefly to take in the sweep of the river just there, which is responsible for washing away some parts of the doomed project that was partially abandoned due to seasonal floods from the typhoons that lash Taiwan most years.
Ten minutes drive further on, we came to Buluowan and Swallow's Grotto. The driver indicated that we should walk the kilometre or so along the road and he would wait for us at the other end.
We were afforded glorious views into the deep and narrow marble and gneiss gorge. The rock was pockmarked with small holes that had been gouged out by eddying stones and then uplifted above the water level over time.
We paused to have some sustenance at a small snack outlet next to Jinheng Bridge. This was named after an engineer who worked on the project and was then killed by a post-earthquake landslide in 1957. The driver pointed out a large rock that resembled a red Indian face, though we would not have spotted it without prompting.
A bit further on we stopped to take in the awesome sight of Fuji Cliff, a stupendous rock face about 500 metres high. The driver explained that from where we were standing it is said that the strip of sky visible is the shape of Taiwan, which I suppose it was, with a bit of poetic licence.
Not far on was the Tunnel of Nine Turns. It used to be possible to walk through the gorge for about a kilometre but due to rockfalls only a short 200m section could be accessed, and then only in hard hats. Emily thought it very funny for us all to don the headgear.
The gorge is so narrow and the river so vigorous that there is a big updraft: we could see large leaves being wafted higher and higher. Again, the driver came up with an interesting snippet of information, pointing out a nearby mountain side that, as he said, looked like a side profile of King Kong.
Next on the tour was Cimu Bridge, which is set at a meeting point of two rivers and is decorated with marble.
A huge monolith, called Frog Rock, stood projecting into the main river, a good couple of hundred feet high, and on top was a small edifice, Orchid Pavilion. We pottered around there for a short while, catching some welcome sunshine that had managed to shine down into the gorge, despite the low sun elevation in winter.
Finally, we reached the turnaround point for the day, at Tianxiang. As well as a 5 star hotel - very incongrous in this narrow inhospitable valley - there was also a temple, and various religious sights such as a large marble statue of Kannon-sama, an old pagoda and a large gilded staue of Buddha.
Emily was getting tired and I took it upon myself to offer to shoulder the burden for once and carry her up several hundred steps, but once we got to the upper reaches of the temple complex she happily wandered around for some time.
There was nothing much to detain us in the small service area, apart from admiring some plum blossom trees, so we set off for Hualien. The driver detoured for a final stop off, to the Buluowan upper terrace, which used to be an aboriginal village and is now a visitor centre with a gift shop selling ethnic wares made by the tribespeople. After briefly coming alive to run about on the flat lawn there, Emily was content to climb back into the car and she fell fast asleep within a minute, only waking as we took her out back at the hotel an hour later.
After chilling out in the hotel cafe for some time we asked for a taxi to get us into the city centre so we could track down some dinner. The driver was nuts, overtaking in the dark on blind hillcrests and as the rear seat belts did not fasten we were a little nervous, though he was good-natured enough. After being dropped off outside Starbucks (yes, even here!) we were thankful to be equipped with a good guide map to navigate the busy streets and finally plumped for Country Mothers restaurant. At first I thought we would be in for some mediocre fare, but was really pleased by the extensive western-style menu. Best of all was a huge platter of crudites and a yogurt dip. Emily got her full 5-a day of vegetable matter just from that, then filled up on some of our pizzas and garlic bread, all of which were excellent and good value. The staff were very taken with her and gave her a freebie serve of icecream. We called the hotel and asked them to send a taxi to pick us up from outside Starbucks, a good orientation point in the strange city, and of course it was the same crazy guy who showed up. We made it back in one piece though, and get Emily settled as quickly as we could, knowing we had another big day out ahead next day.
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