Everyone had warned us that the North Island would never live up to the South Island, and certainly, scenery-wise it's more like driving through Longford and Roscommon than the Alps, but they didn't factor in all the activities that are available, and at much cheaper prices than the South Island. After wet and windy weather-struck Wellington, we had another washout at Tongariro where we (well, I) was hoping to do the 1-day Tongariro Crossing, a walk in the national park with 3 active volcanoes, lava flows, volcanic lakes... and more importantly, the setting for Mordor and Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, high winds and heavy snowfalls meant that for the 2 days we were there, there was nobody allowed onto the track. However, there was light at the end of the tunnel...we arrived
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