Day 75 - Tongariro Crossing

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Today we do the Tongariro Crossing, a 17km hike through some active volcanos!

Drove to the end of the hike at Ketetahi to meet our shuttle bus which would take us to
the start at Mangatepopo, allowing us to hike back to the car at our own pace.
The morning is cool and cloudy but this is to our liking as the going is tough to start with with steep climbs through the rocky terrain up to Mount Ngauruhoe volcano, also known as Mount Doom in Lord Of The Rings. It is a perfectly cylindrical cone, a classic comic-book view of a volcano. As the clouds disperse and some blue sky appears we can see the summit up ahead, although we don't have time to climb it. We carry on through a large flat expanse of steaming ground to be rewarded with amazing views of the volcanic landscape. We climb the edge of the red crater with it's stunning colours and twisted rock formations. The ground here is very hot and boiling hot only a few inches down. There are emerald and blue lakes which reflect light as different depths, giving off rich colours. Finally we make the very long descent back to the car park, hours of walking down steps! I think we spent a good 8 hours doing the crossing, which quite a few stops to rest and take in the breath-taking views.

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Photos

An even better view of Mount Doom
The clouds were clearing :-)