Crossing Mount Doom

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Up at 5am this morning to catch our shuttle bus to take us to the start of the famous Tongariro crossing – it is supposed to be one of the best day walks in NZ. It is 19km and takes 6-8hrs. We saw Mt Ngauruhoe up close which was the mountain that was the inspiration for Mt Doom in the lord of the rings film. It is an active volcano which last erupted in 1975 so there are lots of warning signs on the mountain about what to do in the case of an eruption… so we walked fast! Most of the walk was over volcanic terrain, and we saw several craters and some beautiful emerald lakes. The weather was perfect, lots of blue sky, though later in the day the cloud came in in the valley, so our descent was through the cloud. However it was very chilly up there, so needed the hats and gloves that we had packed.

Home for a well-earned meal of venison from the bach owner, which was delicious. Starting to feel the aches from having three days of activities – elbows scraped from caving, arms aching from rafting, and legs aching from walking!! F

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