Day 85: Tongariro National Park (part two) and River Valley

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Pain! Serious thigh pain had set in from our walk yesterday and our bus driver informed us that we would be heading back towards the national park for more walking!! The waterfalls at the end of the long walk (Taranaki falls) were however really pretty and we stopped for a quick lunch break before getting back on the road. Upon our arrival at River Valley we quickly started preparing the group BBQ and our first job was to make 50 burgers. They were really yummy burgers if I do say so myself, and we had lots of compliments from the rest of the bus. Our sleeping arrangements were a little odd, we along with 30 other people were in the orgy room - essentially just a wide bench with mattresses running down alongside one another. There was some serious spooning action in order to try and keep warm.

Baileys bit: We had a quick walk before the Taranaki falls which took us to another Lord of the Rings site. This one was the small waterfall pool where Frodo finds Gollum fishing. For the BBQ, against Cats wishes, I went into organisation mode and set up a system which meant everyone had their fair share before we could dish over the surplus! The dorm room was a little cosy and after, the younger ones had been drinking for a few hours, a little loud!

Daily mileage: 5 ran along the lake front on a cool morning in Taupo, luckily the legs weren't too bad after the previous days exertions!

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