Blogs from Tongariro National Park, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 25

South of the north island Following our restful sta with the Fairhursts we head first to Rotorua and then onto Lake Taupo. Rotorua was interesting from a geological point of view but the town itself did not strike a chord with us. A little too commercialised redneckness for our liking and the run-in with the pissed Moari's outside our hostel room at 4 am didn't endear the place much. The natural features were amazing however with boiling mud, coloured lakes and steaming hillsides as far as the eye could see. We spent a few hours soaking up the heat in the Rotorua thermal baths before heading over to Lake Taupo. Here we gorged on farmed prawns, marvelled at the immense power of the Huka falls and took a stroll through the cratered landscape of "craters of ... read more

So im used to going to bed at 5am not getting up then! It was about an hour and half bus drive to The start. I walked it with Sarah aussie girl from Tasmania. Shortly after the start we went up what they casll devils staircase and it certainly was. WEnt through the volcanos, saw red crater, emerald lakes, blue lake absolutly amazing view and well worth the climb up. Sarah had a good camera and a photographer so she is going to email her pics as they will probably be better than mine so ill send them on when i get them. Then at the end we walked through the bush. Amazing walk as it was like you were walking on another planet and then into thebush. WE started about 7.15 am and finished it ... read more

5.30 am and the alarm sounds. Two sleepy souls rise from their slumber and slowly shake themselves awake. Dawn has not yet broken and not a sound can be heard from the world outside. Bags are packed, hiking boots are donned and half an hour later they meet with their third partner in crime, talking in hushed voices so as not to rouse any of the sleeping travellers nearby. Breakfast is swift and light and by 6.15 am, it is time to begin... Ok, so perhaps I'm not quite ready for a career in novel writing but I wanted to set the scene for what was about to become one of the most truly amazing experiences of our lives: the legendary Tongariro Crossing. Glynn led the way in our hire car while I joined Lina in ... read more

Up at 6am which was a bit of a struggle after a heavy nights sleep - inside! Managed to get going eventually as we are booked onto the 7am bus to get to the start of the Tongariro crossing. We raced onto the bus at the last minute before it left - Beck was full of glee at the excitement of it all and Paul a bit stressed as he thought we were going to miss it. A lesson in there for the future! Took about 30 minutes to get to the start of the crossing. The weather has been really kind and its sunny, bright and clear today. The weather can be really bad; its very open so it can be extremely windy making the crossing un-dooable. A few buses dropped their clients before ours ... read more

On the 8th of December I decided to leave Taupo to do a great walk in the Tongariro National Park. I went with a new friend I made at my hostel in taupo called Gal from Israel. He offered to give me a ride up in his car and do the 4 day hike with him. The first day was an easy 3 hour walk to the huts positioned in the walk, so we began late at 1 oclock where we got some great shots of the three active volcanos! Mount Tongariro, Mount Ngaruhoe and Mount Rupehu. The next day was by far the best! The weather was fantastic which was great as the weather we were told had been terrible for months and you could see anything then but the weather was as crisp as ... read more