Tongariro

Nyz Zeeland
1½ days in January, 2011

The first day we just did a short walk to a waterfall. The second day we did the classic Tongariro Alpine Crossing - an amazing daytrek through a surreal volcanic landscape.


Day 1: A short walk...

 

A short walk to a waterfall, before we found a campsite
 
 

Sunset view of mount Ngautuhoe, which was used as
"Mount Doom" in the "Lord of the rings" movies
 
 

Day 2: Tongariro Alpine Crossing
 
 

We walked up on ancient lava fields to the foot of "Mount Doom"
which is actually an active volcanoe in reality too.
 
 

Nice volcanic rocks in many different colors
 
 

When we climbed "Mount Doom" the fog rolled in.
It did actually feel a bit like being in Mordor...
 
 

It cleared up a bit up on the crater
 
 

Plenty of steam was coming out from the ground
 
 

Looking down into the crater.
 
 
 
 
 
 

The mist rolled in again. We waited for it to clear up, but it got worse. We were almost alone when we gave up and headed down. On the way we met a Canadian guy who had twisted his ankle. We lent him our hiking poles and assisted him down, which took several hours. Once at the flat path, he walked to the parking lot for help. We met up with him after the hike to get our hiking poles back.
 
 

A lake that looks a bit poisoned...
 
 
 
 
 

"Mount Doom" still covered by mist, unfortunately...
 
 

The Red Crater
 
 

The Red Crater and "Mount Doom"
 
 

The Emerald Lakes
 
 

A field of ancient lava
 
 

The southern slopes of Tongariro national park are covered by rainforest - a great contrast to the desert-like volcanic landscape that we passed through just a couple of hours before...
 
 

Rainforest
 
 
 
 
 

After the trek we drove to Taupo and swam in some hot springs :)