Summit Mount Tongariro

It's 10:45am and we are already at the summit of Mount Tongariro, the view is across to the volcano Mount Ngauruhoe (also known as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings!), in the distance is Mount Ruapehn a famous ski and snowboard spot.

We caught the 7am bus from our campsite to the start of the Tongariro Crossing and set out for what was an unforgettable day. We climbed up vast craters, looking down into them from the rim where the ground was steaming and the air smelt sulphurous. We walked through the central crater which was like the surface of the moon, a vast empty space. We walked past emerald lakes, tinged with yellow and again smelling of sulphur. The day was warm sunshine and a completely clear blue sky, we felt incredibly lucky as the previous day people had battled through sleet and poor viability. It was so clear in fact, we could see Mount Taranaki sitting right over on the west coast.