Today the plan was a trip around the lake edge to the Tongariro National Park. We were promised many walks and stunning scenery – so off we set. The hour’s drive was as you’d expect a drive along a lake edge in New Zealand to be…you guessed it – stunning. But then it changed. The approach to the national park took us alongside three volcanoes (Mounts Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu) and the landscape gave us a whole new shade of dramatic.
We drove through the DOC hub, and on up to the ski village – Iwikau. Ski slopes are other-worldly in summer…this little village had a few forlorn looking chalets among the rocks but was a hive of activity – putting in a new lift for the coming season, and ferrying walkers up the slopes of Mt Ruapehu (Mordor for Lord of the Rings fans) on the chairlift.
So we caught said chairlift halfway up the side of an active volcano, and then scrabbled up the rock face for the last stretch to the rim. While it was a challenging climb, we should point out that a troupe of young scouts and a family with two small children also achieved this lofty high ground today – so it was ‘not crazy’. Having said that, the path (when we could see it) presented many a rock face of volcanic scree and sheer drops to the valley floor.
The views from the top across to Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom for Lord of the Rings fans) were pretty amazing though.
After a scramble down we stopped off at the ski-lodge cafe for a cup of coffee and a sandwich because … how many times do you get to sit in a cafe on the top of an active volcano.
The delights of Taupo await us tonight.
The Obligatory Blog 