day 25 - 26

Day 25 started out pretty slow. We slept in a little and then headed into the town center in Rotorua to grab a coffee and do a little work on the computer. Our bus picked us up at about 1:00pm to head to Taupo. Taupo is well known as the skydive capital of New Zealand and possibly the world. They claim that more jumps are done per year in Taupo than any other place in the world. So...

I bet you thought you were going to see a picture of us skydiving. Well we wanted to, but the weather was terrible and we couldn't go. We will have to try when we get back to Taupo or in some other town.

Anyway back to our trip. On the way down to Taupo we stopped at a few geothermal mud pools to take a few photos













and then headed to Kerosene Creek, which is a little river that is feed by thermal pools. We got to relax in the hot river for about a half an hour before we continued our journey.

Just before we got to Taupo we stopped at Huka Falls which is supposed to be the most visited tourist attraction in New Zealand. The Falls are not really high, but the amount of water that goes over the falls is amazing. Every 3 seconds there is enough water to fill an olympic sized swimming pool.













That evening we relaxed at our hostel for a little while before we headed out for St. Patrick's day. We went to a little Irish bar to listen to some live music and do a little dancing. We didn't drink much and were home and in bed by midnight because we had a big day coming up.

Day 26 came quickly. We had to be on the bus early so we could get down to Tongariro National Park to do the Tongariro Crossing. It is one of the best day hikes in the world! We lost a couple of our friends who were going to do the crossing due to a little too much partying on St. Patty's day, actually our bus was several passengers short. So we got to the trail head at about 9:45 am and had a little safety briefing from the shuttle driver before we took off. There were 5 people in our group, but hundreds of other people on the trail. It is a very well traveled track. The key is to keep looking at the incredible scenery and not the other people (this wasn't too difficult).

The crossing is a 19.4 kilometer track that heads up to the saddle between Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe (aka. Mt. Doom for those Lord of the Rings fans)












both active volcanoes, then around the backside of Mt. Tongariro and down into the bush to the finish. Along the way you pass two very different and distinct craters, some emerald pools, a beautiful blue lake and a some other volcanic activity.













The hike started with an hour of easy hiking up to the base of the mountains to Soda Springs, a sulfury spring. (Note that none of the water along the hike is suitable for drinking due to its high sulfur content.)













The next hour or so was stairs, stairs and more stairs. Most of the way up to the saddle was climbing stairs. We are not in the best shape, so it was a good workout! The views were awesome. Once we got to the saddle it was a short hike down into the south crater and then a short, but steep hike up to the top edge of the red crater.













The red crater was steamy and had amazing red and black coloring.
























From the top you could see the emerald pools. They are an incredible set of thermal pools that are a bright aqua color.















They are quite a contrast to the rest of the bleak volcanic landscape. We headed down to the pools and stopped by the pools for a quick lunch. It was a really cool setting other than the sulfur smell. After lunch we headed over toward and then around Te wai-whakaiata-o-te Rangihiroa (Blue Lake).













From the lake we started our decent around the backside of Mt. Tongariro.













It was a pretty hike with the valley below, Lake Taupo and several mountains in the distance. Along the way we passed some more thermal pools. After an hour or so of hiking we reached the native bush.



















This was the last section of the hike and proved to be a little challenging. They were doing some work on the trail (replacing steps) and it had rained a fair amount the night before, so the trail was muddy. We were pretty tired by this time, so took some concentration to make our way down the half completed steps. Near the end of the trail we came across a beautiful little stream and a little waterfall. It was a great way to end an incredible walk. We finished the Crossing in 6.5 hours and were exhausted at the end.














We were picked up by the shuttle and brought to our accomidation at the Park Lodge in the Tongariro National Park. We took a shower and had a bite to eat in the bar before we collapsed in our bed. It was an amazing day!