Mount Doom
Frozen plants at high passes of Tongoriro crossing.
Mount Doom
Tongariro Crossing (aka mordor)
Driving up 90 mile beach.
Dune surfing
Solar powered lighthouse, Northern most point of New Zealand.
View from Auckland sky towerSo, since Rotorua I have done SO much. My next stop was lake Taupo where I went horse treking...brilliant and a lot harder than I thought it would be. I don't think the horse liked me. I then went tramping on around the Tongoriro National park (aka Mordor) I had already done the 1 day crossing a couple of days before but it was so amazing I did a much bigger 2 day circuit include a really (and I mean really) touch climb to the top on the mountain used as Mount Doom in LOTR. Yes I did what Frodo and Sam did and feel their pain, it was a well scary climb, really steep and you couldn't get a foot in anywhere, all the ground crumbles away under your feet and there are so many times you can skid all the way to the bottom, plus when the wind blows all the volcanic sand at you and almost pushes you over all you can do is hold on to the least loose rock and hope for the best. But I made it to the top with amazing views over the plains where the battle scenes in the prologue in the films was shot, its bloody cool. After skidding down the mountain I spent 2 days tramping around these plains, its was bliss I didn't see a single person on the last day.
So after that in keeping with the Lord of the Rings theme I headed to the set of Hobbition!!!
After prancing around on the party field and in hobbit holes I headed back to Auckland, spent a few uneventful nights there and headed up towards the bay of island passing through the Kauri forest. I have now seen some of the biggest and oldest trees in the world. I saw one that is over 2000 years old, there is even one in the same forest (although I didn't see it) that is believed to be nearly 4000 years old!!!!!!! They are truly huge.
I arrived in the bay of islands and saw nothing due to bad weather but headed further North to the very top of NZ Cape R......(something or other), had a go a body boarding down giant sand dunes, drove along 90 mine beech and saw a solar powered lighthouse. My second visit to the Bay of Islands also saw rain and fog and as I boarded a coach to leave it became beautiful and sunny, but hey you cant win them all and the hostel I was at had a great movie collection.
I am now back in Auckland feeling very sad about leaving this wonderful country but excited to see more of the world.
