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Tuesday 3rd April
I'm so excited about today. I'm walking the Tongariro Crossing - one of the best one day walks in New Zealand. It's a 17km hike with an 800metre ascent up Mount Ngaurahoe, then a 1200m descent down the back of Mount Tongariro.
Simon is going off fishing in Lake Taupo to see if he can catch something for our dinner. Yum.
I meet Gary and Sasha on the shuttle bus to the start of the walk. Gary is a Scotsman and Sasha is from Toronto. We have a fantastic day for it - the weather is just glorious. The terraine is so varied. We start off in alpine scrub, then head up our first major ascent through lots of loose shingle. At South Crater we get some amazing views of Mount Ngaurahoe which was used as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings. The floor of the crater is yellow from the sulphur.
Further up is Red Crater which is the most amazing rich colour. Then we head to the Emerald Lakes and the smell hits us - eugh - it's like rotten eggs. The sides of the mountain are puffing out steam. It's very exciting. I've never seen anything like it before. The lakes are a beautiful colour and we walk along further to Blue Lake which shimmers like a mirror.
We have lunch at Ketetahi hut overlooking Lake Rotoaira and start our descent into a landscape that is reminiscent of Scotland with more heathers and short trees.
I surprise myself with how much I remember from hiking in Scotland and how much I enjoy it too. To finish off the day, the hostel we're in has an outdoor spa, so when Simon appears we jump in. Ah, how soothing.
Simon then informs me that he caught 3 rainbow trout and they are currently being smoked. So we'll have fish for tea tomorrow night. Hooray.
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