So end of las week I walked the tongariro northern circuit in the tongariro national park (aka mordor!). I managed it in only 2 days of walkin although I kinda wished i did at least 3 as was actually knackered by the end n v achey the day after bt it was all worth it 4 the amazin scenery i got to c.

The first days walk was brilliant with loads of spectacular scenery as I covered the tongariro alpine crossing and on to the next hut- oturere. It was an early start gettin up at 5! Got the bus at 6 n arrived at the starting point at 7 ready 4 a big day of walkin. The views on the way up to the starting point were spectacular enough as the sun was rising bt wen u saw the silouettes of the mountains it looked amazin n I cudnt wait 2 get started.

The first couple of hours went really well and i followed this stream along to the bottom of mount ngauruhoe (don't actually no how to say this so well jus call it mount doom frm nw on). As the sun slowly came over the mountains to the east, it got alot warmer but I was glad it was turnin out to be a gorgeous day. The climb up to south crater was met by a sign saying turn back if u dnt think ur fit enough or if the weather looks bad as this is ur las chance- was all v doom n gloom n made me qu whether i was fit enough bt i was doin a 3 day trek so i must b fairly fit. There were also signs around warning that if there was an eruption run as fast as u can away from the mountains which i thought was funny as i cudnt run anywhere wiv my huge backpack on.

Once I'd climbed up 2 south crater I was surrounded by rocky volcanic landscape that really did look like mordor and I was met by a sign that lead off to the right to climb mount doom if u wanted. I'd made great time so far n i new I cudnt come here n nt climb the infamous mount doom so I went for it. The sign said 2.5-3 hours return walk so didn't think it could be too bad- I was wrong! Turned out to be one of the hardest things id ever done n was def the hardest part of the whole walk! In fact it was more of a climb as I spent alot of time using my hands as much as my legs. The main problem wiv the climb to the summit is that the whole mountain is like a huge sand dune wiv bits of gravel n rocky areas thrown in 4 gd measure. Wud literally step up n slip in the sand back down abit so cudnt get anywhere fast. Prob the stupidest part of this was the fact I wore my backpack up which had alot of stuff in as I was stayin out 4 a few days so had all my stuff Inc food n drink as well as sleeping bag n cookin stuff so weighed about 15kg. As I slowly climbed up the bag dug in my shoulders n I really wished I had left it at the bottom (as other people did who I met on the way up). Was kl tho as every1 climbing up was completely knackered together so we were all in it together. Met a random bloke frm Preston who was goin around the same pace n our random chat about the gd old days of Bristol rovers (the jamie cureton era) was enough 2 take our minds off the climb. Took about 2.5 hours 2 get 2 the top bt the views were amazin up there! Was above the clouds so cudnt c 2 far into the distance bt cud c all round the national park which looked even more spectacular frm above. The top had a small crater as well which just seemed 2 make the mountain even more impressive. Was dreading the climb back down bt every1 was goin down a different way so thought mayb it was easier than I thought. Turns out the return journey took only bout 45 mins as people jus slid down through the more sandy bits of the mountain. Must hav fell over bout 50 times on the way down as was slipping all the way down. Was alot better than the way up bt ur boots filled up wiv sand n stones that really hurt ur feet sumtimes. Was also goin fairly slowly compared 2 other people as there were sum crazies who were running down the thing! Think I wud of fell forwards n prob died if I'd tried that so stuck wiv the slow slide method. Once down I was v happy n quickly emptied my boots (never seen so much crap come out of a boot) before carrying on wiv the walk.

Walked across south crater b4 starting another climb up 2 red crater. This climb although nt v hard seemed a whole lot harder than it shud b n my bag seemed haevier even tho I'd drank plenty of my water n had lunch by that point. Bt the views of the red crater were amazin n the emerald lakes that came after were jus as amazin. They did hav abit of a rotoruay smell about them bt were amazin how green they were wen they were jus surrounded by rock. After these was a supposedly 1.5 hour walk 2 my hut (felt like it took longer as wad the end of a v long day) n this part of the walk was v different 2 the rest as all signs of life left wiv the tongariro crossing. Was kl tho being totally alone n surrounded by this rocky landscape- this scenery must hav bin used in lord of the rings as seemed v familiar. Also walked past a place where there was lots of steam coming frm the ground n was abit worried it was eruptin after all the signs bt apparently it's always like that. Finally gt 2 the hut which was pretty nice considering it was in the middle of nowhere- complete wiv stove, running water n lots of beds. There were also 2 toilets (or longdrops) bt u had 2 trek it up the hill 2 get 2 these which meant there was no way i was going to the toilet in the nite. Made myself sum pasta wiv tomato sauce, pepperoni n cheese (wasn't too bad actually) n had lots of chats wiv every1 who I was sharin the hut wiv that nite. Was kl as every1 was frm sumwhere diff bt we were all in the same boat in that we were all knackered n achey. So once the sun went down (and sunset was really kl setting over the volcanos) we all pretty much went 2 bed since there's no electricity there n we were all so tired.

Slept ok since we were all crammed into a little hut (there were about 25 of us in there n a few latecomers who were on the floor!) n the nxt day I felt strong- nt really aching at all frm the day b4 (except my shoulders). We were all up at around sunrise and the sky looked jus as beautiful in the mornin as the night b4. Once we'd had breakfast people slowly started leavin- sum were goin north n others south. I was 1 of the 1st 2 set off as I felt I could make it 2 the finish 2day as the nxt hut was only 3 hours away wiv the finish around 8.5 hours. Was also gd cus it was freezing in the mornin so wanted 2 make the most of it b4 it gt boilin frm the sun. Walked across more mordor land n was v up n down in the mornin. Also there were more n more plants as I went further south which was a nice change. Walked through a small forest as well which was kl 2 b amongst the trees altho I think I was the first person to walk through it that day as I walked through alot of spiders webs. The nxt hut only took around 2 hours 2 reach that mornin (I was v speedy) so i had sum food n carried on. The scenery wasn't as spectaular on the second day bt it was nice 2 b able 2 go all the way round mount doom n c the mountain south of it close up. Around half way to the end there was also a huge bright blue lake that looked pretty kl- think I preferred it 2 the emerald ones frm the previous day. Got more n more achey as the day went on n I finally finished the circuit at 4pm the afternoon. I had a bus booked 2 take me home so thought all I wud hav 2 do is ring them n they'd come pick me up bt they said they only pick people up til 2.30 which is ridiculous as nt every1 walkin must finish walkin by 2.30 in the afternoon- gt me v mad bt then I was stuck in this small village. They had a motel bt I wasn't gonna pay 4 that- I'm on a budget! So i decided I'd try my hand at hitchiking since it's so big in nz n I wanted 2 try it at sum point anyway. Half an hour l8r, a guy in a doc van turns up ( turns out he was a search n rescue guy 4 people who get stuck up the volcanos). Anyways, he was goin past turangi n I got a lift back wiv him so all wrked out really well. Except 4 the fact that I'd thought I'd left my hat in his van bt nxt day I'm walkin down the rd where I gt out n my hats lying there on the pavement!!!

So all was gd until l8r that day wen I'd thought I'd lost my passport, money n debit card. Was supposed 2 b my relaxin day as well n suddenly I'm stood at the checkout of the supermarket n realise I dnt hav money 2 pay 4 the food! Went all round retracing my steps, walked 4 miles outside, went 2 the police station where they told me 2 come back the nxt day n fill out a form if it was still missin n made the supermarket look me up on the security cameras 2 c if they could c my pouch fallin off. Then went back 2 the hostel n there it was the whole time- i'd taken it off earlier 4 a shower- god I get thicker as I get older! Bt o well at least I gt all my stuff back n altho I'd already cancelled my card n had v little money, at least i'd saved $15 in the supermarket! Lol. I also went n took my frustration out on the stupid bus company who didn't come 2 pick me up n i got a refund! I am officially an actual badass- lol!

So the day after this fiasco I gt the bus down2 Wellington wiv the craziest bus driver yet bt he was quite kl! He told us 2 wave at the hitchikers along the way n jus laugh at them cus they shud of bought a ticket. We also stopped off in this small town that's famous 4 throwing boots n had our own bus throwing competition. Mine didn't go so well- I hit the bus! Wats more it left abit of a mark on the clean white bus. I had definate flashbacks 2 I think it was yr 8 wen I threw my own boot bag on the roof n then told the caretaker one of the older kids did it as I didn't want 2 look like a complete idiot- lol. Anyway after denting the bus we played bus bowling the rest of the way which was pretty kl (basically using the aisle as a bowling lane n trying 2 knock coke bottles over wiv tennis balls) n it made the journey go v fast which was the point as there wasn't much 2 c apparently.

Wellington turned out 2 b really nice as well- thought it mite b another Auckland bt was much nicer n alot smaller as well! I stayed at the yha which was nice n wen in the computer room I had 3 people I'd met in the las few weeks come up 2 me pretty much 1 after the other- was so weird as I'd met each of them in diff places bt kl that there was people that I new. I guess Wellington is a main stop in nz being the capital n all. So the lush weather continued in welly n the 1st full day I was there was really nice. Walked up mount victoria where u can c all around welly n the harbour which was kl. Then walked along the harbour n had lunch on the waterfront wiv leia (my sisters boyfriends sister) who was really nice n lent me sum money since I hav no card til my new 1 arrives. She also bought me cider which is always gonna make sum1 my new best friend in this country! After lunch I met up wiv a few people frm my hostel n we took the cable car up the hill. The botanical gardens r up here bt didn't really c them. We went to be human sundials wiv this kl little place in the gardens n then we pretty much jus sat in the sun n looked out over the city. Went 2 the cable car museum on our way back which was basically jus an old cable car in a big room bt then we went n gt ice creams which were lush on a boiling day!

The next day started wiv a trip into town, a quick meet up wiv leia again n a trip 2 the parliament buildings which r really famous in nz- the beehive is wat the main buildings called n it's easy 2 c y. After gettin sum lunch I took another walk along the harbour b4 goin 2 the new Zealand national museum- te papa. Nt really that intersted in museums bt every1 told me 2 go so thought I shud since there's nt alot else 2 do in welly! It was gd (4 a museum) bt I was still pretty bored after a couple of hours. Was having fun near the end tho as I kept seein people yawnin which was making me laugh (I create my own fun!). The best bit of the museum were the volcanoes section (since I was stood on loads the week b4) n I also found out there'd bin 5 earthquakes since I'd arrived in new Zealand which were 5 on the scale n the major 1's were like 7/8 so I think that's quite high although I've nt felt any yet bt wud b kl 2. 4gt 2 say in the las blog bt wen i was in taupo wiv charlie n amanda, we were sat in the kitchen 1 day n the room started shaking! We were like is this an earthquake- this is really kl n then we asked a lady n she jus sed it was jus the washin machines downstairs- lol. Apparently lake taupo is supposed 2 erupt at any time 2 n it cud destroy most of the north island bt nobody seems 2 care ATM so hopefully nothing will happen! Other gd bits in the museum were the giant squid, the architecture section (this was kl even if ur my intrested in buildings) n the art gallery was pretty kl 2!

Yday I took the ferry across the cook strait 2 picton on the south island! The journey wasn't all that exciting bt i did get to go to platform 9 n 3/4 in the train station which was pretty kl! Also, on the ferry ride over there were a few quick glimpses of dolphins that jumped out of the water which was pretty kl bt i wasnt fast enough wiv my camera 2 capture any! Picton seems to be really nice as well as it's a really little town thats built into the hill overlooking the harbour where the ferries arrive. I jus had a walk around wen I arrived n went n sat on the waterfront where there was a little beach. Went n gt fish n chips 4 me t which were v gd n was basically jus a really relaxin day which was nice. The place where I'm stayin is hilarious as well as it's v quirky- it's called jugglers rest n has loads of circus things around. Bt is v nice n hav a big comfy bed n only sharin wiv 2 other people which makes a difference frm the bunk beds in regular dorm rooms.

So I'm planning on gettin sum wrk 4 the nxt couple if weeks- prob jus b fruit pickin or wrkin 4 a hostel bt will b nice 2 make abit of money instead of jus spending all the time. I'll then make my way down the west coast ready 4 the Milford walk at the end of march! Well done again if u made it this far (I rambled alot bout my hike bt wait til u c the Picts- I will put them up sn I promise!). Hope all is well back home- still missin every1! :-)