Taupo – New Zealand 21st January to 23rd January

Upon arrival in Taupo we checked into the Haka Lodge. The reason we came to Taupo was to attempt the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which is a 19km hike through mountains and volcanoes; however the previous couple of days the crossing had been closed off due to bad weather, this meant that the hostel was packed with people extending their stays to do the hike. In the night there was very strong winds, so we were anxious whether we would be able to do the hike as we had only allowed one day in our schedule to do it. In the morning we hadn’t been told that it was cancelled so me, Laura, our friend Sophie and her two friends drove to the car park and jumped on the shuttle which takes you to the start.

The hike started with a very tame flat stretch, until it reached “The Devil’s Staircase” which was about 30 minutes of steep stairs. Once we reached the top of the stairs we were greeted with “Mount Doom”, the name of the volcano from The Lord of the Rings. It is possible to climb the volcano but it isn’t advised, and none of us really had suitable footwear so we chose not to. The hike was scenic throughout so we all agreed that we would take it slow and have plenty of breaks to take it all in (and get our breath back). Luckily the wind wasn’t too much of an issue, although we were constantly taking hoodies off when we were hot from climbing and then when the wind picked up we had to put them back on because it was freezing. I have to say, the hike wasn’t a walk in the park but it was definitely manageable; however the worst part was when we started the long descent and thought we were nearly at the bottom and saw a sign “10km to go”. Once it was all over and we relaxed at the hostel for a bit we agreed we should go out to eat by the lake. As we were walked to the lake we walked past a McDonald’s, which I believe is the only McDonald’s in the world that has a branded plane outside it (no idea why?!). We had a really great meal overlooking the lake, which is actually the biggest lake in New Zealand – so big it looks like your next to the sea!