Taupo was just an hour or so from Rotorua and we really liked it here! we ended up staying quite a few nights . . .

Taupo is set on a huge lake - someone told us it was the same  size as Singapore, but I`m not too sure about that!  it is also close to three huge volcano`s, one of which - Mt Ruapheu erupted only a few years ago!! so Taupo has a beautiful setting, and one of the main reasons to come here was to do the Tongariro crossing, supposedly one of the best one day hikes in New Zealand, and it goes right past Mt Doom from Lord of the Rings!!  we stayed in a really nice camp site and decided that we would base ourselves here and pay the $50 taxi service to get to the crossing.

we did loads it Taupo- but my mind is struggling today - too many jager bombs at the weekend, so I`m gonna start with the crossing!

the first struggle was getting up at 5am to get the early bus to the start, as we wanted to climb one of the summits, which adds and extra hour to the 8hours hike!! Steve was considering climbing Mt Doom, but i knew i wasn`t keen on that, but wanted to reach the summit of Mt Tongariro. by the time we reached the start of the track it was 7am and the sun was just starting to shine on the mountain, really beautiful. the first part of the walk was pretty flat and easy. . . then we reached the part known as the devils stair case . . . the name says it all. was pretty tough going, really hard work on the legs, but just as i reached the point where i was thinking `I`m actually going to die` i reached the top! Steve was thee already - looking up at Mt Doom and considering whether he was going to climb the extra 2-3 hours to the top. we decided not to!! instead we carried on across a huge volcano crater - it was like walking on the moon! when we reached the middle we just looked around and we were standing in the middle of a perfect circle, which was the crater. then we climbed up the other side and along the ridge. we decided we were going to do the extra bit and climb the summit of Mt Tongariro. this was amazing  - not too hard going but from the end we had the most amazing view back over Mt Doom and where we had just walked. it was really windy and cold on the summit, but amazing - it was a really clear day so we could see for miles. we then went back on ourselves to join the main track and carried on to the red crater. this volcano crater was a really dark red due the iron in the ground and stunning to look down into. once we reached th top we had to come down . . . .it was a really steep track down and the ground was really soft so quite hard to keep a grip. but as we were coming down the view was amazing. in the distance was one huge blue lake, and to the right was two bright blue -green acid lakes. when we reached the bottom we sat and had lunch by one of the lakes. all this hard work and it was only midday!!

the rest of the walk from then on was pretty easy. we walked around the lake and down the other side of the mountain,and the landscape was completely different, it was like alpine scenery with lots of bushes and grass. we reached a small hut which was about half way down and sat on the grass in the sun. such a good feeling when you have climbed to the top of something!! we carried on down the mountain and entered the forest, another completely different landscape. really tall beech trees and little streams. it felt like we were walking through the forest for a really long time but eventually we made it to the end of the track where the bus was waiting for us!! it really was a great hike and through stunning scenery.

The rest of the time we spent in Taupo we were just "chillaxing".  We went to the Huka Falls which is a pretty cool water fall where the water from a really wide river is forced into a narrow gorge so is very powerfull! We went to another Volcano museum! We are experts on Volcanology and Techtonic Plates now!! Our campsite had a hot spa so we stayed in that for a bit especially after the trek. Taupo is a nice place - could probably live there - if queenstown wasn`t so crazy!!