Mount Ngauruhoe is a near perfect volcanic cone and is one of New Zealand's most active volcanoes (last erupting in 1975). Ngauruhoe is a Maori word pronounced Nara-ho-ee.
Mount Ngauruhoe found recent fame as "Mount Doom" in the Lord of the Rings movies. A famous New Zealand hike is the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which travels between Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Tongariro. The scenery is spellbinding to begin with, and we had ideal hiking weather to boot! Not too hot or windy, but sunny with a light cool breeze.
The hike is described as very challenging, but we've been training, so we all felt really good about our eight hours of hiking.
Along the way, there is lots of lava rock.
O
The views during this hike were varied and amazing.
Around noon, we reached the red crater which had been formed by lava flows.
And then there a series of jewel-colored lakes.
L
As we began hiking down the other side, we passed through beautiful meadows with a purple flower that looked like lavender along side golden grasses.
The last hour down was in a lush green, mossy forest complete with a rushing stream we followed.
We were so happy when we finished - it felt like an accomplishment! We got picked up by our shuttle driver and headed back for a shower. Our shuttle package included a t-shirt which we wore to dinner.
L
Our boots are off and getting ready for our next "tramp" on the South Island. We are doing the Routeburn Track, a 3-day, hut to hut hike! Glad to have a few days to give my knees a rest! :-)
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment