Tongariro National Park: 19th-20th April.

Once again we were extremely lucky with the weather as Claire and Alex had to miss out on their crossing on 2 separate occasions due to bad weather. However, we were blessed with clear blue skies and warmth which was later not so much appreciated on the near vertical climb over the lava flows! The view of Mt Ngauruhoe, otherwise known as Mt Doom was awe inspiring and there was more to come. We descended (after some more daft photos) to cross a huge crater to be met with another aptly named Red Crater which (surprising enough) looked like something from Mars. We stopped here to eat our rapidly disintegrating humus and cucumber sandwiches before continuing down a very steep and gravely slope to the emerald lakes at the bottom which were beautiful. After another flat walk and a steep climb, we then proceeded to descend for 2.5 hours to the bottom, working our knee joints to the max! The views were exceptional, and you felt like you were on top of the world. We were greeted by dense forest for the remaining part of the walk and Shabos shone through the trees to welcome us. Kate hadn’t been feeling too well so she opted out and kindly dropped us off and picked us up at the finishing point. That evening we brought some wine and beer and had a full English breakfast followed by some relaxation therapy on the sofas with our books. On the basis of the night before’s sub zero temperatures making us feel like we spent the night in a freezer instead of a campervan, we (with their permission) snuck into Kate and Jason’s room for the night where they had 2 free beds and the radiator that made it a very cozy affair! Despite the comfort, Jess woke up to the sound of an alarm like an air raid siren. Since a volcanic explosion was the only reason she could think why there would be a siren in the wee hours, she became convinced they were all going to die a nasty death. Fortunately for everyone this did not happen, and she found out in the morning that it was a voluntary fire brigade alarm! Armelle also got no sleep as, as usual, she was paranoid about waking Jason up, who was sleeping in the bunk below, so she tried to be motionless as possible (breathing excepted!).