We left Palmerston North and headed towards Taupo. It was an amazing sunny day as we drove next to Mr Ruapehu, which was snow capped and I believe it's the north island's tallest mountain. Next to it is Mt Ngauruhoe, also known as Mt Doom from the Lord of the Rings. I hadn't see both of these peaks up close before because the last time I drove the Desert Road, it was foggy and completely socked in. We planned on hiking the Tongariro Crossing in the morning so we wanted to stay close by. In Turangi, I went into the iSite to ask them more about the track and the future weather forecast. We drove along the lake to Taupo and walked around in the blistering hot sun looking for outdoor gear stores. I'm in need of a good backpack but didn't find the right one.
We went down to the lake to cool off. The water was pretty warm and we stayed in it for awhile. It was such a clear day that across the lake, we could see Mt Ruapehu and Mt Doom. Then we went to Countdown and headed back south. The drive to our holiday park in the Tongariro area was beautiful and I was getting excited about hiking through the mountains the next day. We found the little park and started to prep food for the next day. We had pork chops for dinner and made up our lunch for the hike. I stayed up late and got my gear ready before going to bed.
