The Tongariro Crossing is said to be the best day walk in New Zealand so I couldn't come all this way without walking it, especially as I have carried my walking boots for 3 weeks without wearing them. There is a shuttle bus service that picked me up from outside the hostel at 6.20am and took me to the start of the walk. The walk starts through a barren volcanic landscape with views of a volcano that was used as Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings films. The day started cold but I soon warmed up when the sun rose. There were 2 steep climbs to start with and I was glad I did these before the hottest part of the day. Once over the highest point (1886m) the route drops down to the Emerald Lakes. The colour is so unexpected, as they stand out against the blackness of the volcanic rocks. The trail continues for a few kilometers before descending through alpine meadows and ends with a couple of kilometers of woodland walking which gave much needed shade from the sun. The walk is 17km long and is estimated to take 7-8 hours but I did it in 5 1/4 hours which meant that I had to wait for 2 hours for the return bus to pick me up at the finish point. This walk has to be one of the best I have done because the landscape was so different to anything I have walked before.
