We had set an alarm for 6am to wake us and ensure we didn't miss the bus. It felt a little chilly in the tent last night but we didn't realise how cold until we got in the car. The windscreen was frozen with thick ice!
We caught the bus, after we had filled up on breakfast, in preparation for our 19km hike along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Half an hour later and we were dropped at the start ready to take on the volcanoes. But, don't worry, the last eruption was way back in 2012! Many warning posters told us not to enter certain areas and we were all given information on what to do if an eruption occured ... basically, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!
We chose the perfect day and the sun shone down on us making the moonscape spectaclar. There was steam rising from holes in the ground, lakes of the most beautiful turquoise, multicoloured craters and you could even see the end of trails where the lava flows had stopped and cooled.
One of the day shelters had a huge hole in the roof where a giant boulder from the recent eruption had gone through the roof. 2 minutes from the hut was a fenced off area containing a crater 3m across where projected rocks lay!
The walk offered amazing sights and we made it back to the safety of the car earlier than expected. We left the carpark and drove south back towards Wellington, stopping only once to sample the local fish and chips! We set up camp about an hour outside Wellington for an easy drive into the Indonesian Embassy tomorrow to collect our visas.
We caught the bus, after we had filled up on breakfast, in preparation for our 19km hike along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Half an hour later and we were dropped at the start ready to take on the volcanoes. But, don't worry, the last eruption was way back in 2012! Many warning posters told us not to enter certain areas and we were all given information on what to do if an eruption occured ... basically, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!
We chose the perfect day and the sun shone down on us making the moonscape spectaclar. There was steam rising from holes in the ground, lakes of the most beautiful turquoise, multicoloured craters and you could even see the end of trails where the lava flows had stopped and cooled.
One of the day shelters had a huge hole in the roof where a giant boulder from the recent eruption had gone through the roof. 2 minutes from the hut was a fenced off area containing a crater 3m across where projected rocks lay!
The walk offered amazing sights and we made it back to the safety of the car earlier than expected. We left the carpark and drove south back towards Wellington, stopping only once to sample the local fish and chips! We set up camp about an hour outside Wellington for an easy drive into the Indonesian Embassy tomorrow to collect our visas.
