An early start of 6:30 the following day to get breakfast and prepare for my 20km walk over the Tongariro Crossing, advertised as the best day walk in NZ - a fair claim given the countryside I had already seen on the South Island! The bus journey to the start of the crossing took around 1/2 hr and the bus was freezing! There was a hard frost and I was glad of my layers! I started off on the walk and the 1st hour or so was pretty level easy walking. This soon changed! The next hour was spent climbing upwards with little respite. The stunning surroundings were a help and the views from the top were sensational. I was making good time so I decided to take the diversion of walking to the summit of Mt Tongariro. This was only a 3km round trip but was more treacherous than the main walk I discovered! Park of the track followed round the side of the mountain and was covered in snow with foot holes that others had worn in. Pretty glad I didn't slip as not far how long I would have skidded down before stopping! Made it ok though! Returning from the summit I then rejoined the main track and continued on to the emerald pools, red crater and then blue pool. I stopped here for lunch - definitely one of the most picturesque lunch stops! The rest of the crossing is coming down the far side of the range through hot pools and forest. At one point coming through the forest a creek had formed on the track making it not obvious where we were supposed to go - worked it out in the end! The car park at the end of the crossing was a welcome sight and the legs enjoyed the rest before the bus turned up to return us to National Park. From here, having jump started the van (dodgy interior light that doesn't turn on when you want it and obviously does when not there!), I headed on to Taupo.