Tongariro alpine crossing:

Today was a very special day indeed! Today I climbed an active volcano, trekked 19.4km and saw mount doom! It was just what I needed too. After a few more chilled days and far too long on the bus we all arrive at my final stray stop before returning to Auckland. Plus after the disappointment of not being able to skydive the day before I was more than ready to tackle the mountain!

After an incredible early morning of a 5.30 start we arrived at the national park and got kitted out for the hike. All my gear passed and I had my snacks in my rucksack ready so after paying my $35 entry fee I hopped on the minibus. Everyone from the bus was doing it but as soon as we got there the boys all raced off. I decided to do the crossing at my own pace and Anya and I brought up the rear.

The first bit was the hardest. After a gradual incline we arrived at the Devil's Stairs at around 3km... They were not called devil's for nothing. The next 6km were all uphill and it just showed how unfit I had become. But we made it!!! And what a view at the top. You could see out across the mountain ranges and had mount doom just next to you. There were always lots of emerald lakes

However we weren't supposed to stop whilst in the high risk areas. This was still a very active volcano with the last eruption occurring in November 2012. But Anya and I sat ourselves down and had lunch :p.

The walk down was a lot quicker and the sun had come out for us! The guide company had given us a maximum of 8 hours but we did it in 6.5 so not bad going :). That night I had a well earned hot shower then had some goodbye drinks with the others. I'm really going to miss the north island stray bus :(. Next stop Auckland then Melbourne Australia!!!