No go for the Tongariro Crossing so instead we did a 2 hour circular walk from Whakapapa Village, out to the Taranaki Falls, in the cold and wet. Pretty waterfall. Worth the effort. We then drove high up to the end of the long, steep, winding Bruce Road that ascends from Whakapapa Village to Iwikau Village, the centre for the Whakapapa Skifield. As we opened the car doors the icy cold wind blasted right through us. The windchill at this high altitude was quite so...

Today we had planned to walk the 20km Tongariro Crossing, one of NZ's iconic day hikes through mountains and dormant volcanoes. Unfortunately snow had fallen on the mountains, there was a high risk of avalanches and the weather conditions on the higher levels of this mountain pass were icy cold. The local experts strongly recommended that nobody should attempt the crossing today. We decided not to go; we had heard too many stories of people dying on the pass in ...

Arrived at our base for the next few days: a motor lodge right on the edge of the Tongariro National Park and just outside of the oddly named village of National Park. Weather was cold and wet so it was lovely to see the cosy lounge area with its log fire burning. A warm welcome from Helen, our host, who showed us to our warm, comfortable rooms. In the evening we drove up the road to the village and found one of Helen's recommended places for eating out: the Stat...