Time to return to the wild so we made our way to the National Park, South of Lake Taupo to tackle the Tongariro Crossing, seventeen kilometre hike weaving its way through the base areas of three volcanos before climbing to the peak of Mt.Tongariro where the Emerald Lake and the Red Crater provide a spectacular outlook, then completing the crossing by descending the other side. Because of an eruption in August 2012 which rendered the area unsafe, we were not allowed to complete the entire crossing, but we did climb the 8 Kilometres to the peak, then returned by the same route (turns out that's 16 kilometres). A long exhausting walk, climbing loose scree and negotiating steep rock faces (Where was Edmund Hillary's spirit when you needed it). After eight hours we were back on the bus and Heather announced that "a pint of beer would go down really well" to which a genteel, WI type English lady looked at Heather disapprovingly and replied "I think a cup of tea would be more appropriate" - We had the beer.

We were now on an adrenaline roll, our next stop was Lake Taupo and we went to look at the locally famous Huka Falls - by Jetboat. The jetboat is a genuine white knuckle experience, in a unique style of boat that was apparently invented in NZ. The craft travels up-river at high speed powered by twin jet engines, narrowly missing rocks and tree branches, frequently launching into a 360 degree spin drenching the passengers to a chorus of screaming and a sense of mild panic. The journey ends underneath the Huka Falls, with the terrestrial tourists cheering from the bridge - Awesome.