On our way down to Taupo we stopped at the Huka Falls which was really impressive. We also went to Craters of the moon which was really spooky but having had our fill of steam vents and sulphur crystals we went to our hostel and checked in. We had a drive around and then went to 'Pak n Save' - a whole new shopping expereince - a bit like Kwik Save but bigger! We made a cracking stir fry and (after another nice bottle of wine!) we had a early night in preparation for the next day.

We were up at 5:30am to catch the bus at 6:20am to the national park to do the Tongariro Crossing - a 17km tramp going up to a height of 2100m! What a challenge, it started off nice and easy up to Soda Springs and then the were thrown onto the Devils Staircase - 45mins of climbing! The route then takes you up the Red Crater - more climbing and we were nearly on our hands and knees because of the slopes and the wind and the clouds! But we made it to the top but the cloud hadn't cleared but it's maybe not sucha bad thing not being able to see down the edge of the crater. The descent took over four hours and was still hard going, slidding down screed slopes and more steps than we could count.

The whole trek took 6 and a half hours but we're really pleased we did it - what an experience! The evening was spent moaning and groaning - from the aches and pains - but the red wine helped no end.

Next stop Napier for a bit of civilised wine tasting - Yippee!