'You shall not pass'...out, I thought to myself as we continued our ascent up the treturous mountain...'half way through, only 10km to go!' As if getting up at 5:30am wasn't a bad enough idea, trekking the Tongariro Crossing certainly was!

We left 'Little Vegas' on Sunday making the short trip down to Taupo. Taupo is known for it huge lake (Lake Taupo-go figure) and the adrenaline fuelled activities you can do there. Considering Im scared of heights and a far from confident swimmer, I couldn't wait to arrive!...

Taupo was very picturesque and seeemed to have more of a 'buzz' to it compared with Rotorua. We had heard that there was a near by river that had its own natural hot water spring. Having enjoyed the Hot Water Beach so much, Hannah and I couldnt wait to experience hot flowing water once again. We set off on a 40 minute walk with a couple of guys from the bus. The river current was strong but was pleasant, the hot water flowing from small waterfalls into the river-flow was lovely and made for a really enjoyable afternoon!

After partaking in a customary dance-off (Ive won a dance-off in every country I've ever visted), we decided to hit the hay; We had to be up at 4am as we had signed up for a 20km trek the next day! The walk itself was pretty tough, the weather was overcast throughout and rained heavy for the most part. The higher we got, the more the rain clouds obstructed our views of what I imagine would be awesome valleys. The area we crossed was used in 'The Lord of Rings' films; as we battled our way through the cloud on top of the volcanic mountain, I fully expected Frodo Baggins to walk past at any moment!

Highlight of the day: the free bagof chips on the bus back to the hostel...wasn't hungry but the heat from the bag warmed mi fingys a treat.

Regards

Oliver James Kenneth Smith