5am... what are we doing?! Oh yeah, getting up so we can set off on another epic walk. I didn't feel too bad this morning. We had watched a few episodes of 'Always Sunny in Philadelphia' last night before bed - a hilarious must watch series. I had also slept pretty well last night thanks to a set of blankets which had been donated to me by another couple who had also hired a Wicked camper. Feeling charged and confident after our recent Volcano exercise in Chile we stepped off the bus and promptly set off on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

The route was around 19km over Volcanic terrain with two major climbs to work up a sweat. We had been advised that the route would take 7 hours. Unlike our previous experience we wouldn't be walking on snow. The first section of the walk was easiest as we slowly ascended to the Mangatepopo Hut (the first toilet stop). We had come well prepared with thermals, jackets, hats, scarfs, 2.5 litres of water and plenty of food. After the first hour I had pretty much stripped off down to my base layers - I had debated taking off my thermals but left them on. This decision proved wise as we reached Mangatepopo Saddle. The winds were higher and the temperature cooler as we crossed over the first pass. I quickly put on my hoody, jacket, hat and gloves.

I was feeling pretty good and chirpy. We reaped the rewards of our efforts as we stood and took in the views of Oturere Valley, Desert Road and Kaimanawa Mountains. I still couldn't remember any of the views from 'The Lord of the Rings', it had been a while since I last seen the film. Ju however felt like Frodo as we tracked between the Emerald lakes. We stopped and had some breakfast, eggs and bread. Luckily the sulphur masked the smell of our eggs along with my over active bowels.

The scenery didn't change much for the second half of the walk. The views remained stunning. Ju and I were amazed at how many people seemed to be racing to get to the finish. We had thought the point of the walk was to take in the scenery? Maybe there was a first place prize to get to the bus by 12.30pm? To our amusement we reached the finish to see most of the people that had raced by us waiting for their respective buses. We had timed the finish perfectly, we had a short 10 minute wait before boarding the bus to return to the camp site. I enjoyed a short kip in the van as Ju scrubbed up - we lazed around all afternoon watching a bit of TV, and writing the blog. Beans on toast for tea followed by a few more episodes of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' - a perfect end to a perfect day.