We had to get up early to check out and get on the road to arrive in Tongariro National Park. We went to get kitted out for the hike and had to borrow some boots and gloves and hats as we'd been warned that it was going to be really cold at the top of the mountain. We then headed off in the bus to the start of the hike. The Tongariro National Park is a World Heritage Area and the Tongariro Crossing has been voted one of the best walks in the world so I was looking forward to it. It was really cool seeing Mount Doom that was filmed in Lord of the Rings which is a big volcano.

We set off as a big group but because we were all walking at different paces I ended up walking with Sarah, Devon and Marius. Devon was a brilliant person to walk with as he has so much energy and is hilarious. I nicknamed him Donkey from Shrek as not only does he sound like him but he also doesn't stop talking and is very entertaining. We stopped off for lots of photo's and for rests along the way to enjoy the views. I couldn't believe the scenery - it's so varied! One minute we were walking on a flat rocky road, the next minute we were ascending the mountain with views of the mountains in the distance and then we could see crater lakes which were beautiful and then snow and ice and red volcanic rock. As we got nearer the top it got so windy that it was quite a struggle to walk but it was worth it for the views. At the crater lakes we stopped for lunch with some of the group that we'd caught up with and admired the views. The smells were to be desired though as it had a smell of rotton egg but I forgot that when I looked out at the view. We then took some photo's again and then descended down a really steep track - Sarah and I kept getting overtaken by people but we were worried about slipping down.

The next track we had to walk across snow which was really strange. I spent most of the walk giggling as Devon came out with some funny topics and songs. We had to get back to the bus by 5pm and we'd worked out that we were doing ok for time so we stopped off along the way for rests, food and photo's. The walk back was down a thin winding road and then we had to walk through the rainforest. We got back to the bus with 5 minutes to spare and got clapped by the rest of the group as we were the last ones back. Catherine had got back on her own at 2:45pm as she fancied walking quickly. The organisers of the walk had a cold beer ready for us which was very much appreciated. We posed for some photo's to celebrate.

We were staying at a lodge that evening which was really luxurious. Due to being the last to check in Catherine, Sarah and I had to split up so me and Sarah shared a room with two girls from another Stray bus and we had individual beds, with two being up some stairs and then the other two on the ground level. We went down to the bar to grab our free drink and then headed to the jacuzzi to relax after the walk. A few of the others came to join us too and we chilled out for a bit and then got ready for dinner.

We had dinner as a big group and then stayed in the restaurant area having drinks.