We woke at sunrise and enjoyed the hot pools again before they were open to the public. We packed up and drove down to Taupo stopping to see the Huka Falls on the way which were a stunning light blue!

We enjoyed spaghetti on toast by Lake Taupo which was beautiful!

We then made our way down to Tongariro national park where we saw Mount Doom (aka Mt Ngauruhoe) for the first time. Unlike Mordor, it was surprisingly beautiful! There was lots of plants with purple flowers (maybe a type of fern?) which made it really beautiful. It was sunny which made the driving hot! We stopped at a pay-yourself campsite and enjoyed sausages for dinner! There was a scout group camping there which was cute!