It was with some sadness we left Willowbrook farm, we had originally planned to go North for a couple of weeks before our next job, but we heard the snow was really good further South , specifically in the Tongariro National Park. So we set off in the van, looking forward to the next adventure ! It took us about four hours to drive down, we went the scenic route (sam was map reading !). On the approach to the park you could see the snow covered Mt Ngauruhoe, made famous by Lord of the rings as 'Mount Doom !' It is the perfect example of a classic Volcanoe with symetrical sides and a flat top. ( I should know a lot about this type of environment and be able you tell you lots about it, as I have a Geomorphological degree, however I think due to too much beer being consumed whilst studying, it's all a little hazy !). We found a forestry style campsite in the village of Whakapapa ! Which was right in between two huge mountain ranges. As it was the weekend we decided to avoid the snowboarding slopes untill Monday or Tuesday as they were going to be rammed. Instead we decided to do a few hikes, having fully recovered from the painfull experiences in Peru we were looking forward to getting up in the mountains. We decided to tackle a route called the Tongariro crossing, it is claimed to be the best one day walk in NZ, as it passes through some spectacular scenery. It's about 17km long and would take about seven hours to complete. Due to the majority of the route being over the snow line we also had to hire crampons which was very exciting !. We had to catch a bus at 0730 to the starting point and met up with a fellow tramper called Neil. He has been cycling around the world ! through Europe, Thailand and now NZ. He was really funny and really reminded me of Lawrence both looks and attiude ! We were so lucky as it was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky, we set off with 'Mount Doom' looming over us. The first part of the trek was a really pleasant stroll through a reasonably flat valley, we had to keep stopping just to take it all in. Even though weve seen a lot of similar landscapes in South America, it still takes your breath away. We then had the inevitable climb up, it wasn't actually too bad and we reached the top of this first climb in about an hour. We were now on a snowcovered plateau which was probably about a mile wide encircled by huge mountains, it was a really special place. Once we had crossed the plateau we had to don our crampons and start the next climb. It was really steep, but the crampons gave you a feeling of security as we made our way up. The higher we got the views got more amazing. We could now see several frozen lakes, one which was huge and although frozen, still immitted a blue haze. We crossed another plateau and climed up another ridge to then follow the rim of this huge lake. At which point we met a fellow tramper who lent his bivy bag to Neil so that he could slide down the slope. Neil jumped on and within seconds had reached terminal velocity, he flew down the slope and was a little spec in the distance of the plateau floor ! We had lunch in the most spectacular of settings and then tramped for about another hour before the snow started thinning out and we took our crampons off. We then started the descent, walking through smoking rocks emmitting a lovely eggy smell (it was either that or Mrs Wilson !). We got back to the pickup point in good time, quite exhausted but having experienced a totally unforgettable day ! (Picture to follow when technology allows)