Tongariro National Park - Taranaki Falls

We started off quite comfortably, Dad got the camper ready to travel and we played and smelled the flowers.

First stop: World's coolest McDonalds in Taupo. Yes, you can sit on a plane and eat and yes it's normal Mc food ;)

The lake in Taupo with the large mountains in the background offers us a great backdrop as we continue our journey.

When we arrived in Whakapaka we drove straight to the Taranaki Falls Carpark to hike the 6.5km circular route. We walked the upper path and had Mount Doom aka Mount Ngauruhoe in view the whole time. We were able to hike in t-shirts and shorts and there was a light, fresh breeze. Perfect for hiking. The Taranaki Falls were beautiful, but we found Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings much more exciting. E did a great job again and we took a snack break at the waterfall.

Then we went to the only holiday park here. We have a cozy place in a green alcove. There is also WiFi that even works well. The Holiday Park is really nice with a large kitchen that even has dishes and everything.

The good thing about traveling with a toddler is that once we're done cooking and eating, everyone else just gets started, but we had the kitchen and seating almost to ourselves.

We are now exactly in the middle of the North Island and the plan was to drive to the left to see Mount Taranki, but the weather is reported to be very cold, rainy and windy, we'll check again tomorrow, but then we'd rather drive to the right Wine region where it is supposed to be warm and sunny. I really wanted to go on a hike up the mountain, but it depends on so many factors, so I don't want to be disappointed and I'll find a nice alternative right away. Especially since I still have a bad cough :(