Greetings from Lord of the Rings

On Sunday, we did one of the main attractions and must-dos of New Zealand, the Tongariro Crossing. For those who are familiar with Lord of the Rings, we climbed through Mordor and almost to Mount Doom. For others, we hiked through a beautiful volcanic landscape and almost to a volcano. The entire hike covered 20km. We joined forces with 3 other couples to save on the ridiculously expensive shuttle fee of $90. The eight of us climbed the mountain in single file, along with what felt like a thousand other people. The ascent alone was so challenging that I didn't know how I would survive this march. But what kept me going were the little children and many older folks, fully equipped with hiking poles, marching up the mountain. If they can do it, so can I! When we reached the top, the view was absolutely breathtaking. I could vividly imagine the scenes from Lord of the Rings. The red crater (which should be clearly visible in the pictures) was my absolute highlight. And the different lakes in the middle of the mountains, which by the way smelled strongly of sulfur, and the smoke coming out from between the rocks, created a truly mysterious atmosphere. The descent was less impressive and dragged on like chewing gum. I was glad for the female support and the occasional conversation with the other women=) One of the couples is currently on a world trip and has already traveled through Asia, so they were able to give us many tips and tricks. When we arrived back at the parking lot after about 7 hours, everyone was happy but utterly exhausted. As a reward, we refreshed ourselves at the nearest waterfall, also known as Gollum's Pool (where the scene was filmed where Gollum catches a fish and has conversations with himself). All in all, I have to say, even though I couldn't believe it before, that this tour is definitely one of the highlights of New Zealand for me and I'm really glad I did it=)

The following days, however, were less pleasant... we were both incredibly tired and depleted and had no desire for anything. Even Jonas, who is usually always highly motivated, had a small low point. To make matters worse, a storm with continuous heavy rain arrived, causing all the roads to be flooded and we are now stuck in a hostel. Maybe not such a bad thing though, to recharge and regain motivation for the last part of the North Island.

See you soon =)