Thaba ea Taranaki/Egmont - Ho Hloa ha Volcano

After a bit of culture and city life, it was time to get back to nature, or more specifically, to a volcano. According to the guidebook, experts believe that an eruption is long overdue, as the last one was 350 years ago. However, we didn't let that deter us and decided to climb it.

When we drove into the national park the day before, we saw our destination beautifully in front of us. Unfortunately, the next morning, the volcano was engulfed in fog. Nevertheless, we set off, hoping that it would improve. As the saying goes, 'There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad equipment!' - and we didn't have any bad equipment! :)

Initially, the hiking trail was lined with palm trees, but the last 500 meters climbed steeply over volcanic rock to the crater rim. At times, we took one step forward and two steps back. :( Quite challenging - but we had already experienced this during the ascent of Mount Rinjani in Indonesia.

For the first few hours, we hiked in strong winds and fog. We could only see white, white, white, and good trail markers, so no worries for our moms :). When we reached loose rocks, the visibility improved, and our hope for a beautiful view at the summit increased.

Finally, we were rewarded with sunshine and a view all the way to the sea. But it was really cold. So we quickly ate everything to make the backpack a little lighter for the descent.

What we really miss on every summit tour is the summit cross - unfortunately, that doesn't exist here.