New Zealand - North Island (4)

(Tongariro National Park - Wellington)

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is often described as the best day hike in New Zealand and is a challenging tour through a fascinating volcanic landscape. Along the way, you will encounter lava flows, an active crater (Red Crater), emerald green lakes, and stunning views. The trail is 19.4 km long, climbs 1,000 meters in elevation (starting at 1,100 meters, reaching the highest point at 1,886 meters halfway through, and ending at 760 meters), and is considered demanding. We quickly realized this and were even more proud to have completed the track in about 6.5 hours. By the way, we stayed at the Skotel Alpine Resort, the highest hotel in New Zealand, for the Alpine Crossing.
After that, we headed to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, for the next two days. On the way, we took a short photo break in Taihape. The city doesn't really have anything special to offer except for a giant gumboot that is advertised on the internet. We saw this as reason enough to visit this great tourist attraction ;-)
In Wellington, we strolled through the city, along the promenade and the harbor, and visited the local museum to learn more about New Zealand, Wellington, the Maori, and their culture. Along the promenade, we noticed a colorful mix of people, including bathing teenagers, an artificially created 3-meter-deep diving pool in the middle of the promenade, stand-up paddleboarders, canoeists, and tightrope walkers.
We also made a stop here because we were supposed to continue with the ferry from here to the South Island.