Mordor and Mount Doom

On April 20th, it was still dark and quite cold when we crawled out of our campervan at 5 am. The reason for this: The Tongariro Alpine Crossing was planned.

„Often described as one of the best one day hikes in the world, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing takes you across an active volcano in the heart of Tongariro National Park, a World Heritage site.“ - 20km/ 7-8 hrs

But that's not all - the Tongariro National Park was the filming location for Mordor in "The Lord of the Rings".

So even though we got up early, we were highly motivated to embark on a breathtaking hike in the dark plains of Mordor in the shadow of Mount Doom.

We took a shuttle from the finish point (where we parked our car) to the starting point of the route. During the ride, we already had a great view of Mt. Ngauruhoe (=Mount Doom) at sunrise.

At the beginning, the trail was quite flat and pleasant to walk. However, it was pretty cold. The sun hadn't yet peered over the rugged rocks that we were hiking through. A pair of gloves and a hat would have been beneficial…

But soon, the trail became steeper and more challenging, and we quickly warmed up.

And then we were already at the foot of Mt. Ngauruhoe, which was quite impressive. It's basically just a huge mountain full of black and red debris, but somehow fascinating to stand so close to an active volcano. The best part was the sign that said if you feel an eruption, you should return to the parking lot as quickly as possible…

Since the volcano didn't actually erupt, we continued our hike. And it became more and more spectacular!

The next spot was the Red Crater, the highest point of the trail. The colors of the rock were amazing!

After passing along the edge of the crater, we already had the next breathtaking view of the Emerald Lakes. Three turquoise shimmering pools and rising sulfur steam. At this point, you will definitely question how all of this can actually be real?! Nature so beautiful that you can't believe your eyes. The smell of sulfur in the air doesn't bother you anymore.

The last spot on the route was the Blue Lake. A small mountain lake from which you could once again enjoy a great view of the volcanic landscape.

From here on, it was "only" downhill. Not really steep, but it felt like forever. The trail led us through hills covered in golden grass, into a real jungle, and finally to the parking lot where our campervan was waiting for us.

The last kilometers demanded everything from us, but it was definitely worth it: Mordor (the Tongariro National Park) is beautiful. It's unbelievable how beautiful nature can be!

Glowworm Caves

A few days earlier, we also visited the Glowworm Caves in Waitomo. Spectacular!

A short tour through a limestone cave with a boat ride in the dark, so you can see the glowworms on the ceiling - like a bluish shimmering starry sky.

The glowworms are actually larvae that form sticky threads hanging from the ceiling. They emit light (like fireflies) by means of a chemical substance, attracting other insects that get trapped in the threads. It may sound gruesome, but it's beautiful :D

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos, but here is a link to see what it looked like:

http://www.newzealand.com/in/plan/business/waitomo-glowworm-caves/

P.S.: Sorry! I'm quite behind in writing reports, but internet access is a real challenge here. You have to pay for Wifi almost everywhere, or you only have 30 minutes available. It was so much easier in Asia...