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so the grand plan was to walk the tongariro crossing, which by all accounts is supposed to be rather spectacular. i arrived in lake taupo mid afternoon under blue sky’s and fluffy white clouds. the crossing pretty much takes a full day so i did a little afternoon hike and figured i’d tackle the crossing the next day. although it never actually rained more than just a mist the next few days resulted in cloud cover upon cloud cover. the crossing wasn’t “closed”, but what sense is there in doing a scenic walk when the only scenery is white-out cloud?
mt. Ruapehu.
a kiwi that the park service trained to stand very very still in the park headquarters. which considering the kiwi is a nocturnal bird was quite an accomplishment. i did manage to see one of these on a night walk in tronsoun state park—they are ODD looking creatures.
mt. DOOM from The Lord of the Rings. (aka mt. Ruapehu)
mt. DOOM
me, along the trail.
they even have bathtubs.
i'm likin' the red lichen.
sat by the waterfall and had lunch with a kid from calgary. engineering student who had been working in western australia.