I cut short our Wellington time as the sun was shining at Mount Tongariro National Park, and we were due for a little more exercise.  True to form, I’d skimmed through some material whereas T had opened twenty tabs on his computer and done comparative analysis.

“You realize that for the ‘must do hike’ it is likely to be freezing along part of the route, right?” I recollected something about cold and layers but freezing hadn’t registered.  Fate managed it that day for us, as even with an early departure, we arrived after noon which eliminated the “must do.” Instead, we set out for a lakes hike in between the mountains and the volcano – Mount Doom. If you are not a fan of Lord of the Rings, then you may call it Mount Ngauruhoe.

Looking like nowhere we’d seen before, we watched it cloud and clear as we made our way up to two crater lakes.  T made it down faster thanks to sliding rocks, and though I moved slower than a turtle, I caught up to enjoy the striking views with him.

And yes, later we watched part of The Ring Trilogy just to compare notes!