The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a 12 mile trek through the Tongariro National Park on the North Island. It passes along the West flank of Mount Ngauruhoe, which Peter Jackson used as Mount Doom in his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Top of the mountain was digitally modified in the films so as not to show the peaks because they are sacred to the local Maori peoples.
The trek was definitely the most amazing & beautiful place we’ve been in New Zealand so far … even though we had to share it with about 1000 of our newest friends from around the world. We were able to frame them out of most of our pics, so it looks like we were alone most of the time, but we definitely weren’t!!
It looks quite beautiful. How long did that hike take? From the views and a faulty memory, I thought you were already in the South Island. We missed a lot; a good excuse to go back!
We were on the trail for 6hr 40min, but spent a lot of time standing about in dumb wonder. We’ve been on the South Island for a couple weeks now, but just haven’t caught up with the blog. So much to see and do … so little time to find WiFi and update a blog : p
Hut trip. Hut trip.
Dang, this bucket list is getting so long I need to live a thousand years.
Speaking of bucket lists … we’re planning to be in Nepal from mid-April through the end of May. Care to join us and wipe one line off that extended list??