Part of the plan (not mine) was to hike through the Tongariro National Park up to Mt Ngauruhoe, also known as Mount Doom. I’m sure you remember the infamous journey Frodo and Sam made to destroy that infamous ring, I just wasn’t ready to fight off all those Orcs! Luckily for me (sadly for Nick and Bryan) the mountain was covered in snow and high winds in a bit of unusual Summer weather and we just weren’t prepared for something like that. We were able to do another beautiful hike (photos coming soon) but here are some photos of the beautiful mountain range.

(“The area has jagged volcanic rock formations and eerie barren landscapes, ideally suited to Mordor’s hissing wasteland.”)

(I said “hello” to the neighboring cows but they hated me)

(“Much of Frodo and Sam’s journey into the land of Sauron was filmed on and around the Tongariro National Park“- super cool, huh?!)

(I can’t explain how overwhelming it was, I can see why Peter Jackson chose it for the movies)

I’m not much of a hiker but from what I hear, this is a really great trek! It is also an active volcano which can be a little scary but also pretty cool if it doesn’t erupt while you are walking across it. 🙂