A day trip I did in December 2009: Mount Ngararuhoe

The map of the route me and the fellow clubbies took. Or at least a close approximation. No orcs were sighted.

As you can tell from the vegetation, that's Mount Ngararuhoe over there, not Orodruin (sp?). Still no orcs.

They've put a boardwalk in, and with terrain like this I don't blame them. Too rough even for orcs.

Just a rock formation; as you can see this isn't jandals territory.

Ngararuhoe is loose gravel all the way to the top. Bring a walking stick or two.

Naturally, as soon as we got to the top the cloud rolled in. I wonder how many cameras have been sacrificed to this volcano?

Lunch break after getting down, looking over one of the colourful and poisonous lakes between Ngararuhoe and Tongariro.

South side of Ngararuhoe. All jests aside, the NZ landscape will happily off you if you don't keep aware and prepared. No orcs required.

Heading towards the Upper Tama Lake.

The aforementioned lake. Pretty shortly after this the drivers bush-bashed back to the road end to retrieve the cars while we schlepped on towards Whakapapa.

There's a track from Upper Tama Lake to the Loop Track, so we followed that past these falls, down and around past the Hermitage to Whakapapa Village, just making it as the sun went down and the restaurant was about to close.

Now I work Saturdays. That means I can't do trips like this any more. I wish I could.