Tessa and I traveled from Raglan, spent a night in the sleepy city and ventured further south to Rotorua. We did a small hike around a mountain lake and continued on to Taupo and Tourangi. In taupo, we saw amazing thermal springs and mud pools. Its crazy to think that we were standing on a platform just above the ground that was boiling!! The mud was estimated to be 140 degrees celecis. Our skin burns at 50 degrees... needless to say, we kept our distance. From there we went across the street and stumbled upon an AMAZING waterfall. Huka Falls, check it out on the internet, its the longest fall in NZ. Its fed from Lake Taupo and is used to make electricity. The water was RUSHING through the channel and the colors! oh my goodness... the water was a sparkling blue with the bubbles a bright white. It was so strikeing!

After the falls, we continued on to Tourangi to camp for the night. In the morning, we headed to Mount Doom, (as known in Lord of the Rings, movie). The real name is Mt Naguraru, or something simular. It was just as daunting and beautiful. Just next to it is a popular crossing called the Tongiriro Crossing. Known for the most beautiful day hike in NZ. We started at an elevation just under 900 meters and ventured onto Red Crater which is 1900 meters. We made amazing time. The climb was Crazy steep but beautiful. It started out flat, along the lava fields and mineral streams. From there, we climbed rock after rock to the first summit. Each step was like taking two steps at a time vertically. At the summit, we hit the south crater. IT was reallly flat and long. WE continued on to the red crater which was up a sandy/rocky peak. From there, the views were amazing. In true form, we took makeshift rings up to our destination and threw them off at the peak. The world will be safe from danger for another day... (smile) It was an intense hike but i'm happy i did it. Eileen, you would be proud of me.
This morning, we left our campsite and drove back to Taupo and onto Napier. On the way, we passed hundreds of runners. There was a relay race around Lake Taupo happening since 9pm last night. I think its 150k all the way around. Most people do it in teams but i guess there's two teams with two people each. It was fun to be in that scene.
Here in Napier, the Art Deco capital of NZ, we happened upon Art Deco weekend. There's old 1930's cars and loads of people all dressed up in costume. Swing music and big band sounds all around. Its really festive! What a weekend to come! Since its such a big festival, we weren't able to find a place to sleep in town so we're venturing onto the next town south to camp. After that... the south island. Its been a whirlwind so far... I'm loving every second of it!