This blog describes the first half of our North Island (NI) trip starting in Auckland circling through the center of NI and back to Rotorua. 

NZ second hand car dealers are allowed to import second hand cars from Japan and we ended up with a Datsun when we hired our North Island car. All the instruction and the radio were in Japanese but it was comfortable and cheap.
 

Our first stop was a quaint Airbnb near Hamilton – to get to the barn the host had to transport us over a small running creek. Once there we discovered we had no electricity and a a compositing toilet - a great place.

Friends had told us about the Tongariro crossing a 19 ½ kilometre hike through the Tongariro National Park. Tongariro became New Zealand’s first national park in 1887 and has been awarded dual UNESCO World Heritage status for both its cultural significance to the Māori people, as well as its outstanding, mostly volcanic, features.

We allocated four days for the walk as we heard that it was not a good idea to go when rain was forecast. Luckily for us the weather was good but chilly on the first day  – friends have walked the distance not seeing a thing because of rain. We started walking at 6am and finished at around 4.15pm. We would have been quicker but Jen struggled on the ascent with her knees failing her.

The iconic landmark on the walk is Mt Ngauruhoe New Zealand's youngest and historically most active volcano and home to the Lord of the Rings location, Mordor. Mt Doom was based on Mt Ngauruhoe.   

On the walk Lake Taupo is in the distance to the North.

We conquered it:

Because we went on the first day we had three days to recover during which time it rained a lot. We still managed to get up Mt Ruapehu, find a toadstool under a bush and take some pictures of the mountains from outside the park. 

While here we also explored the area

Napier on the west coast was next on the agenda to visit extended family.  
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We then headed north, staying the night in Gisborne (apparently one of NZ’s better surfing spots) making our way to Rotorua one the most geothermally active areas in NZ. On the way we visited Ohope and stayed the night in a caravan in a dairy paddock - Airbnb does throw up some surprises!

The Rotorua museum is impressive.

In central Rotorua, bubbling steamy mud pools are found, while in the wider Whakarewarewa Valley there are steamy lakes and the 30m-tall Pohutu Geyser, which erupts many times daily.

Champagne pool, a deep hot water spring was fascinating. The water enters the pool at 230 C from depth of 60 meters. Carbon dioxide gas bubbles to the surface (NZ is being remiss in not stopping that!) The orange edge contains arsenic, antimony and sulphur compounds rich in minerals, including gold and silver. The Devils bath's bright green water gets its color from deposits of sulphur.

We found a school dragon boat carnival going on on a lake outside Rotorua:

Surprisingly to me, there are also redwood forests in the Rotorua area.