February was a wet one for New Zealand and I arrived on the North Island just after a huge cyclone swept through. After a full day's travel on 2 buses and 2 trains due to the flooding and power outages, I made it National Park - the base of the volcano. After 2 hours of hiking in the rain and gusts of 60km/hr winds, I reached the summit! Winds were so strong the day before that they didn't allow anyone to climb.
Upon reaching the rim, the clouds pulled back and the sun was shining strong for the next 10 days. Here is a close-up of the beautiful patterns that the flora creates.
Emerald lakes and their strange cloudy hue due to the volcanic activity.
A sulfur spring on the way back down the other side of the volcano. The three hours of downhill was very tough on the knees! I wished I could have hopped in. I took a night train to Wellington for a quick visit before taking the ferry to the South Island. This is the Embassy Theatre in Wellington where they released all the Lord of the Rings movies - each one opened with a sculpture of a creature on top! I was here the day after the Oscars - where the movie won all 11 of its nominations. Wellington appeared to be business as usual for a Tuesday.
