After a wonderful meal and a relaxing evening of luxury, we awoke the following day and hiked to Mt. Ruapehu, the highest and most active volcano in Tongariro. This area is renown for the excellent skiing--people actually ski down the slopes of the volcano! We began our hike at Whakapapa ski area, where we took a chair lift up approximately 2000 meters. Then we hiked 600 additional meters to the top of the volcano. The view from the top was absolutely breath-taking. And yes, Mom held her own! It was a strenuous hike--there was no "trail" and we clambered our way up large vertical rocks--but it was well worth our effort! This is what world heritage territory is all about!

Below, Mike waits patiently for Mom and I to catch up!

Mom enjoys the fresh mountain (well, volcano!) air!

Below are pictures of the top of the volcano. At the top is a hot sulfur lake called Crater Lake. The fumes were unbelievably stinky, and the temperature fluctuated between 20 and 40 C!!

The hike down was much easier than the hike up, especially the ride back down the lower half of the volcano...  The cheshire smile on Mom B was shared by all!

Click HERE to see more photos of our trip to NZ!!!

Return to INDEX