Tongariro day 4 : Simply 'walking out of Mordor'

The day dawned dry but foggy, so we didn't rush out. When we did set off, the sun was emerging, but rain clouds were threatening. Luckily, they held off all day.

The walk today was out of Mordor and through a gentler terrain. We crossed a number of old lava flows that were from Ngauruhoe's much larger predecessor. Apparently he was ground down by glaciers, and can only be seen out here where the glaciers didn't reach.

The highlight was the side trip up to the Tama Lakes. These were formed in old explosion craters. We're not sure exactly what explosion craters are, but they sound fun! Fortunately there were no explosions today. The water in these lakes was water coloured. After the Emerald lakes we hadn't known what to expect.

While we were up on the overlook, Ngauruhoe was kind enough to peep out of the clouds, giving us a chance to say goodbye to the mountain that we had been walking around all week.

Oh and we found a rock! Fortunately it was more stable than it looked.

Another pretty sight was the Taranaki waterfall. These are only an hour's walk away from the Whakapapa Village (and the end of our walk). Consequently, when we arrived, there were a load of kids there making lots of noise and generally getting in the way. Fortunately they soon left and we could get some photos :-)

Then on to Whakapapa Village for beer in the posh chateau and our ride back to the lodge where steak and more beer awaited.