Tongariro National Park is well known for its natural beauty and hiking, but for many people it will be heard of from being used as the landscape of Mordor in Lord of the rings. It was rightly used for the scenery of Mordor as it is based around a volcano and large lava flows, looking like a very desolate place in parts.Upon hearing of the hiking you could do there I knew I had to go. A walk through desolate volcanic places? Great! Sign me up.
Learning that the weather was rather bad upon arrival, being the start of the off season, and mountainous areas in general being rather fickle with changing conditions, the first day was spent just doing a short walk out for a few hours to some small lakes. A recon mission if you will, to check out the area.
