Mount Taranaki
With our muscles still sour from the Tongariro Crossing, we decided not to climb to the top, but to hike around the area of the mountain’s foot, which consists mostly of lush forests.
Forgotten World Highway
If you like driving narrows serpentines with stunning views in the mountains, cruising around cows that stand in the middle of the road, one-lane bridges and -tunnels (!), ghost towns, gravel roads, and always wanted to become a citizen of the world`s tiniest republic – then you should definitely drive the Forgotten World Highway between Taumarunui and Stratford. If you go in a campervan like ours, you shouldn`t get easily seasick. We’ve made our phone take a picture every…
The fellowship of the Tongariro Crossing
Advertised as „New Zealand’s best dayhike“ we went for it, of course. Featuring the real Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings, craters and active volcanos, this is truly an awesome hike. It’s almost 20 kilometers one way, so you either book transportation by bus back to your starting point where you’ve parked your car (which was completely out of the question for us – 30 Dollars per Person for 20 kilometers driving, what a ripp-off!) or, like we did,…