Wake up to very low cloud but dry…hoorah! About 15 of us from the hostel pile on the shuttle at 7.15am and by 8am are walking into the mist and haze that is this famous landscape. Everyone has a different pace so we naturally all split down with Alex, Graham, Will and I all walking together. The beginning of the walk, to the soda springs was quite an errie feel, thanks to the fact you couldn’t see anything around except the outline of big mountains either side of you. After soda springs we reached an area known as the ‘devils staircase’, and an hour later when we reached the top we knew why, wooden steps in the mountain alternated with steep paths, sure took it out of us.
At the top of the ‘devils staircase’ I assume you have amazing views, though we weren’t privileged to these, only some rain, but the area felt so dramatic I think the cloud just added to the impact. We reach the South crator, where you can see the long flat plain stretching out in front of you, almost like a desert, and with mounts surrounding you. Here Alex and I decided to head up Mount Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom from Lord of the rings), which we all knew would be a real challenege, especially in the cloud, so the other two carried on with the crossing.
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