It has been a busy 2 weeks getting back to school after break. Since I traveled all 3 weeks, I had no time to work on any of the assignments that were due the week we got back, and had to do it all when I got back to Christchurch. Anyway, back to my adventures on the North Island! After Waitomo, we headed up to Tongariro National Park! The plan was to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which is supposed to be amazing, but the weather was too bad and we couldn’t go up. If you plan to do it one day, make sure you’re in the area for about 3 days so you can pick the best day to do it. We were only there the one day, so didn’t have an option. On the bright side, we did a hike on the other side of the volcano at a lower elevation and still got to see Mt. Doom, just not as close up. The hike was really pretty. There were some really cool lakes and a waterfall and a bunch of scenery. The hike took about 6 hours round trip.
Me and the big waterfall on the hike!
Underneath the waterfall!
Looking down from the top of the waterfall
pretty view looking back on the trail
More scenery
Breathtaking view at the end of the hike.
The view of Mt. Doom in the distance as the clouds cleared
Katelyn Steike
<p><span style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(237, 237, 237);">My name is Katie Steike and I'm a junior at the University of Rochester, studying molecular genetics and music. I love reading, playing soccer, and going on hikes and adventures! I'm going to be studying in Christchurch New Zealand for spring 2014 and I'm excited to become immersed in the Kiwi culture and explore the beautiful country!</span></p>
