Monday March 13

 We woke to grey skies, loaded up the car, grabbed a coffee and headed to Taupo (pronunced Toe pour) The lake was formed after a huge volcanic explosion (similar to Crater Lake) The eruption of Crater Lake would be like firecracker compared to an atomic bomb (the volcano here) It last erupted about 1800 years ago an was the most violent in the world in the last 5000 years.




Once in Taupo, we had a nice breakfast, picked up some sandwiches to go and drove to the Tongariro National Park.  By the time we arrived (hour drive) it was raining with wind. The plan today was some tramping (hiking). We donned rain gear and headed out for short walk. 
















We came back to our lodging and enjoyed our sandwiches in front of a wood fire. It was great timing as it then began to pour!



We hung out the rest of the afternoon just reading and chatting with our friends.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner here at the mountain resort and watched the sky clear up. It's supposed to be nice tomorrow,  so hopefully some better pictures and a good walk. These were taken as the sun was setting. 



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