That's Right...I'm a Hiker!

Since Megan and I lacked in adventure last weekend, we decided to make up for it this past one. We packed our gear and headed off towards Taupo (about a three hour drive). We nestled into our van upon arrival in Taupo to get a good nights rest. The next morning we walked around our campsite to see the wonderful array of animals it offered. There were chickens, parakeets, peacocks, ducks, llamas, and a sheep. After that we headed off towards the city centre of Taupo. We booked a tour of Lake Taupo, NZ's biggest lake, on a sailboat called the "Barbary." The sailboat cruise was about 2.5 hours long. We sailed past some awesome Maori rock carvings (the real purpose of the trip was to see these). It was the most gorgeous day! Then we hit some of the shops and got some lunch. Next we headed towards Huka Falls, which weren't very big, more like rapids, but the color was cool. It was very a really light turquoise. We once again boarded our van and drove on to Turangi. That night we stayed at a sweet campsite. It was $6 a piece to stay there. We could even book an hour in the spa rooms. So Megs and I took a nice relaxing hot tub before getting ready for the big day ahead. Sunday morning we awoke at 6 am to begin our greatest adventure yet. We did the Tongariro Crossing, 8 hour hike! It was a hard climb, but well worth it. On the bus on the way to the start of the trail our driver said to be very careful of the poisonous gas in the volcanoe crevaces, as well as for falling rocks, because three people had to be helicoptered off the crossing the day before. A little nervous, we ventured on. We hiked up towards a volcanoe, Mt. Doom, from Lord of the Rings. We then hiked through two craters, saw Emerald Lakes, hot springs, and about 5 hours later, began the descent that over looked Turangi and Lake Taupo. It was just what you would imagine New Zealand to look like. It was gorgeous! We were pretty sore after all that, but to say we did it feels pretty good.
Yesterday, we arrived at school, excited to tell everyone about our accomplishment. One teacher said she couldn't believe we actually came to school after the hike! Other people said we were really lucky to still be in good shape and not injured! Made me feel like an adventurous rock star. It really did!