Danielle and I took a trip up to New Zealand's north island. While the south island is better known for the outdoor trips, the north island has a hike rated the best 1 day hike in New Zealand and rated by some travel magazines as a top ten 1 day hike in the world - The Tongariro hike! We decided to make the 8+ hour hike over some of the most diverse and difficult terrain I have ever hiked (we even got to hike across an active volcano peak where you could scratch the groud and feel hot steam coming through the dirt). The hike is usually not too bad in the summer; however, a snow storm put a ton of ice on the ground for our hike. I am not exaggerating when I say that this was the most nervous I have ever been! Parts of the hike were completely iced over and the trail did not have any proper footing. During the winter this trail requires a professional guide and I'm pretty sure they were not expecting a snow storm this early in the year because we were not equipped for this hike.
Danielle and I decided to make a side track to complete the Tongariro Summit. Our camera died after this summit. We completed the 19 kilometer track in 7 hours with a run through a fern forest to catch the 3 pm bus back to Lake Taupo where we stayed for the weekend.
Danielle and I decided to make a side track to complete the Tongariro Summit. Our camera died after this summit. We completed the 19 kilometer track in 7 hours with a run through a fern forest to catch the 3 pm bus back to Lake Taupo where we stayed for the weekend. 
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