Our day began with leaving the YHA hostel as we headed to Lake taopoe, the biggest lake in New Zealand. Once we got there, we all got out of the van and some of us put our feet in the water and found some pumice stone; there was such a peacefulness to the lake and we would have loved to have stayed a bit longer but we had to go on to our next stop- Mt Ruapehu (perhaps better known as Mt Doom.)
Our group at Lake Taupo.
Driving up to it, all you could see were a mixture of clouds and fog and it was sweet as to be where some scenes in the Lord of the Rings were actually filmed. We got there just in time; we went up a set of ski lifts and were 5000 feet up when it started raining so we took our pictures, saw some beautiful waterfalls and headed back down and got back on the road. The only mishap was Ray losing $160 on the ski lift on the way up, but thankfully on the way down he saw it so he and Sam (better known as the “whimsical woodsman”) trekked up a bit of the mountain to get it, and we were off again... onward to Wellington- New Zealand’s capital.
Looking down Mt Ruapehu while riding the ski lift.
Our group at the highest point the ski lifts would take us up Mt. Ruapehu.
Arriving in Wellington, exhausted from the day’s festivities, we hung out in the hostel for a bit and then went out as a group. The days are going by so fast and I can’t believe we’re already headed to the South Island soon! We’ve had so many once in a lifetime experiences already, but there are still so many memories to be made.
-Sara Wernick
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