Taking in the Majestic

“New Zealand is a country of breathtaking extremes and that is spectacularly evident in the central North Island where you’ll find the world famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing,” Australian reporter Greg Sweetnam writes. “Even before you get to the starting point of this testing eight-hour walk, the landscape shows why the region is held in awe by international visitors. Mt Ruapehu, Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe, their jagged volcanic edges and peaks smoothed over by snow, rise majestically out of the tussock plains. These mountains, the Ruapehu and Turoa skifields and the walks around them, are the centrepiece of the 800sq km World Heritage-listed Tongariro National Park.”