New Zealand in pictures A journey round New Zealand in February 2007 19th to 23rd day
Day 19 - Kaiteriteri to National Park Village (north Island)
	The sundial outside Picton church with the touching motto Be as true to each other As the dial is to the sun Picton is at the head of the very long Queen Charlotte Sound, and has the Inter-Islander ferry which connects with Wellington in the North Island
The two smqall white leading lights mark the entrance to Queen Charlotte Sound
	The coast of North Island
Wellington from the sea	A photoshoot of wedding dresses on a windy Wellington street
	View from our bedroom window
Our bedroom in the National Park Village	Changing views in the evening light
Day 20 - Walking the Tongariro Crossing Bus to the Mangatepopo road end 17 km. walking with 800 metres ascent and 1150 metres of descent Weather: sunny with occasional cloud
Early dawn
The hut at the road end	Interesting joint for the hut construction
The start of the track - mesh to avoid erosion
Red lichens	and white
Most people start between 7.30 and 8, so there are quite a lot of people on the track to begin with
Track passing over a lava field
Clouds across the face of Mt. Ngauruhoe	The first steep bit
	Board walk across fragile alpine area
	Walking across the South crater It is possible to climb Mt. Ngauruhoe on an unmarked path, but it is a steep climb taking 1½ hours return, and there is not enough time for this unless you are staying the night in one of the huts
The toilet near Soda Springs (lashed down for the severe winds)	The Soda Spring, smelling of sulphur
Waterfall above Soda Springs The track gets steeper (right)
Looking back to the start
	Walking across the South Crater
	Some flowers can grow even in volcanic ash
The path climbs up the left hand ridge
Looking back over the South crater
	The path to the final summit
with the stunning Red Crater beyond it	including this very strange lava flow hollowed out by weathering
The highest point of the crossing (1900 m.)
	Looking down on the Emerald Lakes
This short section of the path is on loose scree
	Steam from ulphur springs
	The sulphur spills over onto the slope below Looking back from the first emerald lake to the high summit (left)
The third emerald lake had this interesting red reed round its margin, providing a stunningt colour contrast Looking back from there to the high summit (right)
Department of Conservation signposts make sure you don't get lost
The path leads on across the central crater
Looking back
	Arriving at the Blue Lake
	From the Blue Lake, which is almost exactly halfway, there is a steady descent of over 1000 m. through less interesting scenery to the Ketetahi road end. An alternative at this point is to trun round and see all the really good scenery again.
	Tuft lichens
...growing in great abundance
The Keetahi Hut with the Keetahi Springs just above them. (The springs are on private land)
	A sunken path in a red tussock area
	The Dept. of Conservation is building a shortcut path to lead walkers further from the private springs. There is even a small digger at the top of line of bags, presumably brought in by helicopter.
The path from here on is made up with stepped levels and honeycomb mesh to prevent erosion
	There were plenty of bare flax stalks all over NZ, but this was the only plant still flowering
For the last few km. the path is in forest land
	...with occasional resting places for the weary who were not by then short of time to reach their bus at the road end
	The last kilometer runs alongside a gusing stream
Back at the Tongariro Crossing Lodge in National Park	And off to the railway station, now converted to a restaurant, for a very good dinner

Day 21 - National Park Village to a homestay near Te Kuiti Lake Taupo The Huka Falls on the Waikato River Orakei Korako - the "hidden valley" of geothermal springs Weather: fine and warm
	The Raurimo Spiral was completed in 1908 and was the final link in the Main Trunk Railway from Wellington to Auckland. Several thousand men worked on this project for 3 years; when completed, it was declared to be one of the wonders of the world.
Lake Rotoaira	Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand, formed by an enormous volcanic explosion in AD 181
Shopping centre in Turangi
Turangi is the centre of the rainbow trout industry, and advertises it on its rainwater gratings	The Huka Falls on the Waikato River, forced into a channel only a quarter of its previous width
The Waikato is NZ's longest river
The ferry crossing to Orakei Korako, known as the Hidden Valley. Hot water algae growing in the sulphurous water (right)
	The Rainbow Terrace with geyser
	The Cascade Terrace
The "Elephant's Head Rock
The "Artists Palette" with a thickness of less than an inch of silica in some places
The Ruatapu cave with the pool of mirrors at the bottom
Mud pool
On the road to Te Kuiti Te Kuiti is the "sheep shearing capital of the world" and commemorated by this huge statue at the entrance to the town (right) Main street of Te Kuiti (below) Entrance to Tapanui Country Home near Te Kuiti. The entrance was created by removing the centre section of a massive rock (below right)
The house at Tapanui	View from our bedroom
Day 22 - Trips from the homestay near Te Kuiti Waitomo Glowworm Caves (excellent but pictures not permitted) The Mangapohue natural arch (22 km. east) The Marokopa falls Weather: fine and warm
Leaving the Waitomo caves	The boat from which you see the glow-worms
A typical North Island scene, which could perhaps be England apart from the tall trees and the absence of hedges	Many of the landscapes in this region are filled with these small bumpy hillocks
The Mangapohue natural arch	avery impressive space as high as a cathedral. You can see glow-worms here for free at night.
The rocks in the fields nearby are full of fossil oyster shells
A fern about to unfold	The Marukopa Falls another few km. along the road
	View looking back at the Tipanui homestay across their lake
Day 23 - Homestay near Te Kuiti to Rotorua
View from the dining room with the morning sun
Short stop at the Pureora Forest where they have a very tall hide (right) so that you can climb to the level of the forest canopy and there is also an ancient steam hauler, abandoned where it broke down ages ago (below)
	The road follows a succession of lakes formed by hydro dams
on Entry to "Whaka" (Te Whakarewarewa - the thermal area) from the NZ Maori Arts and Crafts Institute on Hemo Road	Maori war canoe
Detail of figure-head Various examples of Maori craft
Maori bird-trap
The Prince of Wales geyser, precursor of the larger Pohutu geyser	Mudpools
Pohutu geyser in full spate
	A Maori pa (fort) overlooks the termal springs
	Boiling water spring
A curious dry mud mini-volcano
The Maori meeting house
	where later they performed a traditional Maori ceremony for the greeting of a chief and his followers
Evening walk along the shores of Lake Rotorua	starting with the sulphurous section
and finding black swans in the freshwater section	and cormorants nesting on trees
Some people arrive by sea-plane	and there is also a war-canoe on display
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