Kia ora! Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to have the MOST incredible family trip to New Zealand’s South Island, and I’m excited to share all the incredible adventures that we had along the way. Over the next few blog posts, I’ll be diving into everything you absolutely must have on your New Zealand bucket list. Read the previous blog post here. For a bit of context: my brother lives in NZ, so my mum and I travelled over for a family holiday with him. It was packed with hikes, swims, and endless mountain views. This trip marked my second time in this stunning country (after exploring the North Island in December 2022 with my Mum and Dad and brother), and I was beyond excited to come back. Trust me, there’s so much to see and do in New Zealand, I hope this blog helps inspire anyone looking to plan their own trip.

So despite this trip being a road trip around the South Island, we added in a few days to go back to the North Island so that Mum could complete the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. This is one of New Zealands Great Walks (like the Routeburn that we did earlier in the trip). Rich and I did the Tongariro Crossing back in December 2022, but as Mum’s asthma was playing up she was yet to conquer it…. until now!

This is by no means an easy walk, it is a pretty epic adventure: It’s a 20km hike with over 800 meters of elevation.

We woke up before the crack of dawn so that we could get ahead of the heat and the other hikers that would be on the trail.

We set off as the morning light first began to appear.

The trail takes you past Soda Springs, to South Crater which plateau’s for a while. For some reason, I always imagine that Mars’ surface would look like South Crater. From here, you can also make out where the lava would have flowed down the rock from the last eruption.

Then we climbed up to Red Crater where you get to see the vibrant red volcanic rock, and feel like you are looking into the heart of a volcano. Very very cool!

We followed the ridge down a scree slope. This, for me, was the hardest bit. I had a lot of difficulty trying to stay upright hiking down it. I had bruises on my bum and gravel grazes on my knee for weeks!

The next bit of the trail took us past the emerald blue lakes and several steam vents. A good reminder that this is still an active volcano and that there is LOTS of geothermal activity about.

The path then sort of zig zags down to the end of the route through the mountainside and forest.

The vibrant red volcanic rock, the craters, and the emerald lakes are like nothing else. Totally worth getting up at the crack of dawn for this one!

Very pleased to have had a second opportunity to experience this walk. Mum was also very chuffed to complete it.

We then had a lazy-ish afternoon before kayaking on Lake Taupo the following day.