6 Dec 2018 - NZ Day 6: Mount Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom)

After completing the Taranaki Falls Walk which took us almost 3 hours, we had a lunch break in our car at Whakapapa Village.  Once we felt rejuvenated, we drove towards Mount Ruapehu.

Half way to the mountain, we stopped by a road bend where we spotted a partial rainbow in the sky.

We also managed to have a superb view of Mount Ruapehu, which is an active volcano with unimpeded, awe inspiring views reaching all the way to the coast.  The glaciers on Mount Ruapehu are the only glaciers in the North Island.

We drove all the way to the ski area, which was closed during summer.

Quite a number of scenes from Lord of the Ring movie were filmed around this area.

There is a hiking trail here but it requires climbing up a steep and rocky slope.  We attempted the climb but it was too difficult from Jerlene and Javier.

Eventually, I'm the only one who managed to reach to the top.

Ruapehu, the largest active volcano in New Zealand, is the highest point on the North Island and has three major peaks: Tahurangi (2,797 m), Te Heuheu (2,755 m) and Paretetaitonga (2,751 m).  The last major eruption was in 1996 and the last lahar was in March 2007.

There were lots of construction works going on at Mount Ruapehu.  It seems like they were building gondolas.  I did some research on the internet and confirmed it.  It's called Whakapapa Gondola which will open in June 2019.

While driving down from Mount Ruapehu, we stopped by a place with a nice view of Mount Ngauruhoe.

Mount Ngauruhoe is an active stratovolcano or composite cone in New Zealand, made from layers of lava and tephra.  The volcano lies between the active volcanoes of Mount Tongariro to the north and Mount Ruapehu to the south.  Mount Ngauruhoe was used as a stand-in for the fictional Mount Doom in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, achieving worldwide exposure.

We finally managed to have a breathtaking view of "Mount Doom" without having its peak totally covered in clouds.  Welcome to the land of Mordor!

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