The Tongariro Northern Circuit is one of New Zealand's Great Walks with a length of 43 km. Located South of Lake Taupo in the Tongariro National Park it brings you through a active volcanic scenery that looks rather familiar...

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Yes you know this mountain, it's Mt Doom from the Lord of the Rings. Let's have a closer look:

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After about 3 hours of walking you reach the foothill of the mountain and from now on you literally walk through Mordor.

A look back at the path: ("Up, up, up the stairs we go")

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Without taking sidetrips you reach the highest point after about 5 hours and get some phantastic views as a reward.

The Blue Lake in front and Lake Taupo in the back:

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The Emerald Lakes:

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A look on the next part of the trek:

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As the official huts and campsites were fully booked the only option was to camp wild. You have to leave the path by 500m though which is quite a distance. But there are plenty of good camping spots in Mordor:

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Including a sunset next to Mt Ruapehu:

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The next morning brought a great view of the same mountain:

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And not much more to see, just walking through desert-like land and a small forest. The campsite for the last night though was again at a very neat spot:

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