There and back again - A trip to New Zealand

nilanjanray · 8th January 2013, 14:21

Fantastic photos. I am a big LOTR fan too, and plan to visit NZ someday and do a road trip, focusing on South Island.

acurafan · 8th January 2013, 17:03

Thanks. I enjoyed your pictures too. Reminded me our time to Binsar in the middle of winter and the spectacular sunrises and sunsets on the Himalaya.
South Island is spectacular. Southern Alps are almost mini Himalayas. I will post the pictures in few days. Most NZ climbers practice their skills on these mountains without worrying about Altitude sickness. I would highly recommend 2-3 weeks in South Island. 10 days in South Island was definitely not enough for us.

V-16 · 8th January 2013, 17:57

NZ is a place which spellbinds you. Its just like a page from a story book. Enroute to South Island from the North one would want to stop every 10 minutes to take picture as one feels this is THE scenery pic i can get....just a few meters away the scenery dramatically changes, revealing better photo ops with the same feeling you had a few minutes ago.

I took many photos which i thought were like those from a post card. Id love to go back again but as a back packer. The facilities are awesome and the prices are great. NZ i miss you.!!

acurafan · 13th January 2013, 13:59

Today we decided to drive Tongariro National park aka Mordor for LOTR fans. Tongariro NP is a volcanic park with three active volcanoes Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe, and Mount Tongariro.
Mount Ngauruhoe was used as digital model for Mt Doom in LOTR series. There are two different ways to get to Tongariro NP, through SH-1 or SH-47. We decided to take the more traveled SH-1. Most of the park was snowed in due to unseasonal cold weather and we had low cloud which kind of made the place quite gloomy.
Overall it was a great place to visit in spite of the below freezing temperature and strong wind.

Road to Mordor

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Mt. Ngauruhoe in the back ground

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Mrs. Acurafan decides whether her long jumping skills are Olympic Standard

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Can we cross the stream ?

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Yes we can

8th January 2013, 14:21	#16
nilanjanray Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,887 Thanked: 2,926 Times View My Garage	Re: There and back again - A trip to New Zealand Fantastic photos. I am a big LOTR fan too, and plan to visit NZ someday and do a road trip, focusing on South Island.
	(1) Thanks

8th January 2013, 17:03	#17
acurafan BHPian Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: BLR/SAN Posts: 126 Thanked: 271 Times	Re: There and back again - A trip to New Zealand Thanks. I enjoyed your pictures too. Reminded me our time to Binsar in the middle of winter and the spectacular sunrises and sunsets on the Himalaya. South Island is spectacular. Southern Alps are almost mini Himalayas. I will post the pictures in few days. Most NZ climbers practice their skills on these mountains without worrying about Altitude sickness. I would highly recommend 2-3 weeks in South Island. 10 days in South Island was definitely not enough for us.
	() Thanks

8th January 2013, 17:57	#18
V-16 Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: mumbai Posts: 4,594 Thanked: 950 Times View My Garage	Re: There and back again - A trip to New Zealand NZ is a place which spellbinds you. Its just like a page from a story book. Enroute to South Island from the North one would want to stop every 10 minutes to take picture as one feels this is THE scenery pic i can get....just a few meters away the scenery dramatically changes, revealing better photo ops with the same feeling you had a few minutes ago. I took many photos which i thought were like those from a post card. Id love to go back again but as a back packer. The facilities are awesome and the prices are great. NZ i miss you.!!
	() Thanks

13th January 2013, 13:59	#19
acurafan BHPian Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: BLR/SAN Posts: 126 Thanked: 271 Times	Trip to Mordor Today we decided to drive Tongariro National park aka Mordor for LOTR fans. Tongariro NP is a volcanic park with three active volcanoes Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe, and Mount Tongariro. Mount Ngauruhoe was used as digital model for Mt Doom in LOTR series. There are two different ways to get to Tongariro NP, through SH-1 or SH-47. We decided to take the more traveled SH-1. Most of the park was snowed in due to unseasonal cold weather and we had low cloud which kind of made the place quite gloomy. Overall it was a great place to visit in spite of the below freezing temperature and strong wind. Road to Mordor Mt. Ngauruhoe in the back ground Mrs. Acurafan decides whether her long jumping skills are Olympic Standard Can we cross the stream ? Yes we can Attached Thumbnails Last edited by acurafan : 13th January 2013 at 14:02.
	(1) Thanks