30 October 2015, Friday
We actually were about to make the drive to our next destination – Palmerston North – but I felt that if we didn’t squeeze in another walk in Tongariro National Park with such perfect weather, it’d be the biggest regret I’d have for the trip.
The Lower Tama Lake Walk takes about 5 hours to complete and you’d be standing at 1,200m with a gorgeous view of the lower lake. The Lower + Upper Tama Lake Walk would take you about 6 hours to finish the whole 17km trek.
What got me sold on completing this walk was the fact that we’d be walking in between two mountains – Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe – which is also known as the Tama Saddle. I mean, how often do you get to do this?!
The walk took us through many beech forests, alpine herbfields, and undulating tussock country. It was a really windy walk to brave through the Tama Saddle, a funnel for prevailing westerly winds.
We completed the walk within 3.5 hours which was surprising considering many sources said it’d take about 5 hours.
I forgot what we did after but I think we pigged out somewhere cause that walk sucked the energy out of us.
XM drove us from Whakapapa Village to our next accommodation in Palmerston North. Palmerston was a stopover for us before we headed down to our last destination – Wellington.
Next up: Random shenanigans in Palmerston North.
Read more about my previous adventures in New Zealand here:
- National Trout Centre
- Taranaki Falls + Mount Ruapehu
- Rock Sliding in Gisborne
- Tolaga Bay Wharf (NZ’s Longest Wharf)
- First Sunrise of the World
- Downtime in Whakatane
- Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland
- Touristing Around in Taupo
- Black Water Rafting in Waitomo
- Exploring Auckland
Till then!
Bed for One 
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