From the time the guides picked us up, until they dropped us off, it was action packed. Incredible scenery, exciting explorations, knowledgable guides, whether it was culture, flora, fauna, history - they were always there with an answer, or looked it up for us. The first short hike, the longer one the next day through incredible rain forest, where Jacqlyn educated us on the various edible plants and the beautiful native trees and bushes, and Mike pointing out the birds as they flew by, and also recognizing them by their call. The mountain biking was new for me, the quick education Dave gave us and the encouragement from Lisa was terrific. I was apprehensive going down a single track, but everyone in the group completed the adventure without incident. The Tongoriro Crossing was exciting because the mountain had an erruption in August for the first time in over 100 years, the Dept of Conservation repaired the trails, we started the trek in a misty cloud, which gave way to beautiful scenery by lunchtime. The trek was tough, a stairway to heaven, and of course what goes up must go down. first across the crater, down some scree to incredible Emeral Lake and Blue Lake, then some snowfields, on to the hut that was damaged by the eruption. We also saw where the trail had been washed out by floodwater. We made it beautifully and heard from the shopkeepers the next day that the trail was closed after we completed it because of seismic activity. 6 days later Tongoriro would erupt again. Now that is adventurous excitement to the max. The last day was rafting through the caves and experiencing the darkness and the glow worms. Yes, this trip is indeed awesome!

| January 1970