We had the option of climbing Mount Doom itself, but decided to save that for a trip of its own as it would have added at least 3 hours to our already lengthy hike. I'm more worried about coming back down!
The first stage of the hike was very barren and a bit Mars like. It made me think about what it would be like to live on Mars. Apparently there's a lottery going on now for the chance to colonize Mars. A Kiwi is in the running to win.
The next stage of the hike was a steep uphill climb.Luckily the weather cooperated so it wasn't too hot. I did find myself in tears a few times due to the high winds though, but my handy windbreaker (thanks Mom!) did it's job well.
Once reaching the peak of the pass, we had the opportunity to detour to the summit of Mount Tongariro. This one looked much less intimidating than Mount Doom (no crazy downhill scrambles), so we decided to give it a go. It was well worth it as it offered beautiful views of the Emerald Pools, a great angle on Mount Doom and we were well above the clouds!
The colors and rock formations never disappointed and constantly gave me something to admire. It was a good excuse to stop and take a break from the challenging climb to just enjoy the beautiful nature.
Coming back to the main trail after our summit diversion, we caught our first glimpse of the Red Crater. Such a beautiful deep color and intriguing formations formed from explosions and pressure build ups underneath the very ground we were walking on.
I mentioned earlier how it was nice to have an excuse to stop and take a break and take in the scenery. Right here at the Red Crater and Emerald Pools, we started seeing lots more warning signs than before and notices that we were entering a highly active volcanic zone. Instructions were to minimize our stops and move through as quickly as possible, so this break for lunch at the edge of one of the emerald pools was our last break for a while.
As we walked through the active volcanic zone, to our right we thought could see steam rising from the mountains. We kept walking further and as we rounded the corner and the mountain moved out of the way, it became very clear where the steam was coming from and that it was not just normal clouds. The warning signs said the risk was 'normal' (the lowest it can be), but you still start to wonder if the scientist know what they're doing and if that steam is going to turn into molten rock at some point. 
The rest of the hike was a nice downhill stroll and a bit exhausting. We finally entered the canopy of the rainforest and had some beautifully formed steps - a bit like cheating on a nature hike, but welcome at this point in the day. We practically ran through the rainforest to the finish line, caught our breath and continued the 900m walk to our car. A total of 23.3 km in all from 7am-4pm.
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