• Spring 2025 Trip
    This is not our picture, but it's a nice view of 'Mount Doom' (the volcano in the middle).This IS our Pic of Mt Tongariro (L) & Mt Ngaurauhoe (R; aka: Mt Doom) from the car.The path had a nice variety of terrain. Some open flats.......some wooded paths......& some manufactured walkways.The feeder to the falls.J9 peering out over the edge . . .The return loop was more of an 'open fields' terrain.

    Taraniki Falls in Tongariro Nat'l Park

    February 26, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Heading South, we visited Tongariro National Park to walk to its most popular hike called Taraniki Falls. It's a hike to a 65-ft. waterfall running over volcanic cliffs into a pool of water, reachable by a 4-mi looped trail.

    In Lord of the Rings, this was called Land of Mordor ("where the shadows lie") which was filmed primarily in Tongariro National Park.

    There were 5 filming locations in the Tongariro area. A list of filming locations can be found at the link.
    https://www.doc.govt.nz/lordoftherings#mordor    Read more