The Chateau Tongariro was built in 1929 to take the lodgings at the Tongariro National Park up a notch. This national park was created in 1894, the second national park ever to be created after Yellowstone. It has dual World Heritage status, one for the volcanic region and one for the Māori cultural significance. There are three active volcanic peaks here, Mt. Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt. Tongariro in descending order of height. They are all part of the much larger super-volcano Taupo. It is one of only six super-volcanos in the world. Taupo erupted 1800 years ago and was the largest eruption in the last 5000 years. It's caldera holds the largest lake in New Zealand and the last eruption ejected 7.2 cubic miles of material. The magma flow was blocked by a hard top layer. When the magma finally pushed through the ash and pumice was strewn far and wide. With all that material gone the ground sank ands was filled in my water, creating the lake. The three volcanoes currently at the park were basically side vents of Taupo. As a side note. Mt. Ngauruhoe may look familiar, it was the mountain used for Mt. Doom in the Lord of The Rings. We hit the visitor's center, walked a trail along the river, had happy hour at the adjacent Skotel and then dinner at the Chateau
the C-T logo is for Chateau Tongariro
We saw two Kiwi's right off the bat!
That means us!
Classic old school decorations
In winter all three mountains are snow capped
The first floor of the Chateau
While checking in the desk clerk offered us an "upgrade". We went to the room and it was a much smaller single room with no cooking facilities. A downgrade for sure and we declined it straight away
That meant that we had to hike our luggage across this lawn...
Up this gravel path...
and down this road
To cabin #7. We did get help along the way from a worker who was going on break
This is more our style
Four rooms and a kitchen
Two bedrooms, one with a queen and one with two singles
And a view from the backyard!
We saw a family of hikers collapse at the end of their hike
Mt Ruapehu is the tallest of the three
These Māori images at the front of the visitor center are quite scary
Yes this is an active seismic zone
A n informative display of the big eruption
The huge greenish lake to the far left of the snow capped peak is Lake Taupo
Our hike along the river
Each tree trunk was an entire ecosystem
So many kinds of lichen, mosses and other plants
Looking for Blue Ducks that live in the fast water
The Mountain is behind us
A great day
A twisty tree
This is a ski area in the winter
A cool bridge
Over the rapids
The river flows fast in this ravine
So many different types of plants
More cabins
Shaggy grasses
Intrepid hikers heading off to who knows where for how long?
A welcome swallow with mud in its beak
A mud mustache
I saw a cool bar on the top of this hill and we decided to have happy hour there
Mt. Ngauruhoe is part of the Mt Taupo super-volcano
Gin, wine and Mt. Doom, the Sam and Frodo pairing
A cone of silence around the phone at the Skotel
A grand central hall in the Chateau
Scapegrace was a new gin
It came out blue but turned purple when mixed with the tonic
A very pretty and tall GnT
A very dapper bartender with a mustache tie clip
1920's elegance
The largest billiards table I have ever seen
Ask permission before playing this grand piano
The view from the high tea seats
An impressive drapery
Who is thinking about desserts already?
A busy dining room
I discussed facial hair with this gentleman and he gave me some good product hints
Fritz's Macha crème Brule and another tasty dessert
Lisa was our server and her energy added a whole extra level of fun to the evening
The setting sun hit these hills just right
