Chateau Tongariro & Mt Ruapehu in Summer – Day 310

Today we are having a totally flashpacker day on Mt Ruapehu.

Today guys we show you how rich people hike…

Today we are leaving early the Whakapapa Village and we are going up Mt Ruapehu. Which is actually the largest volcano in New Zealand.

The road up to Mt Ruapehu is absolutely stunning with all this amazing volcanic landscape around us and once we arrive at the top we are getting our lift pass tickets and yes we are actually taking a chairlift up the mountain.

Alright alright, I know what you guys are gonna say it’s summer there is not a bit of snow so why the hell are we taking a chairlift well in fact Mt Ruapehu has heaps of hikes and there is a really awesome viewpoint up there so we decided to just check it out just to show you something a little bit different about Mt Ruapehu. Plus, for the flashpacker out there if you don’t fancy hiking in this area of New Zealand which we totally recommend it’s a great way to get all those amazing volcanic landscapes without breaking a sweat. As soon as we arrive on the top of the chairlift we are mind blown by all the rocks it’s absolutely crazy the amount of volcanic rocks around this area usually it’s a massive ski field, so you only see white slopes but when there is no snow oh my gosh, the landscape is so different.

Another really awesome thing at the top of the chairlift is this huge cafe it boasts being the highest cafe in New Zealand so how about that for a claim to fame.

We treat ourselves to a couple of delicious caramel lattes and couple of sweet treats while we are surrounded by there amazing views. We have these towering rock formations beside us called The Pinnacles and there’s a lot of little walks you can do from the top of the chairlift but we have been recommended to do one of the best walks in the area which is toward Meads Wall and that is actually at the bottom of the chairlift so there we go back down to check that walk out.

The Meads Wall walk is actually the shortest walk we’re ever gonna do in New Zealand it’s only 15 minutes. It’s pretty simple, When you see the massive chairlift which is the Rangatira Chairlift you follow the very feinted track and you make your way toward this massive pile of rock and behind there you’re gonna see amazing views.

The feature itself is Meads Wall. Meads Wall is amazing it looks like a gigantic stack of rock like a massive wall and almost looks manmade, it’s actually just volcanic rocks it’s absolutely amazing and super fun to climb although you need to mind you footing cos some of those rocks are a little bit loose. From the top of it the view looks absolutely amazing you can see the whole wall you can see the whole mountain you can see the whole valley it’s definitely worth the climb.

So Laura went up, forward by herself leaving me all the gears so I have to climb the whole wall by myself being scared of heights. Isn’t she so mean. Woo.

After complaining a lot about the height we are now making our way back down because we have much more planned today. We actually hopping back in the car and making our way to something very very fancy, it’s called Chateau Tongariro yes it sounds that fancy, and it is one of the best place for high tea in New Zealand.

Yes, we are having very much a flashpacker day here in Mt Ruapehu and the Tongariro Chateau is one of the most iconic buildings in New Zealand it was built during the 1920s and it has a real historic vibe to it. But today, it is more famous for its high tea.

High tea takes place in The Ruapehu Lounge of the Tongariro Chateau and we are situated at the Ngauruhoe Window named because it has awesome views of Mt Ngauruhoe which is otherwise known as Mt Doom in the Lord of the Rings. We get to choose tea from their huge tea menu and then we are served a delicious platter of nice little sweet treats.

There is so much on this three plate tower of awesomeness there is some creme brulee there is some mini sandwiches there is some macaroons there is some chocolate cake there is some mud cakes there is so much stuff and there is some actually amazing shoo which is this French pastry with a tonne of cream inside it’s awesome.

Honestly, it’s not really something that we do everyday treating ourselves to High Tea but it’s one of the best way to actually experience Mt Ruapehu in summer. We’ve been up the chairlift we’ve seen all the views from top and then we come back down and treat ourselves in one of the oldest buildings in New Zealand. It feels like we are treating ourselves like real royalty with all those amazing sweets but Laura and I just can’t stop eating.

Nice wine.

And what about the view?

And the views alright too.

As we are back to the Skotel checking yet another amazing sunset it’s absolutely incredible how beautiful this thing looks, we are heading to their bar, they do really cheap but delicious pizzas so we are treating ourselves once more it’s flashpacker day all the way today.

It’s not gonna work for me now is it? There you go.