1/4. Rainy when our ferry arrived at Wellington. A free shuttle bus waits outside of the luggage carousel. Packed solid, still some stragglers left out. We were dropped off at the train station platform 9. From there, we walked about a mile to Gilmer Hotel, in the rain. Cold and miserable. It's a services apartment, fully equipped, even with single serving laundry detergent. Started a load of laundry in the washer/dryer 2-in-1 unit, then headed out to waterfront. Stopped at the Brewpub next door to Te Papa. Interesting lamps. They have 3 restrooms: male, female and undecided. Bought some food on the way back, for dinner. Laundry came out very wrinkled. Used wifi to book a later bus tomorrow and informed the hostel about late arrival (after midnight).1/5. Blue sky. Everything looks prettier today. Left luggage at the reception. Went to Te Papa. Spacious (under-utilized).
It has a colossal clam (fossil), a giant squid (caught in Antarctic, now sleeps in preservation solution), moa models, stuffed kiwi. The regional copies of Treaty of Waitangi are interesting too look at, especially the signatures and translation. A few very nicely carved canoes. I like the meeting room the most: thatched roof, wooden carving throughout. No photo allowed in this area. The 6th floor terrace is a nice place on this sunny day: great view of the harbor to the north.
Wellington has some nice architecture, and art installation, wedged among many square box concrete buildings. Style all over the map, no harmony at all. However, it seems very livable, pedestrian and kids friendly. Hotels are not expensive, lots of space and benches. I like this restaurant, where you can sit outside on a bean bag.
Being the capital, one must do in Wellington is to take a guided tour of the Beehive - the Parliament. The tour can be booked online. We just went in and asked for the next hour-long tour (there're a few 30 minute tours too). Once have your name registered, you can come back 10 some minutes before the tour (or you loose your spot). The tour started at the entrance to the Beehive's banquet hall, then walk to the House, LLC, and the classic church looking library. We also walked down to the basement to see the anti earthquake base. Our guide is a teacher. I learned a lot.Last, walking to the train station platform 9 to wait for Intercity Bus towards Auckland. Naked Bus stops by the northern entrance.
1/6, cloudy. Arrived at Turangi just past 1am (bus was half an hour late)! Walked to the hostel. Mike, the owner was heading out to the bus station to pick us up, when we showed up in his drive way. Wow! He said we should sleep late tomorrow, and he'll take care of the shuttle to the TH. I got up early still, worried that I would miss the shuttles, which usually depart early morning. Checking out the hostel. A Plus Samurai Hostel is a hodgepodge of multiple 1 story buildings. Messy, but has character: cars parked on grass, childish paintings and slogans on walls, flags on the ceiling, mismatch furnitures with torn or stained upholstery, miscellaneous decorative items (like a rock). Lots of people, especially in the kitchen and living room. Everyone seems to be comfortable. These boots hanging here are supposed to have not survive the hike. At around 10am, Mike took us and 2 young trampers south. Dropped them off at some road junction, and drove us all the way to trail head. Saw a few cars parked way out. Must be very crowded yesterday. It was sunny. Now, the thick clouds are hanging low. At this hour (10:47), not many people on the trail. He said he'd pick us up at 6:30pm.Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Tongariro Alpine Crossing is touted as the best one day walk in the world. 19.4Km. There are multiple options (see this photo at the trail head), like a 3 day loop, fitted with huts (NZ$32) that you can book online. Most people (a few thousands a day in summer) walk one way crossing from Mangatepopo TH to Ketetahi Carpark, aided by multiple shuttle companies.
Mangatepopo Hut (1190m) is about 15 min walk through open grassy/volcanic ground, more or less flat. There's a short sidewalk via left from the first toilet building to a small waterfall called Soda Spring. Green and probably drinkable water. Some flowers.
An hour later, the slope picks up, and soon there're stairs. Then it tapers off, good view of the southern plain where you just walked and beyond. 2 hours from TH, is another track: Mt Ngauruhoe (2291m, signed 3 hr return). A bit too cloudy and long to go today. 
Then you walk into a big flat crater floor. Very flat, and nice, with some grass. But foggy, and drizzle. Once out of the crater, we were hit by strong wind. I had trouble seeing, because sand was getting into my eyes. I found a big rock and hid behind it, in order to fish my sunglasses out of my pack. Soon is the side trail to Tongariro Summit (1967m, signed 2 hr return). Poles mark the trail. I didn't last long, even thought it starts out almost flat. 10 minutes in, I was miserable. Cold and wet, hard to breath due to the wind. Gave up.
Continued on the rim of the Red Crater in cloud, rain and wind. Couldn't tell that I was walking by a crater, due to low visibility. Then you slide downhill in loose scree, but not too steep to be dangerous. Luckily, clouds blew off now and then, revealing the 3 colorful lakes below in brief moments. The southern two are striking green, the 3rd is turquoise blue. Beautiful colors. I sat and wait for a long time to take these photos. At one point, I could see the 4th lake, Blue Lake, further. It's bigger, but not a bright color. Since we didn't hike to Tongariro Summit, we have time to spare. Sat by the two different lakes for break. It's the highlight of the day.Now, it's all the way down. Grassy gentle slope. You can see steam coming off in a couple of places. Lake Taupo is a shimmering grey far in the distance.
Ketetahi Hut is a day shelter, at 1450m. From here, it's less than 2 hours to the car park. Waited here for awhile, but a bit crowded. I was surprised to see quite a few kids, who had survived the terrible wind up at the Red Crater. 
Soon, the trail goes into the woods, and that goes on and on, without a view except for one small waterfall. 
By 5:30pm, we reached the end. Multi-tier sitting platform for you to wait for the ride, and more picnic tables on the side. Quite busy here. A few vans and cars coming and going, taking hikers to the town, or to the other trailhead. Mike, as good as his word, came at 6:30, in a different car (same with spider web and dirty cups). On the way back, he picked up someone with a big backpack and dropped him off in the town center. A very nice guy indeed.
1/7. Blue sky! Didn't get up early today. A little after 10, Mike took us to Tokaanu Hot Spring. Mud pools. The soaking complex and swimming pool is operated by the local Maori tribe. Quite friendly. You can book a private soak, in a big bare walled room with a square concrete pool, big enough to seat 8+ people. Very warm. Outside in the swimming pool, the water is just warm, so you can swim. A lot of family with little kids. The creek right by the complex is said to have a lot of trouts. Lake Taupo area is the trout capitol, so much so, that you need to get a special fishing license in fish here.
After the soak, walked about a mile to the marina where the creek goes to Lake Taupo. It's quite beautiful here. Lots of black swans (in the hundreds). People are fishing here. The sun is shining, very warm. Walking back to the hostel is about an hour. At the outskirt of the town, heard a car beeping at us. Guess who? Mike was in yet anything van, with a couple of people and fishing rods. He picked us up. Nice.
2:35pm is our bus to Auckland. It was late again, about 10-15 minutes. Intercity Bus provides slow WIFI on the bus. I checked my email for late arrival instruction at the serviced hotel for tonight (the front desk closes at 5pm on weekends). The bus stopped at Taupo for about half an hour, which is a pleasant surprise. The waterfront is quite nice, green space, flowers, and shops are behind the road so the view of Lake Taupo is unobstructed.It turns out that I needn't worry. The instruction is taped at the door. Dial the intercom and someone came in a few minutes. Quest on Hobson is just one block from Skycity, where the bus stop is. Very convenient. I like these serviced apartment. It has everything. This one has separate washer and dryer.
1/8, Sunday. A lazy morning. Stored luggage at the front desk, and headed out to the waterfront of Auckland. Lots of people. Checked out various departures to different islands, but our 5pm flight doesn't allow any. Happened to see a group sitting by the wharf listening to a young lady. We happily tagged along till the end (~1:30pm). Walking Tour is excellent. Our guide is enthusiastic and friendly. She took us (about 20-30 tourists) all over the CBD, history, local politics, and options for later. We visited the very first street (Vulcan Lane), the site of the very first church (and for the people), the Government House, Albert Park and a single Kauri tree, the gate to the bomb shelter. Fascinating anecdotes. 
Auckland Art Gallery is a must. The prized collection the Maori portraits by Gottfried Lindauer. Life like, meticulous. Very interesting to compare the facial tattoos. There's a solo voice performance in the afternoon.The rest is uneventful. United Airlines' delayed departure (for 3 hours) is to my advantage, so I could spend more time in Auckland. Changed the connection in SFO. At 5:45pm, we board. However, the plane is later than expected. I gave up my connection, and stayed in Bay Area for the next week. My partner missed his connection, and UA didn't rebook the flight. By the time we landed in SFO, the choice was limited. Plus the snow condition, the next flight he managed to get on was 12 hours later!!! No compensation or apology from United Airlines. Terrible.
