Mount Doom?

Backblip.

Left Wellington for Tongariro National Park in dull and misty weather, but still very little rain. Quite different landscape en route with volcanic terrain of mounds and valleys, rather than the peaks of the earthquake formed South Island,

Our hotel for the night was the 4Q Chateau Tongariro, which sits on the slopes of one of three active volcanos, one of which was used as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings. The whole area of Mordor was filmed round here and it is really bleak and forbidding.

The hotel was dubbed Chateau Fawlty Towers after several problems - no wifi, poor service, small dull rooms and a power cut in the middle of dinner! Not our best experience and we were happy to leave the next morning.