Owhango, New Zealand - Polarsteps

Lake Rotokare - Forgotten World Highway - Whakapapa New Zealand, travel day 137 Kind of a fail this morning on my sunrise mission. I woke up already late and I wanted to find the non existent point where from the lake I could see Mt Taranaki. Running around like a chicken through lush forest I got so frustrated I decided to walk back, and then go to the platform on the water, conditions were really good but no view of Taranaki. As I was still kicking myself for waking up late, I thought of bringing the drone up, and whalaa! There it was Mr Taranaki shining like no other then I got happy again. After the sunrise mission we hit the road towards another of those iconic places in the North Island, Tongariro National Park. We arrived just in time to ask a few questions at the visitor center and going up to the ski slopes. I wish I was skiing here but not this time, instead hike a bit up through snow to get the view of Mt Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe and in the distance Mt Taranaki again, so dreamy moment. As the sun was fading out in the horizon the light couldn't be any better and there was nothing else could improve it, I thought. Clara already started with it's saying at this time, "it's cold, I wanna go back to the van", I couldn't just go at that time, the sky seemed didn't stop turning better and better, so in the end she left me behind, and it seems I had waited long enough to get the total darkness moment, cause I already saw the Milky Way. And I figured it out, I have an addition, I really couldn't got back to the van with those stars, I certainly stayed a bit long than probably I should have cause my hands and feet were freezing to dead. Just a few min after a hot shower fixed them up.