The First National Park in New Zealand

From National Park to Tongariro National Park,
July 16th 2015

National Park or sometimes also called National Park Village, borders with Tongariro National Park, which is the first national park established (1887) in New Zealand and the fourth in the world. Acknowledge by UNESCO as a world heritage, Tongariro National Park is described as the following:

In 1993 Tongariro became the first property to be inscribed on the World Heritage List under the revised criteria describing cultural landscapes. The mountains at the heart of the park have cultural and religious significance for the Maori people and symbolize the spiritual links between this community and its environment. The park has active and extinct volcanoes, a diverse range of ecosystems and some spectacular landscapes.

Spectacular landscapes! Indeed.

Good morning, National Park!

To Tongariro, off we go. Hello, Aotearoa! You are just everywhere.

Aotearoa close up.

Anna, my host, drove us all the way up to Whakapapa Village.

Getting higher and getting closer to Ruapehu Mountain.

The road starts icy, and winding.

From here, the traffic road will soon end. Meaning, no car can go further.

Turn your head. National Park is the---re... behind the misty grey.