The 4malones are very foot sore but happy to have completed their first trek.

We walked for the last 4 days on the Northern Circuit in the Tongariro
National Park. For Lord of the Rings fans, this is where the movie
was set and filmed and the trek took us all the way around "Mt Doom". This is probably the most specular natural scenery that we have
visited; barren stretches of lava strewn moon scape with boulders
of pumice light as styrofoam and knife edged ridges dropping into
volcanic craters and steaming vents. We stayed in the shelters / huts
and were glad as the second day a sudden mountain storm swept in
packing gale force winds and over an inch and half of rain. We holed
up and played cards and then then covered the last three legs in two
days of hard walking carefully watching out dwindling food supplies.

The Tongariro national park is designated a World Heritage Site, this
recognizes amazing geographic and cultural standouts such as the
Pyramids, Grand Canyon, and Pompeii in Italy. It is that amazing.