The Alpine Crossing (50 min drive)
A part of the Tongariro National Park, this world famous 19 km trek is lauded as NZ’s finest one-day walk and is now the country’s second most popular tourist destination, attracting 100,000 walkers a year. It takes between six to eight hours to complete the passing steaming vents and springs, stunning rock formations, peculiar moonscape basins, impossible scree slopes and vast views – the most iconic across the Emerald Lakes.
More information: http://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz and https://www.lonelyplanet.com/new-zealand/tongariro-national-park/activities/tongariro-alpine-crossing
