Can't do the Mohaka cos you've dislocated your shoulder - where do you go?

The Chateau of course.

That's it, in the middle of the picture, a masssive 1930s hotel nestling snuggling in the shadow of Mount Ruapehu. Got it? With not much else around it. Now, Mt Ruapehu last erupted significantly in 1995, though it had another serious puff in 2007. This was Phyllis's idea. They come here for treats she said. There are some good walks she said.

On arrival at this wonderful post-colonial pile we cannot fail to notice that one can walk up Mt Ruapehu (with a guide of course). What's the quality of the track? The hotel porter, a nice lad who has helped us to change rooms to ensure we have a view of this sometime smouldering behemoth, volunteers that there is no track; Milford Track in comparison is a highway. Within an hour, despite seeking the advice of the Visitor Centre, we are booked on a guided trip to the top - some 2700 metres - the height of the Col du Galibier or the Col de l'Iseran. We ate a good dinner that night.

So this morning (1st March) at 9.30 off we set with guide Mike and four others from the British Isles (I have to put it that way as one was from Eire) to climb Mt Ruapehu, an active volcano.

Well I suppose you might want to see the surrounding countryside.

Here for example is Mt Ngaruahoe peeping above the cloud. This is a near perfect cone volcano, beside Mt Tongariro, another active monster (though a bit more leisurely than Ruapehu having been quiet for thirty years or so). And it had a part in the Lord of the Rings films, auditioning successfully for the role of Mt Doom.

Our route to the top took us past an old ("disused" perhaps) crater and then we walked a ridge (always interesting one armed).

Here it is...

...to the lip of the volcano's crater itself. Here it is.

This I find astonishing. This account takes you there too swiftly. We are now at 2,600 metres, it's blowing a cold wind, and the crater lake has appeared on the right of the ridge, worthy of the "oh wow"s I express; and it really is blackbird egg blue. To the left you can see the clouds below us. Mike our guide explains the lake is 18 deg C at the moment, and that when it warms up it changes colour - black at 40 deg C. At the time of the last eruption it was 85 deg. This is the edge of a volcano crater, and I'm standing on it. Which is extraordinary. I know the volcano alert level is 1 (out of 0-5). But I don't usually do things like this. The lake is very acidic as it absorbs sulphur gases from below. And has manganese and goodness know what else in it. So we have our picnic beside it. And pose for photos. Like this.

And then it's time to go down. We don't have photos of the next part of the ridge, down which I am expertly guided by Mike, but here are the others on the scree below.

We cross the "disused" crater a mass of volcanic ash and scree on a glacier, pitted with the impact craters of the ejecta of 2007, and the odd bit of sulpurous ejecta.

Cresting its rim we descend this scree, which eventually, several bootfuls of dust and rock later, disgorges us at the bottom.

This was a great day. A very remarkable and enjoyable thing to do. And we were able to enjoy another fine meal in the fading, but splendid luxury of the Chateau Tongariro. A good recommendation Phyllis. Thanks very much indeed.