The Ruapehu District is home to New Zealand's oldest national park, The Tongariro National Park. Located in the central north island, you will find three active volcanoes within the park, being Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu. Mount Ngauruhoe achieved world wide exposure as being the stand in for the fictional Mt Doom in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films and is probably one of my favourite ones to create a New Zealand photograph. Taupo is home to largest lake (Lake Taupo) in the North Island of New Zealand and is a stunning spot to photograph sunset. I would love to explore this whole area a lot more, its a beautiful part of New Zealand that quite rightly deserves all the attention it gets. To read more about my time here check out my blog. If you are interested in prints or purchasing images please visit my print store or contact me.  

A little more about Taupo & Ruapehu Photography ...

Lake Taupo, Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe, Tongariro, Whakapapa and Turoa, the list is endless for the incredible land that encompasses these wonderful locations, Tongariro National Park.

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The locations for many of the Lord of the Rings scenes, Tongariro National Park is one of the North Island gems especially for New Zealand Landscape Photography, and Ruapehu photography in particular.

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The central plateau is a volcanic plateau covering much of the central part of the North Island with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes. Most famous are the three volcanoes of Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. Mount Ngauruhoe was famously used in the Lord of the Rings movies depicting Mount Doom.

I first visited Tongariro National Park back in 2014 when I hiked the Tongariro Crossing during the day. It such such an incredible experience and I have since completed the crossing twice more and also the Tama Lakes hike. Tama Lakes are an absolute must do for Ruapehu photography and an amazing way to get a Mount Ruapehu sunset shot or getting up close for a Mount Ngauruhoe sunset shot. The walk is fairly easy and will take around 5-6 hours return. Put it on your hiking list!

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I have been incredibly lucky on trips to Ruapehu and Tongariro National Park to capture Ruapehu photography. On many occasions the sunsets and sunrises have been perfect and some of my best Road to Mount Ngauruhoe shots have come from those magical evenings. Over on the Ohakune side of Mount Ruapehu and on the way to the Turoa skifield is Mangawhero Falls, an easy 5 minute walk well worth a look! This waterfall was also used in the Lord of the Rings films.

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Within the Taupo Region I still have a lot to explore but I was able to tick off the Taupo Tree sunset shot recently which I was so happy to add to my New Zealand photography portfolio. Another great spot to visit is Huka Falls at sunset. Watch the water rush over the Huka Falls as the sun sheds its last light on the surrounding canyon.

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I hope by sharing these NZ images of Taupo and Ruapehu it might inspire you to come and explore Tongariro National Park and Ruapehu Photography for yourself.

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If you have any questions about buying a NZ landscape print please don’t hesitate to get in touch or check out my print info and online print store.

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