Central Volcanic Plateau - Britz

Seven nights and 292 kilometres in a loop from Taupo in a campervan, circling Tongariro National Park, which works out at roughly forty kilometres a day.

Turangi comes first at the southern end of the lake, with the Rotopounamu walkway nearby, a track round a crater lake in old forest, and the Tongariro river, which is among the best trout fisheries in the world.

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing follows, nineteen kilometres between Ngauruhoe and Tongariro past the Emerald Lakes, which are that colour because of dissolved minerals, and which is generally rated the finest day walk in New Zealand. Whakapapa Village and National Park come next on Ruapehu, then Ohakune with the Waitonga Falls, and Waiouru, where the army museum sits at the top of the Desert Road. That road then runs north across the Rangipo Desert, which is not a desert at all but a volcanic plateau too exposed and too poorly drained for much to grow on.

Britz supply the camper and the day-by-day plan, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Eight days for under three hundred kilometres makes this the most stationary itinerary in the range, and it exists for the walking rather than the driving. The Alpine Crossing needs a shuttle booking, closes in bad weather and is a one-way walk. The Desert Road is the highest state highway in the North Island and closes for snow several times each winter.