Unfortunately the Tongariro Alpine Crossing was cancelled for us today so we decided to do the next best thing for 4-5 hours and that was walk to the Taranaki Falls and then on to the lower and upper Tama lakes. We basically got four seasons in one day walking there and back so were glad we didn't attempt the crossing. Taranaki Falls were not as spectacular as the other waterfalls we have seen but still an A for effort. The lower and upper lakes that appear in these craters were worth the walk but were quite difficult to photograph with the low cloud cover. I would recommend this as a definite filler if you are unable to do Tongariro Alpine Crossing but not instead of.