Tongariro - Now you're Tolkien
Trip Start
Nov 12, 2007
1
19
40
Trip End
Aug 01, 2008
Tongariro National Park,
New Zealand
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The reason for staying in Tongariro was to do, what is described as, the best one day walk in NZ, the Tongariro Crossing.
We decided to do the walk the next day as the weather was supposed to be reasonable. Our accommodation offered a shuttle bus service to the start of the track and would collect us 8 hours later at the end. The shuttle was leaving our motel at 5.25 am. The reason for the early start was that we could start the walk by 6am and miss the crowds of hikers later in the day. It also meant that we could do the steep climb before sunrise, if the weather was going to be hot
The mist clears on Red Crater
.At 5.25, bleary eyed, we climbed on the mini bus with 9 other fellow guests. It was still dark. It had been enough of a challenge to get from our chalet to reception without a torch, let alone climb a mountain. However, the darkness only added to the adventure, or so we told ourselves. It is one thing to get up at 4.30am to catch a flight, it is a whole different experience for your body to get up at the crack of dawn and start an 8 hour walk.
The driver dropped us off in the middle of nowhere, warned us we would have to make our own way back via another bus if we missed him at 2pm, told us to mind out for the slippery and windy path at the top of Red Crater and advised the track was well signed, so we shouldn't get lost, but that someone had 2 days ago.
Everyone, started to walk in silence, anticipating the tough climb up to Red Crater. As we spaced out and gently began to climb through the valley up towards the volcanoes, the cloud/mist was getting fairly thick and soon we couldn't see anything much and couldn't see anyone in front or behind us. It was quite eerie. Fortunately, the cloud was not thick enough that you couldn't see the track or way markers.
Soon we had reached South Crater and it was a rocky and steep climb to the summit. When we got to the top it had begun to drizzle and the wind was picking up. At this point, we began to have reservations about going on, especially as we had not reached the toughest and highest point of the walk. However, we decided to continue along the flat plateau towards Red Crater and make a final decision then. The only other option was to head back down and that did not seem too appealing either.
After a less lung busting stretch, but still immersed in cloud, we reached the start of the climb to Red Crater and headed upwards. The climb was not as bad as some we had done, although the path was fairly narrow with steep scree on one side and the crater mouth on the other. On reaching the top, we couldn't see anything and were feeling despondent because we knew we were missing out on incredible views and the climb had been for nothing. We were doubting why we had even bothered to get up and do the walk.
The crater summit was windy so we didn't hang about, instead we started the slide on the scree/ sand downwards. Then, all of a sudden, the sun peeked through the clouds and we had a glimpse of some lakes below us. No sooner had the cloud cleared, it blew in again. We waited 10 minutes, in situ, but nothing further, so we began to slide down again. Then a large patch of blue sky appeared, the sun came out and all around the clouds were lifting and we had one of the "wow" moments of the holiday. Beneath us, were the 3 Emerald Lakes. To our left, various summits and a flat plateau area and to our right and above us, the crater mouth. It was an absolutely amazing place. One of the most scenic places we had ever been. To be honest, I think we appreciated the scenery even more, because we had not expected to see anything through the clouds. The clouds had certainly added to the experience and prevented me from seeing the height climbing up which was probably a good thing!
After descending to the valley and taking lots of photos (sorry folks!) we continued down the other side of the valley. Here, we were rewarded with wonderful views of the valley below and Lake Rotaira. Then it was a gentle stroll through a more alpine area finished off with a walk through a pretty beech tree forest, complete with waterfall.
Despite the early start, we did not feel too bad at the end of the walk. The tiredness hit us later in the afternoon when we actually sat down. To me, the walk was one of the highlights of the trip so far and had certainly exceeded expectations.
For our further 2 days in Tongariro, we did a couple of low key walks. One involved taking a chairlift, in the ski area, up the side of the largest volcano, then climbing (again) for good panoramic views especially of Mount Doom. Tongariro was used for some of the filming for Lord of the Rings and you can see why the area was chosen because it is so vast and rugged. We walked to one of the filming spots - a large granite looking wall - Meads Wall which we vaguely remembered seeing in the film.
From the clean fresh air and quietness we are now heading to Wellington, NZ's capital for our last stop on the North Island.
Comments
Don't apologise for the photos,
Don't apologise for all the photos, I'm looking forward to seeing them (and I'll respond with my own from Brussels and hopefully - we're off to the airport in 45 minutes - Venice).
Mike