Afraid of altitude sickness? Only "attitude sickness" will keep you from enjoying the remarkable Tongariro Crossing (rising to 1886m). It's just awesome. The Crossing is a popular day-walk with good reason and exposes you to a harsh volcanic landscape alien to most trampers.
Getting there
According to travel guides on New Zealand and numerous other publications the Tongariro Crossing is one of the most beautiful day-walks in New Zealand. Why this is so is not sufficiently explained and we set out to find the answer for ourselves.
Before December 2006 neither of us had heard of the Tongariro Crossing. Suddenly the term came up from many different quarters, piquing our interest. By early January we had secured accommodation for a long weekend based in Turangi, a small town at the southern end of Lake Taupo.
The drive up from Wellington takes a minimum of 4.5 hours via State Highway 1, becoming the Desert Highway, which cuts accross the Central Plateau. It passes Mts Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro—the great volcanoes—before reaching Turangi on the banks of the Tongariro river: fly-fishing "capital of the world". We arrived Friday evening, geared up and packed, ready for an early start the following day.
The Crossing is a walking track through Tongariro National Park, winding along for 18.6 km from one end to the other between Mt Tongariro to the north and Mt Ngauruhoe to the south of the track. You do it in one direction, and you can arrange drop-off at one end and pick-up at the other, right from and to your doorstep. This sounds quite cushy, but make no mistake, the Tongariro Expeditions bus leaves at 6.20 am and that's for the folks staying in Turangi! If you stay in Taupo, you're off an hour earlier....
The Tongariro Crossing is an 18.6km walk (© Tongariro Expeditions)
Our welcoming host at the Southern Cross Homestay was used to the trouble and prepared us a good breakfast, ensuring the success of the trip was not jeopardized by lack of energy or vitamins (fresh fruit and orange juice at 6 am, great stuff!).
The bus trip with 42 half-asleep travellers from Taupo to the track start at Mangatepopo did not take long. We were getting a bit worried, however, as the weather seemed to be drawing in, with low cloud surrounding the mountains and light drizzle putting a dampness into the air.
Setting out
By 7.30 am we had started the walk and shortly after the clouds began to lift. The drizzle had left moisture on thousands of beautiful spiderwebs by the wayside, making them look like strings of pearls in the morning light. Soon the black conical shape of Mt Ngauruhoe was fully visible and the sun shone for the rest of the day. Along the path, like beads on a string, were our fellow walkers—colourful dots in a landscape dominated by shades of grey, black and brown. All were eager to ascend the steep hill rising before us after an hour of gentle walking through tussocky lowlands, interspersed by fast-running streams and ancient petrified lava flows.
The "Devil's staircase" is steep; there's no other way to describe it. Maybe calling it "Stairway to Heaven" would take the sting out of it? We made our slow way up the incline to the South Crater. I would not care to go down this way, treasuring my knees as I do! The South Crater reminded me of the flat sand plains of Namibia. The path is poled, an insurance policy for those days when adverse weather conditions result in poor visibility. Up to the right rises the steep sloping cone of Mt Doom, as Mt Ngauruhoe is affectionately know after playing a role in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies. We did not even consider having a go at clambering up to the crater; not after our exertion on the Devil's staircase and knowing that this slope was even steeper.
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Mt. Ngauruhoe (a.k.a Mt. Doom)
Kaleidoscopic views
More climbing was required to get us to the track's highest point at Red Crater. This part of the route can be quite challenging in high winds, but we were lucky that day and only had to struggle with our tired legs and big packs.
The views from the Red Crater area are stunning. Firstly, there is the Red Crater itself: a burgundy coloured gash in the mountainside, rimmed by black volcanic rock and lighter sands. Below are the vibrant green Emerald Lakes. They look like swimming pools, but swimming is not an option unless you need a chemical peel. The ground you are standing on is hot. This is an active volcanic area; never forget this (the day after we did our crossing a teenager strayed from the path and suffered burns). One of the lakes went right to the rim, overlooking the countryside below like an infinity pool.
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Two of the Emerald Lakes
Getting down from the highest point at Red Crater to the Lakes was fun: the slope is steep and made up of soft sand and gravel. We were grateful for boots and gaiters at this point as this kit allowed us to slide down the hill in great stomping strides, putting the heel down firmly and sliding down with the scree. Having my walking poles for this stretch was useful to keep balance. We stopped for some lunch still overlooking one of the Emerald Lakes. A lot of people left it a bit longer and stopped at Blue Lake, just a few hundred meters away on the other side of Central Crater. Still a nice view, but not as stunning as the Emerald Lakes.
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South Crater; Red Crater; Ngauruhoe; Ruapehu (front to rear)
Descent
The path then descends through the Rotopaunga valley hugging the north face of Mt. Tongariro. It weaves through tussock and low shrubs, offering views far into the valley and over Lakes Rotoaira and Taupo. Ketetahi Hut can be seen about an hour before you actually reach it. It is a welcome resting point.
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Descending through tussock
From Ketetahi Hut it is another two hours to the car park and pick up point. The path winds further down the mountain, crossing a section of private land near the hot Ketetahi Springs. The shrubs grow taller at this lower altitude, then the countryside changes to bush. A small stream keeps the path company and if we did not feel so weary it would have been nice to play in the water. But somehow the attraction of the bush is not as strong as the pull of the car park and the desire to reach the end of the walk. The last hour is probably the most difficult as there are no views and the feet are definitely getting sore. But what an exhilarating day we had. One of the best day walks in New Zealand? Definitely!
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I did the Tongariro Crossing just after Christmas 2005. It's awesome. It was nice to relive the experience a bit by reading the account of your trip and viewing your photos that are similar to mine. What a place!
Glad Simone's notes allowed you to relive it Shawn. Yes, it is an awesome place—both on the ground and from the air. We flew over the area after walking it and only then do you realise what a small part of the Park you get to see on the ground. On the ground you can't appreciate the "lopped off" look Tongariro itself has, nor get a birds-eye view down Ngauruhoe's throat.