Tongariro Crossing (Road Trip Concluded)

The Tongariro Crossing!!

Said to be the best day walk in New Zealand; 18.5 km of track climbing up, around, and through volcanic craters and flows. Two side trips can take you to the summits of Mount Ngauruhoe (LOTRs Mount Doom) or Mount Tongariro. Two much shorter side tracks (15 minutes instead of 1-2 hours) can take you to waterfalls. The track is said to take 5.5 to 8 hours. It is not a loop track, so transport must be arranged from at least one end. Pictures of the emerald lakes had tantalized me ever since I started dreaming of coming to New Zealand. This was the one walk I really didn’t want to miss.

We arrived at our hostel Tuesday afternoon in sunny partially cloudy weather. We had great views of the mountains; massive Mount Ruapehu still had a good covering of snow, while Dave took this shot of the iconic cone of Ngauruhoe - clear except for a few patches of snow hanging on in the cool elevation. The long low mountain that resides next to Ngauruhoe, the remnants of exploded Tongariro, was hidden by a low circling cloud when I took this shot in the evening.


7 January 2009 (Wednesday)
Our day started early – 6am. Dave and I had larger breakfast to get us through the day. Though we were the first ones in the large hostel kitchen it didn’t take long for the place to get crowded. We were glad to have gotten our eggs cooked and dishes washed when the big rush came in.

At 7:30am, we were sitting on the bus with many other trampers for the crossing. Upon arriving at the trailhead, Dave took pictures of the opening scenes while I took advantage of the portable toilets. The crossing had only a few toilets available along the way, the rest of trail was open, arid land...... not a good place to try to “cop a squat” when hundreds of people are walking down the track!

It turned out to be a lovely day. The cool morning air quickly warmed from the sun shining in the mostly clear sky. Within half an hour of walking on the open, rocky trail I was really happy to have purchased a “New Zealand” tourist baseball cap at the gas station the night before. The sun was blazing down – as can be seen in the sun glare of many of our first photos.

We started the trail at 7:50 am. Mount Ngauruhoe was very large and prominent for most of the track and when stopping for a breather for the first half of the track, Mount Taranaki/Egmont could be seen in the distance too.


After walking for about an hour, we took the first 15 minute detour; Soda Springs. It was amazing how cool the air in the shade of the mountains was (it was still only 9am). After being still from taking photos of the small water fall and red spring I was starting to get a bit chilly. I was glad to get back into the sun and warm up. I was also more than glad that I had used the toilets at the trail head, as the last toilets for the next 4-5 hours were at the detour intersection..... and boy was it crowded!

We made it up the steep section of the trail and took a break to enjoy the view back.


While we were far ahead of the longest trail time we could take (in order to not miss the bus at the other end), we wisely decided not to take the Ngauruhoe summit side track. While it would have been an excellent story to tell, with amazing pictures I’m sure, I just didn’t have the energy for the steep, loose gravel slope. Dave had taken my light pack half way up our last steep section – in an effort to keep me from stopping so often (I don’t know why stairs kick my butt so bad!).

We were given a decent respite from uphill effort, and stairs, as we crossed the flats of south crater. Mount Ngauruhoe rose up on our right side; while Tongariro’s shorter foothills surrounded our left. In between was windswept dirt and lots of grass tussocks – which I took lots of picture of because they kept reminding me of little furry, aliens or something (or maybe they just reminded me of Max, the Pekinese dog I had taken care of for a week in Hastings – basically a rug with legs).... Anyhow, it was definitely a landscape from another world.

Once the southern crater was crossed, we ascended to a ridge that connects the basess of Tongariro and Ngauruhoe. This picture shows the flat southern crater, with the track running though it, the ridge line, and Mount Ngauruhoe – note the beautiful red coloration at the top.

I took one last rest break before continuing the climb to red crater. I asked Dave to take a picture of me, expecting my sweaty, tired feeling to come through in the picture. I had no idea that I had positioned myself for a sweet photo op! (and you can’t even tell that I’m tired!)

Upon arriving at our next “summit”, we were faced with the choice of taking the Tongariro summit side track. The track didn’t look to bad, but definitely had its constant uphill grade. We were looking to have plenty of time for the 2 hour return trip, but I didn’t want to exhaust myself when I still had a full day of walking ahead of me – plus, the wind whipping around the top of the mountains was cold and strong. Many people that had zipped off their pants (to make shorts) and stripped to their tank tops were zipping back into their pants and throwing hooded jackets on.

Right next to the track leading to Tongariro summit was red crater. While the whole track had given the feeling of walking on the moon, covered in dust and jagged rocks, red crater was like looking at Mars! The pictures don’t even do justice to what we saw. The red color was so much more vivid and the landscape so much more surreal when you’re actually standing at the edge of the crater (as you edge closer and closer hoping your foot doesn’t slip on the loose rocks and lead to you slipping down the edge for an up close look at the red dust).




After red crater, there is a slight incline from which you get your first views of blue lake. My jaw pretty much dropped at this sight. Cresting the top of the incline I got my first view of the emerald lakes – which just about made my eyes water at seeing in person (okay, it could have been the wind making my eyes water, but it still took my breath away to look at the bright blue/green lakes in the middle of this volcanic environment – very, very surreal).

It was a long way down the loose rock and fine dirt ridge down to the lakes. It wasn’t too difficult to walk in, as our foot sank so deep with each step you weren’t worried about sliding, and it wouldn’t have taken long to descend if I didn’t stop every 4 or 5 steps to take yet another picture! I haven’t gotten these photos onto my online album yet (hopefully tonight), but there is going to be A LOT of the turquoise colored lakes. The photos, while look awesome, still don’t give you the sparkle and color the lakes truly have..... ha ha ha, of course my memory (and view) is somewhat flawed, in that my sunglasses have a slight pink tint to them – so everything I view is somewhat brighter and more colourful than in real life..... Yeah, life is good when viewed through rose colored glasses. ;-)





We had a nice long lunch on the shores of one of these lakes – taking a bit over half an hour to enjoy delicious bagel sandwiches, bask in the warmth of the sun without the biting wind, and drink in the view of the amazing lake we were sitting next to. Of course, drinking in the view was all we could do. These lakes have their beautiful color because of the high mineral content of the water – not at all good for drinking or swimming.


After finishing lunch, taking more pictures, and emptying the rocks out of our shoes we started back on the trail. We crossed a barren expanse of flat, rocky land before climbing up to blue lake. While not as brilliant in bright color as the emerald lakes, blue lake’s deep blue color and wide size make this lake almost equally stunning.

From blue lake, looking back down the track, the view of Mount Ngauruhoe rising up behind red crater and backed by snow-capped Ruapehu was absolutely amazing...... Reinforcing the surreal, alien feel of the track.

The rest of the walk was somewhat less amazing. We had a lovely view out to Lake Rotoaira and, further beyond, Lake Taupo and were surrounded by rocks of varying sizes, shapes, and colors. I took lots of pictures of the flowers and plants that grew on or among these rocks. Dave even found a ladybug on the trail that he picked up for me to photograph – he had to keep turning the small rock over and over to keep the bug on top of the rock and in my view! However, the volcanic mountains, that were the reason for our walk, were behind us and pretty soon a bend around the hill blocked that view too.

The walk down the mountain and to the carpark seemed to take ages. The track cut back and forth down the mountain side, so as not to be too steep. We had a continuous view out over the plains and to the lakes, but nothing quite as dramatic as the craters we’d left behind. Luckily, one section of the trail crossed through a thermal area – giving us the opportunity to photograph colourful rocks, streams, and sulphur crystals.

Eventually we made it out of the warm, humid alpine slopes (where even gust of the mountainous wind would have been welcomed) and into the shady woods. The trail was constructed to withstand weather and large amounts of people, but it wasn’t made for comfort. Some of the retaining steps were ridiculously tall, and they were awkwardly spaced – preventing me from getting into a good walking pace. We knew we were getting fairly close to the end of the track when we saw the lookout sign. We knew it was a short detour to the waterfalls. Despite being a tired and each having twisted one or both of our ankles we took the detour. We certainly weren’t going to let a quick 15 minutes keep us from viewing yet another waterfall – after all our entire road trip was made up of tunnels and waterfalls. The waterfall wasn’t anything to spectacular, but it allowed us a good excuse for sitting and resting in the cool woods. Plus, we were the only ones there, as it appeared most everyone else on the trail just wanted to reach the end.

If we had known that we were only 10 minutes from the end of the trail, we probably would have hung out in the shade of the forest next to the waterfall for a lot longer. However, we were 45 minutes away from catching the first of 2 buses that would pick us up. If we missed it, we would have to wait for another hour. So, we came out to the parking lot 6.5 hours after we had started the 18.5 km trail. Not a bad time, considering we spent at least an hour on lunch on and side tracks.

Upon arriving back at the hostel we each had a nice shower and relaxed a bit. Before heading to the pub for a few well deserved beers, we had dinner and watched the sun cast alpine glow on the mountains as it set.8 January 2009 (Thursday)
We decided to drive back to Turangi and Lake Taupo by going around Tongariro National Park – which is one of only a few places on earth that are World Heritage Sites for two reasons: natural and cultural! The park has quite a bit of Maori culture and history within it.

There was no reason to drive the same road we had been down previously, and I wanted to get a view of the mountains from “behind”. We also had the entire day to kill before meeting up with Andy in Taupo.

Our first stop was at a view point of the Makatote Viaduct. I took one or two pictures of the big steel structure, but was quickly distracted by a massive dragonfly. I had attempted to get a picture of a couple of dragonflies a few days previous but my camera was being difficult and wouldn’t focus properly. So I followed this big one as he flitted around, landed, and then took off again. Dave came over after taking his viaduct pictures, he saw the dragonfly and immediately knew I was trying to get its picture. I decided to just stay squatted down until it again landed, not knowing that it’s next landing place was going to be me!!!! Dave told me to sit still and he would take pictures of it as it rested on my camera bag. I was quite patient, but eventually had to look over my shoulder and check it out. Finally, Dave decided he had taken some good shots. I stood up and the dragonfly stayed where it was! I was going to try to take my own pictures, but it flew off right then. It actually made an attempt to land on Dave, but as it was heading for his nether regions Dave was having none of it.

We continued our drive around the mountain to Ohakune. Mount Ruapehu looked as big and wide from this angle viewpoint as it had from the other side, but I took pictures from the passenger side window anyway.

In Ohakune, “Where Adventure Begins” , we considered going to the information center and finding easy walks, but we decided we had enough walking the previous day and it was really quite too hot for walking. Of course, I have since looked at a Tonagariro area map and found that there were lots of easy walks around! Oh well, it was so dang hot that we were glad we weren’t on the crossing this day. Instead, we took turn taking each other’s pictures with the Ohakune carrot – and I took pictures of flowers!

Our next stop was Waiouru. I decided I couldn’t pass one of the sites of New Zealand’s Army bases without trying to get a picture for my dad. Obviously, we couldn’t actually get anywhere near the base itself, but the army museum gave us an opportunity to photograph all kinds of large weapons and tanks. We wandered around the parking lot taking photos and looking at the plaques, but didn’t actually go inside – museums not really being our style.

From Waiouru we headed down the desert road through Rangipo Desert. The poor soil quality and high altitude apparently combine to make this area as lifeless as a desert. I took many pictures of the three volcanoes as we headed up toward Taupo; I tried very hard to minimize the power lines through the photos.

As we drove around Lake Taupo I saw lots of people swimming in the beach. It was definitely hot enough for it. So Dave and I pulled over and got into our togs (swimsuits). It took a lot of convincing for me to even get Dave to wade in, as it wasn’t exactly warm, but he refused to actually go swimming. So I snorkelled without him. There wasn’t much to look at, sandy bottom with waterlogged pumice stone (that would normally float). Oddly enough, I had taken many pictures of Ruapehu on the desert road only an hour earlier, but when we looked across the lake the mountain top was surrounded by clouds!

Our next stop was Huka Falls, an area of Waikato River just outside of Taupo where the river is forced from its wide channel into a narrow “canyon”. The canyon is not yet deep, but the water is constantly eroding it. It is not a long drop when the water comes out of its bottleneck, but the amount of water rushing through the narrow space is amazing. The beautiful blue color is worth seeing too.

Next, we set up camp at a free camp site on the river bank. We got nice and warm tossing the rugby ball and hacky sack around, so we went for a swim in river. The current was quite strong and made for a fun time. Just after getting back from our swim, I spotted a tui on the ground near our car. This is the best picture I got before he flew away. We then cleaned up and went into to town to meet up with Andy for food, beers, and a sunset.
9 January 2009 (Friday)
Happy Birthday dad ;-) Though it would have still been the 8th in the US.

Dave and I headed for home on this day. We got up fairly early, had breakfast, and packed up. While we could have gotten to Thames without driving through Rotorua, we both wanted to hit the gelato shop we had found the day we sent Bobbie and Rachel home on the bus. Before hitting the ice cream, we had a nice walk around the lake to stretch the legs and take advantage of the dry weather – it had rained a bit during the night and still spit a few drops here and there.

On our way home, we took a detour through Matamata – best known for Hobbiton. While hobbiton was created in a farmer’s paddock outside of Matamata, the whole town had embraced the LOTR fame. The farmer was making heaps of money on overpriced tours to see the hills the hobbit set had been built on (but there is only one hobbit door remaining from what I hear). However, Dave and I still had our picture taken in a little hobbit chair and with a statue of Gollum/Smeagol.

And then...... we were home! 2125 km and 2 weeks later.


10 January 2009 (Saturday)
We didn’t have much down time before we were off again. Dave had been looking forward to the Tairua wine and food festival for a good couple of months. After calling my dad to wish him a happy birthday (he opened my gift to him on the phone) we packed up the car again. Dave’s brother and his girlfriend, Matt and Michelle, hitched a ride with us and we all had a great time drinking beer, looking at arts and crafts, eating delicious food, and listening to music. Sorry, no good photos though ;-)

11 January 2009 (Sunday)
Dave had found out Friday night that he wasn’t actually going back to work on Monday, which was really nice! So, we enjoyed being back home with nothing to do by having a Lord of the Rings marathon. It seemed like an appropriate thing to do, since we had been in or near film locations throughout our trip. I was dying to see “Mount Doom” and Dave had never seen part 2 or 3!!! We both really enjoyed all of them.

12-25 January 2009
Dave and I didn’t do anything terribly exciting for the rest of the week. We enjoyed not being on the road and not having to work. Obviously, I didn’t do the blogging I should have been doing so we must have done a few fun things!

We spent one day checking out the Kauri trees in the general area. One Kauri grove turned out to be a pretty decent walk, with lots of stream crossings. However the only time I had to take my shoes off was to cross the flooded ford! Dave, unfortunately, got his feet wet when he stood on a mossy rock to long trying to get to rock I wanted him to sit on for a photo. I felt a little bad, but not really. I got some excellent butterfly pics on the way back from checking out the massive trees.

Next we stopped at the “square” kauri. It is a lucky tree, in that someone realized how neat its shape was and saved it from getting cut down when the road was built. It’s not a far walk, but it is a lot stairs!

Dave and I spent another day going up the other coast of the Coromandel, to Cathedral cove where we had been before. We stopped just outside of Tairua to check out the twin kauris. I was a bit disappointed to realize that I had forgotten my camera though! But, I had remembered to bring my underwater film camera!!! That was important because we were going snorkelling at gemstone bay – just before cathedral cove. The water quality was pretty poor, since there had been some massive storms recently, but that didn’t stop me from getting a few pics of small snapper! I loved it. Unfortunately, I won’t have pictures to share until I finish using up the roll of film!!!

Dave went back to work on Monday the 19th. I got one good hike in on Tuesday before I realized how behind I was on everything blog and picture related. I’ve been trying like crazy to get this thing finished and up to date before my mom arrives. So – it looks like I’ve just made it!!!

(oh, and I am sorry for the many blogs posted at once. I know it makes it hard to read all of them because, even though they are in chronological order within the blog, they are posted last to first. However, it really made it easier on me to load only a few pictures at a time and then add text and post rather than do a massive big blog. I really figured it would give my readers a break to – not being bogged down with a huge road trip blog).


Mom shows up in less than 24 hours!!!!!
I’m so excited. I still have some laundry to fold and pack, but otherwise, I think I'm ready (oh yeah, I still have some photos to upload, working on that as I type). We should get another blog posted at the end of next week, when we arrive at Dave’s for BBQ. Mom wants me to get lots of pictures posted so she can make her co-workers even more jealous than they already are!