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Published: January 13th 2008
No, I didnt know what it was until a few days ago. The Tongariro Crossing is a one day trek across 'steep volcanic terrain'. It took us 9 hours to complete and hats off the the kids (especially Fabulous) who seemed to take the whole thing in their stride!! More than I can say for the Family 5 adults - we are still suffering from sore muscles a couple of days later!
The start of the crossing is at Mangatepopo. we got dropped off there by bus. The intention was that Myself, Fabulous and Nagging would probably not make it and therefore turn back after an hour or two - for some reason this did not occur and I'm still not sure how that happened - the question of stopping just did not seem to arise.
The terrain was mixed and flat to start with - after reaching the Soda Springs there was a very steep climb of about 300m to the South Crater. All the time Mt Ngauruhoe is dominating the landscape - some of Lord of the Rings was filmed here and the scenery is bleak and feels downright evil. I struggled up this steep bit and
Fiendish helpfuly carried our backpack all the way from there. The hike up the Devils staircase took about an hour to complete and was the worst bit by far although Fiendish seemed to leap up the rugged rocks like a ragged rascal. There was a lot of panting and red faces - especially from me and other over 40's!
The walk across the South Crater is a welcome relief as it is completely flat - it feels a bit like a lunar landscape at this point and yellow. There was snow in some parts of the higher surrounding elevations although it was in the middle of the Summer. Also we had great weather and so the hot sandy crater floor was even more impressive. We trudged up the other side to arrive at the top of the Red Crater, particularly impressive by the impact of its colour. (Yes I needed lunch by then and could only focus on how Red it was!!). We stopped for a well earned break at this point which was the highest level in the crossing (1886m). Red crater is still active and steaming and every now and then some puff of steam would distract
us from our food.
The track down the other side was quite scary - it was a steep slippery slope of shale and small stones which were seemingly able to travel downhill at great speed. We were trying to go at a moderate pace but some of us ended up on all fours for safety. The view coming down the shale was incredible - the Emerald Lake really was green (duhh!) and there were several small lakes all about the same colour. At the same time the Red Crater became more and more visible and steaming sulphur vents peppered the whole scene - typical Lord of the Rings if you ask me. We stopped at the bottom and the kids threw boulders into the lake.
Next was a further trek across the Central crater - another flat wilderness reminiscent of a lunar or martian landscape - nothing growing and old lava flows clearly showing the extent of the last major eruption. After a small hike up the side of the Blue Lake we got a fantastic view of where we had come from - good job we didn't do the walk in the other direction - we would
Blue Lake
with Central Crater in the foreground. The black identifies the extent of the most recent lava flow.have been put off by the scale of the descent from the top and the dominating Red Crater ( Mt Ngauruhoe in the background giving off occasional wispy steam and covered with snow right at the top).
From Blue lake it was all downhill and a bit of a let down. The windy path to the Ketetahi hut seemed unending - especially as Fabulous was losing energy at the time. Flirty, Fiendish, Nincompoop and Nonplussed ran the last stretch and were waiting for us when we arrived for our last stop for water, sweets, muesli bars and sandwiches. Then on for the final 2 hr walk via the hot springs and the forest walk. By the end I was at the end (actually safe to say I had been at the end most of the way). We had all enjoyed it but for most of us it was only when savouring the achievement after the event!.
After a half an hour wait for the bus we were all ready for a shower and rest - well earned I say.
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Paddy/Julia
non-member comment
What a trek!!
Hello Dave,Kath,Tom,Betham and Charlotte!!!!!!!! Really enjoyed the photos of your Tongariro Crossing!!! Would really love to walk this area so I shall pick your brains(that shouldn't take long!) when you come back. Keep the photos coming . Its Nick's 50th very soon so waiting to see what the plan is!! Anyway keep up the great blogs. all the best from all of us here in Llanera!!