The Tongariro Crossing...

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Tongariro National Park
January 17th 2008

Published: January 21st 2008

Edit Blog Post

drbexl

Early start... it's about 7.30am, and it took over an hour to get here

Thursday 17th January
So, the first big hike for a while - this is all going to be good training for the Inca Trail! 5.20am, up I get, 5.40am am on the bus, but we're not at the start of the crossing until 730am. By 740am, Tom and Woshil are here, with Julie and Aaron, and we set off. We've heard about the Devil's Staircase and the first hour feels quite rough going, but no, that's the 'easy' bit! We then see the Devil's Staircase - that takes a while and involves quite a bit of clambouring. The others plan to climb 'Mount Doom' which means they need to get a move on so I continue up at my own steady pace, chatting to random strangers on the way. At the top I ask a couple for my photo - this turns out to be Jamie and Tess who I then walk with the rest of the way.

There's plenty of beautiful scenery to see (photograph), and you really appreciate it after the climb. Unfortunately the cloud rolls in for an hour or so - just the time we're passing through the Red Crater which is the highest point we

One of New Zealand's Top 5 Day Hikes

go/most spectacular views - but we keep catching glimpses! We pace ourselves well, but at the downward descent stop to help a girl who's fallen over. Our downward (steep, slippery, narrow) descent then takes 1.5 hours instead of about 20 minutes... But it gives more time to see the Emerald Lakes twinkling below. Unlike Uluru, which I'd seen lots of pictures of, I'd not seen any of these so they were doubly beautiful. We rested by them for lunch, saw a beautifully flat bit ahead!

The other side, another steep-ish ascent - nothing like the Devil's Staircase though, and we're soon at the top for some beautiful views of the Blue Lake. We then head round the other side catching even more views and start heading down a winding path and we soon see the promised DOC hut (where if you multi-day hike you could stay), which means there's 1.5 hours to go! The final descent seems to go on for ever, with some steep drop-downs, and some forest paths. End up talking to some guys from the Netherlands and we make it back by 335pm... So 8 hours total including breaks. We have to wait another hour for

The Park

the last passengers before heading back.

The return route doesn't take so long, and I'm soon in the spa pool and relax in the bubbles for an hour before going to make dinner, pack my bag, and chat to Ren plus others. Ren has bought Tim-Tams and Hot Chocolate as were talking about the Oz/NZ tradition of biting off the ends (Double Choc works best, apparently) and then sucking the hot choc through. Eat biscuit fast before it collapses! By 10 I can't keep my eyes open and crash out!

Additional photos below

Photos: 29, Displayed: 23