In the Shadow of Mount Doom

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I am not one of those people who take the stairs instead of the elevator. Given the option, I would rather watch tv than go to the gym. My time in New Zealand has been the most active I've ever been on holiday. It was a total change from the the beach lifestyle while I was travelling in Australia. Most of the travellers in New Zealand were into tramping aka. hiking.

I decided to go to the Tongariro National Park located near Lake Taupo in the north island. The Tongariro Crossing is promoted as the best day hike in New Zealand. That however, is not what pushed me to do it. It was in fact Mount Ngauruhoe that I was willing to walk 7-9 hours for. That name may not mean much to you but you will probably know it by a different name....Mount Doom!!! Yes, I know I am a big LOTR geek for walking all day just to see it. Laugh all you want but I just couldn't resist.

I woke up to catch the 5:30 bus which would drive us about an hour out to the national park area. I had been warned that the weather could change quickly at any time but I was hoping the forecast for clear skies would hold true. The sun was still rising in the sky by the time the bus dropped us off at the start of the trail. There would be two buses at the other side to take people back to Lake Taupo. They would leave an hour apart and if you happened to miss that last bus.....Keeping track of my time was on my mind as I started off.

It takes an average of 7-9 hours to finish the crossing. I was contemplating doing the sidetrack to climb to the top of Mt. Doom a la Frodo but that idea was squashed. Just before the trail to climb up Mt Doom, I had to climb up what is known as Devil's Staircase. It was steep rocks that took me over an hour to climb up. I had to take a break quite often just to catch my breath. I actually saw a crazy couple walking with full blown backpacks...I felt more tired just looking at them! Although I wouldn't get to the top of it, I was still happy to be standing in the shadow of Mt. Doom. It's too bad I don't have an ipod with me so I could listen to the soundtrack while eating my lembas bread(actually just a bagel). After staring transfixed at the highlight of my day, I had to pull myself away and move on.

It was on to the Red Crater. The walk up to the rim of the crater wasn't too bad. The walk down is another story. It wasn't so much of a walk but more like sliding down. I had to be really careful not to slip and take out anyone in my vicinity. By the time I slid my way down, I could see and smell the next landmark of the crossing. The Emerald Lakes have sulphur in them which means it smells horrible. I lingered long enough to take some pictures and then headed off. Although I was walking on flat land at this point, I had the worst leg cramps. Both of my legs had cramps and it hurt so bad that I stopped walking and was just standing there on the trail looking like an idiot. When it finally passed, I continued on hoping that the rest of the walk would pass by quickly.

The landscape changed to forests and grasslands which was nice, until my allergies started. I took some medicine but I think I was sneezing and sniffling for over an hour : ( I eventually made it back to the carpark at 2:30 in the afternoon, exhausted and hungry. My feet were covered in blisters but I didn't care too much. It was a small price to pay to for a LOTR fanatic!

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