Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Rafting the Tongariro River

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February 29th 2012

Published: February 29th 2012

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Dr Robin

Rafting the Tongariro River

Woo Hoo!!

We haven't been travelling as much lately, just settling into real life as we are now in our 4th year in New Zealand. We bought a house last May which has a gorgeous view of the harbor, so now whenever we travel we have to think "Is this view as good as ours?"

In November Becky and I went to Fiji for 2 weeks, which was fabulous-will do a future blog on that.

However, 2 weeks ago we embarked on "the best one day walk in New Zealand" known as the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Our friends the Meadows and the Ericksons joined us in this venture, and Caroline whipped me into shape(?) before the trip with some hill training. The walk is 19.4 km-that's about 12 miles, for those who are non metric thinkers. The walk goes uphill 800 meters (2624 feet) and then down again 1100 meters (3609 feet)-and yes, it is a one-way walk!!

The middle of the North Island is one of the few areas left that we had not explored. It is very mountainous and is quite pretty there. The weather can be tricky, though, and in fact we waited 3 days for the

A fun time on the river

weather to be good for the crossing. It is truly an alpine crossing, and even in summer (now!) there is snow on the peaks.

Our first day there we took a half day rafting trip on the Tongariro River. We rafted about 50 rapids in 2 1/2 hours, mostly Grade 3, which is fun enough to be exciting, but not really scary. It was a lovely river and the cobalt blue water was gorgeous and clear. (no swimming for me, thank you, though Rand did jump off a cliff into a waterfall)

Our second day we ventured into Taupo, a town beside Lake Taupo, the largest inland lake in NZ. We visited Huka Falls and saw a planned canyon flooding at a dam called the Aratiatia Falls-several times per day the dam is opened and the trickling stream turns into a raging river-amazing to watch. We had lunch at a cute place with a mosaic garden and, best of all, found the (free!) "Spa Thermal Park" where a boiling hot stream empties into the Waikato River and there is a spot right there where you can bathe in the very warm (to hot, depending on where you sit)

Aratiatia Gorge

BEFORE

water!!

And then, the day of the Walk. We were at the trailhead by 7 am and we whizzed along to finish in......9 hours!! Ta Da!!

The walk winds through a volcanic valley-no, it is not dead, the last eruption was in 2007 and there are several steaming vents as you pass by the craters and lakes. Various signs tell you when you are in the danger zone and advise you to "run" if the volcano starts to erupt. Thanks for that advice.

The most unique part was the Red Crater, which is colored red from the iron, which is an "active and steaming vent." There were several intensely green and blue lakes called "The Emerald Lakes" due to their acid contents and as we descended (a long, long way!) we could see Lake Taupo in the distance. The hardest part was a steep uphill path over very rocky "scree" called the Devil's staircase. I have heard that in windy conditions sometimes people have to cross the rocky ridge on top on their hands and knees so as not to fall off!!

Anyway, we are happy to have done the walk, and since travelblog has made