Throughout our trip, we stopped at the numerous visitors centers for advice on what to see and help making reservations. This is a brilliant way to make sure you make the most of your time.
One thing we were interested was the
Tongariro Crossing in Tongariro National Park. It’s a hike that takes you between three volcanoes, with incredible views along the way. But at every visitor center, we were told “Oh, it’s too late in the season. The weather is really bad now. Too dangerous, etc. etc.”
However, partly because this is a once in a lifetime experience, and partly because we had been through probably the worst weather imaginable on a hike down from Mount Whitney (and partly because we are kind of stubborn when we get “no” for an answer), we continued to drive on anyway.
We arrived that night at the
Tongariro Nat'l Park Backpackers lodge. The guy at the front desk said that two other parties had booked a ride to the trailhead for the Crossing, and were planning to go as long as the weather wasn’t too horrible. So we added our names on the list, had dinner at the tavern next door, and went to bed hoping for a good day.
The next morning it was a bit cloudy and foggy, but no rain or wind. We decided to go for it. The bus from the lodge dropped us and the other two groups off at one end of the trail, and will pick us up at the other end later in the day. This is a one-way trip!
The route takes you between Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe, a total of 17km (about 10.5 miles). The highest point is 1886m (6187.7ft) at Red Crater. But unfortunately we didn’t see Red Crater or much of anything else. The fog was so dense, you could barely see 20 feet ahead. And as we went up the wind gusts grew so strong, you had to struggle just to stand up. It was like a hurricane up there!
We're going up into THAT?
Watch your step!
Eventually the fog did burn off as the sun started to shine through. But that was after we passed the two volcanoes. We did see some cool lakes and a view of the surrounding area. My camera battery ran out suddenly and someone commented it was the fumes from the volcanic activity that affected the battery.
There's supposed to be a crater here...
The fog cleared just in time to take this snapshot. After passing through the volcanic zone, we paused at Ketetahi Hut for a rest, then started on the long winding path descending to the car park where our bus would be waiting for us in a couple hours.
Relaxing at Ketetahi Hut.
This side of Tongariro is much nicer.
By the way, in New Zealand, what we call “
Hiking” is called “
Tramping.”
