So the other weekend I did the Tongariro crossing with brother Craig and sister Megan and Craig's friend Arrum and Kurt and Gemma. The Tongariro Crossing has been labelled 'The Best 1-Day Walk in NZ' and we had a few arguments about this on the day, but I'd have to agree. Basically in the middle of the North Island there is a volcanic plateau on the South side of Lake Taupo (which is itself a massive volcanic crater). On this plateau are three volcanic mountains, Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro, all of which are active to varying degrees - Ruapehu the tallest point in the North Island and the most volatile. The crossing goes over the saddle between Tongariro and Ngauruhoe, with an optional side trip up Ngauruhoe. More details on the track are at http://www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/002~Tracks-and-Walks/By-Region/007~Tongariro-Taupo/008~Tongariro-Crossing.asp
Mt Ngauruhoe from Mangatepopo Hut side. We walked over the saddle to the left of this picture, between Ngauruhoe and Tongariro.
We started on a nice bright morning from the West (Mangatepopo Hut) end. I should probably mention at this point that in the Lord of the Rings, Mt Doom was made by sticking Ngauruhoe on top of Ruapehu. This works quite well because Ngauruhoe has a nice volcanic cone shape.
Me in front of the saddle, Tongariro to the left covered in cloud, Ngauruhoe to the right in bright sunshine. The Devil's Staircase goes up the saddle behind me.
The 'Devil's staircase' is the hardest part of the normal crossing path, going up a steep little rise to the saddle. There was a nice traffic jam of wayward puffing hikers the day we did it, but we all got to the top without too many probs. Meg had blisters though! At the top of the saddle you have the option of a 2 hour detour to climb Ngauruhoe. This is really hard and I had struggled the time I did it before, on school camp aged 14. Me and Arrum took it on and got to the top in beautiful weather (chilly wind). This was most excellent. There's a big crater at the summit.
On the lip of the summit crater at Ngauruhoe, looking South to Ruapehu.
Me and Arrum on the summit, looking towards Taranaki, which you could see then but only just above the clouds in this.
The Tongariro side, including the sulphurous lakes, were shrouded in thick fog, so the walk over Tongariro was not pictureque, but was a bit freaky due to the lack of visibility. When we eventually got back down under the cloud cover we were at Ketetahi Hut, near Ketetahi Hot Springs, which you can't actually go to because it is Maori land. Anyway everything's a lot more lush on this side of the mountain and there's a good half hour native bush walk down the end of the track just before the carpark. I think the whoile trip was about 7.5 hours.
Looking North towards Lake Taupo from Ketetahi Hut on Tongariro, having come out from the cloud cover.
Getting a lift back to the car on the back of Kurt's ute. Ace.
We were staying at Whakamaru, a little town which is a good 80km North of Turangi and the mountains, so we had a quick pizza and beer at Turangi and were mostly asleep by the time we got back. In a related side issue, I had to do an 840 km round trip to Whakamaru in my car, which was ace, except that I got a speeding ticket in Ngauranga Gorge, which is about 2km from my house in Wellington.
Meg and Whakamaru dam. Go hydropower go.
Mt Ngauruhoe from Mangatepopo Hut side. We walked over the saddle to the left of this picture, between Ngauruhoe and Tongariro.
We started on a nice bright morning from the West (Mangatepopo Hut) end. I should probably mention at this point that in the Lord of the Rings, Mt Doom was made by sticking Ngauruhoe on top of Ruapehu. This works quite well because Ngauruhoe has a nice volcanic cone shape.
Me in front of the saddle, Tongariro to the left covered in cloud, Ngauruhoe to the right in bright sunshine. The Devil's Staircase goes up the saddle behind me.
The 'Devil's staircase' is the hardest part of the normal crossing path, going up a steep little rise to the saddle. There was a nice traffic jam of wayward puffing hikers the day we did it, but we all got to the top without too many probs. Meg had blisters though! At the top of the saddle you have the option of a 2 hour detour to climb Ngauruhoe. This is really hard and I had struggled the time I did it before, on school camp aged 14. Me and Arrum took it on and got to the top in beautiful weather (chilly wind). This was most excellent. There's a big crater at the summit.
On the lip of the summit crater at Ngauruhoe, looking South to Ruapehu.
Me and Arrum on the summit, looking towards Taranaki, which you could see then but only just above the clouds in this.
The Tongariro side, including the sulphurous lakes, were shrouded in thick fog, so the walk over Tongariro was not pictureque, but was a bit freaky due to the lack of visibility. When we eventually got back down under the cloud cover we were at Ketetahi Hut, near Ketetahi Hot Springs, which you can't actually go to because it is Maori land. Anyway everything's a lot more lush on this side of the mountain and there's a good half hour native bush walk down the end of the track just before the carpark. I think the whoile trip was about 7.5 hours.
Looking North towards Lake Taupo from Ketetahi Hut on Tongariro, having come out from the cloud cover.
Getting a lift back to the car on the back of Kurt's ute. Ace.
We were staying at Whakamaru, a little town which is a good 80km North of Turangi and the mountains, so we had a quick pizza and beer at Turangi and were mostly asleep by the time we got back. In a related side issue, I had to do an 840 km round trip to Whakamaru in my car, which was ace, except that I got a speeding ticket in Ngauranga Gorge, which is about 2km from my house in Wellington.
Meg and Whakamaru dam. Go hydropower go.
posted by Geoff_W | 11:07 PM
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