The Tongariro Crossing

Lance here:

The Tongariro Crossing is not only one of New Zealand’s “Great Walks” but it is also listed as a World Heritage site and one of the top ten best day hikes in the world.  In other words, it’s pretty dang cool and very beautiful.

The Crossing has been on my bucket list since moving to New Zealand as it seems to be one of the most well renowned hikes in the country.  In addition to being a really cool hike, it also includes “Mt. Doom” from Lord of the Rings.  That has to put it over the top as far as hikes go, right?

I headed down on Friday, April 15th after work one day by my lonesome since Maggie didn’t want James doing the hike; weather at the top of the mountain can change on a dime and there have been a lot of instances of it starting out nice and sunny and then turning into a terrible snowstorm.  The drive down from Auckland gave me another chance to admire the beautiful farm country that New Zealand boasts.  I truly believe that there is not another country in the world that has as beautiful of farm country as New Zealand.  The cows and sheep here are so lucky to be part of the majestic landscapes.

 

Anyways, the hike.  First thing in the morning I parked my car on the opposite side of the hike and took a bus to the start of the trail.  The problem with the bus was that it dropped me off too late to beat the morning rush and I got there a little behind a lot of tourists who weren’t really in a hurry to do the crossing.  This would be a good time to mention that I guaranteed Maggie that I would be back in Auckland for dinner that night.  Maggie was doubtful.  I had just been out of town for a few weeks, so wanted to get back home to Maggie and James.  The average hike for the Tongariro and its approx. 20km trek is 7 hours.  So I didn’t have any time to waste behind tourists.   I needed to prove to my wife that I was right.

The walk lived up to expectations.  I had a beautiful day for it at the beginning.  Can’t really beat 45 degrees and sunny for a mountainous hike.  I spent the beginning of the hike booking it past the casual walkers.  I made up a lot of ground along the high altitude path that a lot of people have trouble on, but being used to Colorado I didn’t seem to have too much trouble with it.

The hike is divided up into a few parts.  The first is the climb; this part goes along Mt. Doom and is a beautiful valley that ascents up to the high altitude region.  This is where I booked it and by the time I reached the Devil's Staircase, I had passed everyone on the trail.  The rest of the trail I pretty much had to myself.

The volcano covered in Red was Mt. Doom: very appropriate.

The second part of the hike is a high terrain crossing that zigs and zags between volcanic geysers and the Emerald Pools, which contain pools of water that glow emerald because of their mineral and sulphuric nature.

The third part of the hike is the descent overlooking Lake Taupo, which is mostly composed of switchbacks.  This was unfortunately where the clouds really set in.

The fourth part of the hike is a bush walk that takes you through the vibrant bush of New Zealand, which is dependent upon the rivers and streams that accumulate from the water flow from the mountains.

In total, I did about 20km of hiking in a little under 4 hours and it was a fantastic trip.  I was a little disappointed that the clouds came in when I was reaching the top, as I’ve been told on a good day you can see both oceans from Mt. Tongariro.  Unfortunately the clouds hung around and I couldn’t see the full extent, but overall it was an incredible hike that I’ll never forget.