Tongariro Northern Circuit Track

New Zealand is a great country for hiking, or, tramping as it is called here. There are developed walks (tracks) that criss-cross the country with a great, hut-to-hut support system available on most of them. There are seven walks classified as 'Great Walks'. These are the most popular routes and the world-famous ones, like the Milford Track, are booked a year in advance. We hope to do at least three of the walks while we are here. We started with the Tongariro Northern Circuit on the North Island. It was very appealing to us because it had volcanoes, both alive and dead, a walk along a crater edge and spectacular Alpine lakes. The walk is mainly focused around Mt. Ngauruhoe (a.k.a. Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings films), a classic cone-shaped volcano.

Many views of beautiful, multi-peaked, Mt. Ruapehu were also on offer.

There are two ways to do this track. One is to just do the most spectacular and most difficult 19.5 km Alpine Crossing of the track in one long day, or, as we opted to, complete a three day circuit which shortens the first day to around 15 km and adds two additional days of walking and two nights spent in huts/campsites along the longer route. In hindsight, I think doing just the one day walk would have been the better choice because you can pick your day for the best weather and you only have to carry a day pack. As it was, the reservations we had made weeks in advance happened to land on one of the worst days of weather we've seen here. We woke up to sheets of horizontal, windblown rain with no letup in sight. The mountains were fogged in and the advice by our shuttle driver was to forget it and go the next day when the weather was forecast to be better. It was good advice, but, it meant losing our long-held reservations for the campsites and we were all packed and ready for a three day hike, not a single day scramble. We decided to just head off to the first hut, two kilometres distant and see if conditions would improve by lunchtime. If not, we'd turn back and make other plans.

Day 1 - By lunchtime the rain had stopped, the fog had turned to just mist around the mountain tops and the wind had decreased from 40 km/hr to around 20 km/hr at the summit. So, we decided to go ahead. We wouldn't have the long views we'd hoped for, but, it would salvage our trip and as a fellow walker remarked: "these are mountains, you're never going to see them always at their best and mist-covered can be just as beautiful as full-on sunshine".

After the rough and rustic conditions we'd experienced on trails in Canada, this track started out like a super-highway. It was wide and well-worn, there were a lot of boardwalks and many staircases, the steepest of which is the Devil's Staircase leading to the summit. As we got close to the top the weather closed in again and visibility was very poor. That was maybe a good thing because when we got to the part where you had to haul yourself up along a heavy chain bolted to the rock face, I didn't really want a clear view of how far down it was! It was a relief to cross the level South Crater before tackling the final steep climb, up a loose slope, to Red Crater. We walked along the ridge and started down just as the mist cleared, somewhat, to allow a fairly good view of the Emerald Lakes. This photo, taken from the internet, is what it looks like on a clear day.

After passing the Emerald Lakes, we started down into the Oturere Valley. The climb down, first on loose scree and then on a ridge consisting of very sharp, volcanic rock was actually harder than going up. Each sideways step had to be carefully considered. We descended into a valley of very unusual, jagged lava forms and a desert-like environment. The fog and light rain drifted in and out until we stumbled into the Oturere hut around seven p.m. to be greeted with heat and good company. There was room in the hut so we upgraded our tent reservation to enjoy a warm, dry sleep in the hut ready to tackle Day 2.

Day 2 - The second day dawned bright, clear and stunningly beautiful. It was a perfect day for the Alpine Crossing we'd completed the day before, but, it was not to be, we were pushing along a short walk of 7.5 km to the next hut, Waihohonu, where we had a reservation for the night.

The walking was quite enjoyable except for a final, very long, uphill climb after which we got a distant glimpse of our goal, Waihohonu hut and beyond it, our next day's hike out of the valley.

Day 3 - was a fairly easy 14.3 km walk from Waihohonu hut back to Whakapapa Village to complete our circuit. It was another lovely walk through many fairly gentle ups/downs. The rain held off until the final hour.

Three days, 36.4 km, and up/down an elevation range of approximately 700 metres, we were glad it was over, but, proud of our achievement.