National Park

16/02/12-18/02/12

I had an early start as I made my way up through the middle of the north island to National Park Village, which was to be my base so I could tackle one of the most famous one day hikes in the world the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. After traveling for most of the day on arriving I just did a quick hike to nearby waterfalls located deep in the bush. On my return a thunder storm crept over forcing me to make a dash back along the trail to find some shelter to avoid the downpour of rain.

Luckily the next day the rain had passed so we were given the ok from the shuttle bus company to go ahead and tackle the crossing. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is actually a section of a longer circular multi day great walk through the national park. As it starts and finishes in different places you need transport to ferry you to one end and pick you up from the other. As its name suggests the 20km walk crosses the shelf between the middle of two volcanoes, one of which was used as Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings films. The walk starts at the bottom of a volcanic valley before you make a 1000m assent up to the shelf; the climb to my surprise was actually quite steady. After arriving at the shelf you have another shorter climb before you hit the peak for the track. You can climb to the summits of the two volcanoes if you want to, my plan had been to climb to the top of Mount Doom but unfortunately due to yesterday’s rain there was low cloud cover which meant that it was too unsafe to even attempt to try climbing them – if you can’t see the top then steer clear! After reaching the peak for the track you are greeted by the sight of three lakes in the next valley below, filled with bright green blue water. Passing these the track leaves the volcanic landscape behind as you start to make your decent surrounded by alpine plants, the sight of white alpine flowers filling your sight. The last part of the track runs through an area of rainforest before you reach the end of the 20km hike. The variety of landscapes you witness on the crossing is stunning; my only wish was that we didn’t have the low cloud cover. Having escaped the rain for most of the day that evening we have another more violent thunder storm.

With the crossing complete it was time to move one once again this time up to the largest fresh water lake on the north island, Taupo. I had to wait until the afternoon for my bus which promptly got a flat tire after only 20 minutes of driving. Luckily a passing shuttle bus offer to take us so we would make our connections on time. With most of the day gone I only did a quick walk around Taupo that evening stopping off to watch punters take a shot at getting a hole in one on the floating golf course on the lake.