Tongariro Northern Circuit

Space

One does not simply nap into Mordor

Blue Lake

Red Crater in front of Ngauruhoe

Emerald Lakes

Perfect mountain cones, deserts of volcanic ash, emerald colored lakes, explosion craters still producing heat on the earth's surface: we experienced nothing else like Tongariro in New Zealand.  Speaking with trampers we've met on past walks, the conversation inevitably turns: "But have you done Tongariro?"  We skipped it driving down the North Island last January, it seemed beyond our strength at the time, but I remember speeding through the plains of the park in an eerie fog that kept its features a secret. I knew then that folks were up there walking the circuit, many doing the crossing, what is widely considered the best day-walk in the country.

Tongariro National Park is an UNESCO World Heritage Site on both cultural and natural grounds.  The park sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the three great volcanoes, Tongariro, Ruapehu, and Ngauruhoe, dominate the landscape.  All three volcanoes are active, and the largest of which, Ruapehu, last erupted in 1996.  Ngauruhoe is more famous for being cast as Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies.  The landscape is carved by the flows of lava, which leave behind valleys of volcanic rock and little else (the ongoing re-pavement of the land leaves little chance for vegetation).  The land is sacred to the Tu Wharetoa tribe, who view the mountains as tupuna (god-like ancestors).  With great foresight, the Maori tribe gifted the park to the crown in 1887, seeing the protection of national park status (it would be New Zealand's first) as the only way to protect the land from settlers.  I don't know to what extent it was the power of suggestion, but walking alone through the deserts of volcanic debris, it was easy to feel an otherworldly power or presence in the land.  Other areas felt like how I would imagine the surface of mars (some cliffs and craters are even colored red from the volcanic mineral content).

You can begin the Northern Circuit from a few starting points, and we decided to take on the crossing in the first day, giving us the most accurate weather forecast for the most important section.  It is, of course, also the most popular leg of the tramp.  By 8am, the trail that crosses through Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe is overrun by day-walkers.  During the peak season, one thousand walkers might make the pilgrimage from Mangatepopo Rd. to the pickup point at Ketetahi Rd. each day, where hotdog and ice cream vendors cater to the crowds waiting for their bus pick-up.  The crossing is very touristy, and much more commercial-feeling than the other Great Walks, but all for good reason.  The crossing is spectacular, and the colored volcanic lakes, explosion craters, mountain summits, and powerful scenery attract folks who might not do one other walk on their visit.  We woke up at 3:45am hoping to beat the scene, and looking down into the crater valleys from above, the crowds of walkers looked like ants marching in a line to your picnic.  Unfortunately, the weather did not quite cooperate.  All was clear at dawn, but by the time we reached the ridge above the Red Crater Cliffs, the highest point of the track, Mt. Ngauruhoe was completely hidden.  It was frigid and windy, which made the volcanic heat rising from the rock and dirt below even more badass, but it also meant we could not spend the whole afternoon up there admiring our surroundings as we had hoped.  So we descended down the lip of Red Crater past the Emerald Lakes, and down a series of switchbacks to Ketetahi Hut, overlooking Lake Taupo and Rotoaira.

The party really came to a halt, though, when Christina decided she could not continue the walk - her foot was causing too much pain.  After some deliberation, I left her the next morning at Ketetahi Hut, where she planned to spend one more night before meeting me at the Ketetahi carpark.  Meanwhile, I would finish the circuit in two days, pick up the car at Mangatepopo, and then pick her up.  I set off for Waihohonu Hut, which is approximately halfway around the circuit from where we began.  A thunderstorm passed through the park that afternoon, and listening to the rolling thunder alone in the ash desert was an awesome experience.  Yet I arrived at Waihohonu unsure of myself: I had a long day in front of me the next morning, covering half the track in nine to eleven hours of walking.  But, if the forecast stayed true and the morning was clear, why slog through long, at times monotonous terrain to complete the circuit, why not backtrack the half of the track I just covered, giving myself another shot at the crossing in better weather?

So I put my bag back on and began backtracking to Oturere Hut, getting myself as close to the crossing in the morning as possible, aiming to arrive at the lakes before the day-walkers (if it sounds like I think I'm better than them, I am).  This meant over 27km of walking in one day, though, gaining and dropping over 1000m, which was more than I could handle.  I wouldn't say I went into survival mode, I was never in real danger, but it was an intense experience.  I reached my limit, stopping to rest first every half hour, then every twenty, ten, and five minutes, empty and desperate to be done walking.  The final stretch was brutal.

Sleeping only a few hours that night, I woke up before dawn and put on my bandana, entering into a sort of Beast Mode you can only understand with intimate familiarity with Nelson Cruz's hot streaks.  I climbed back up to the lakes in time to see the sun rise over the mountains, taking my time to explore the stunning scenery.  Sort of magically, Christina decided to walk back the same way, planning to catch me at the car before I took off.  After a surprise meeting on the climb up the crater ("Look what the cat dragged in.") we had nearly two hours alone in this private playground.  Clouds settled in over the mountains just after we saw our first group heading past us in the other direction, and by the time we began our descent into the valley, we were passing wave after wave of trampers.  That morning was a gift, the three days an unforgettable finale to our time hiking in New Zealand.