While I was on the North Island, I took a weekend to do the Tongariro Apline Crossing, which was recommended to me as one of the best day hikes in New Zealand by one of the Sustainability and Outdoor Education professors at CPIT. The crossing includes multiple volcanos, including Mt. Ngauruhoe, also known to Lord of the Rings fans as Mt. Doom. I took a bus 6 hours north from Wellington to the beautiful lakeside town of Taupo, and on Saturday embarked with at least six other trampers from my hostel to Tongariro National Park. At least another 100 hikers joined us that morning, all shuttled in from nearby towns. After an hour and a half in the shuttle, we arrived at the trailhead at 7am to start hiking. I learned that the day before hikers had been turned away at the trailhead because of dangerous weather conditions – luckily today we were expecting a beautiful sunny day.
The crossing took about seven hours to complete. It included boardwalks through a landscape laced with waterfalls, small streams and low lying shrubs, a steep rocky climb up the Devil’s staircase, a leisurely walk over an alpine plateau, another push up to the summit, and then kilometers of taxing downhill walking. The initial decent was absolutely gorgeous if not a bit dangerous. As we walked, we were awarded with a stunning view of the Emerald Lakes and a steaming volcanic landscape. My hiking partner and I noticed many people lying down on the geothermally heated ground for a warm midday rest, so we decided to stop and have lunch while overlooking the bright green lakes and the thermal steam vents.
It was a fantastic experience with absolutely stunning scenery, and I wish I had more time to do more of New Zealand’s Great Walks. I’ll definitely have to come back!
