Tongariro Alpine Crossing!

So there were only a few things we definitely wanted to do while we were here in Taupo. We didn't really know very much about the area, but while reading about the nearby national park, we learned about the Tongariro crossing, which is one of New Zealand's "great walks." Here is a description of the walk from the Great Lake Taupo website:

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing track provides a challenging hike taking 7-9 hours (depending on your fitness level) and covers a distance of 18 km one way. The track runs the Mangatepopo Valley to the saddle between Tongariro and Ngauruhoe Mountains. It climbs to Red Crater (1886m), then drops down to the vivid Emerald Lakes. After passing the Green and Blue lakes the track sides around the northern slope of Tongariro, then descends in a zigzag to the Ketetahi Hut.

If you've read our previous posts, you know what fans we are of Tongariro National Park. This is the park that contains Mount Ngauruhoe (aka Mount Doom) and the ski fields and a number of really cool hikes. "The crossing" sounds perfect for us. You can see different views of the mountains, see the crater, and those Emerald Lakes sound awesome. However, it also seems like it is challenging (by Kiwi standards, which means a lot,) takes anywhere from seven to nine hours, and is one way. These facts posed a bit of a logistical problem for us. We weren't excited by the idea of torturing our boys by forcing them to walk the entirety of this track, and we weren't sure who we could torture with the responsibility of watching our boys for eight hours or so and helping us with transport.

We realized we had one chance - Tom and Susan's visit. They would love watching our boys and they would not feel they would be missing out by not joining us on this journey (see map with relevant elevations below.)

Sadly, there was only one day when Tom and Susan would be here when I would not be working and we would not be traveling together in the South Island. The weather did not look promising for that date, with predictions of rain and wind, but as we had decided beforehand this was our only chance, and a real must-do before leaving the country, we just affirmed our resolve, dressed in layers and packed our standard peanut butter-nutella sandwiches.

Here is a shot from fairly early on - you can see we could tell from the start that great views of the mountains were not in our immediate future. However, the misty landscape was surreal and almost magical. We often felt like we were the only people on a strange planet.

Here's our photo illustrating the mist, the surrealism, the sense of fear that might be settling in about now.

We eventually donned hats and I tried to capture in this photo the fact that the mist was so thick, Tom was collecting some serious droplets on his eyelashes. It was kind of beautiful and we would have paused to appreciate more of this kind of beauty in the moment but for the damp chill that was beginning to pervade our bodies and the growing concern that we had bitten off more than we could chew.

There were several signposts that let you know how far you've traveled - very helpful. Thanks to the thick fog, there were moments when we could not see a single sign or post of any kind. This is why is am, like, clinging to this one. And shivering a little. 

Amazingly desolate

At this point, we really stopped taking many photos at all. To give you a sense, every time we took the camera out, condensation would form on the lens. Also, trying to move one's hands and fingers only reminded you of how very cold and wet every part of your hands and fingers were.

As we increased our elevation, the hike actually got a little scary. It was quite windy and rainy and, well, we were on the side of a mountain. My scariest moment was hearing what sounded like a hurt child's voice coming down towards me from up above in the mists of the mountain. As we continued to climb, we realized the source of the cries was actually a twenty-something backpacker from Holland. She was with a girlfriend and had become so frightened with the wind and slippery track that she was basically clinging to the side of the mountain and blocking the track. I briefly considered whether we could assist her, but quickly realized we were not the right people for that job. We picked our way around her and continued on, with the wind whipping across our bodies. There are times when it is so windy, the wind fills your ears, so that it's difficult to hear anything else. If we could have spoken to each other without yelling, we might have decided at that point that the safer thing would have been to turn around. However, we couldn't really talk to each other, so we just kept on keeping on.

Once we reached the summit, we decided it was ok to pause and eat our sandwiches. Perhaps it was the cold, or perhaps it was the fact that we had both been clenching our teeth through the climb, but it was surprisingly difficult to chew those peanut butter nutella sandwiches.....

Those of you who are concerned will be happy to learn that those Dutch girls caught up with us at the summit. Some very friendly and capable hikers helped them out.

After lunch, we started downhill and, like a biblical story of redemption, the clouds parted, the sun shone, and we glimpsed the Emerald Lakes. In typical Kiwi fashion, they left us gob-smacked.

Here's a shot that really does look like we've reached the end of the world -- don't go any further!

You can tell from my smile that I no longer believe the chance is high of my perishing on this day. Yes, the camera lens is still wet in places.

So literally, it was all downhill from there, and we enjoyed some pretty amazing views.

This is the winding trail down to the hut. Easy peasy.

Ok, so the hut itself was a little strange. There had been an eruption in 2012 that damaged the hut, flinging boulders and severely damaging the hut. We can't be sure, but it appears the DOC is trying to preserve the site as is, holes in the roof and all.

Some of these views were so pretty, and so different that what I imagine the start of the trail might be been, if I could have seen it through the mist.

Still some volcanic activity in this area...

The plants were so different on this side as well. It was almost-- lush.

Ok, so not only is this sign hilarious, but there was also a sign that told us if its light was on, we should turn back. I was not at all certain that the light was in working order on that sign - which made the remainder of the hike that much more exciting.

At the end of the trip, we learned that all of the shuttle buses that bring people to the carpark and pick them up at the end of the day had been cancelled due to the weather conditions on the mountain. Our transport (i.e. Tom and Susan) luckily had not been cancelled. They had enjoyed a lovely high tea with our boys at the Chateau while we were out tramping, which was perfect for all of us :)