The Ladies and the Tramp

Saturday, April 24th – The day to conquer the Tongariro Crossing.

Well, the hike was awesome. All 19.4 km of it! The steep parts were definitely a challenge, and breaks were a must. But the views? - spectacular!

The first part of the hike had us walking along rocky, volcanic stone, past a creak, and by one waterfall. Then, at the second hut, we all took a break and gazed up at the steep climb we were all about to conquer. The climb was mostly stairs which made it much easier (but, there were people RUNNING up the mountain – they must have been completely insane...) Once we got up higher, we were in the clouds! So, the views were obstructed sometimes, but only for short spurts until the clouds cleared. It was kind of cool actually. I was hot going up, but once we reached the first plateau and took a break to wait for the others, I had to put a jacket on cause of the wind and cooler altitude. The girl leading the pack had apparently been doing this particular hike since she was 6 months old! She said her uncle was a volcanologist so he would come up to the mountain to take samples and her parents would come along and bring her with. Cool, eh?

I realized that Mt. Ngauruhoe, which was the first mountain we could see, was the famous mountain they used in Lord of the Rings – Mt. Doom! Good ol' LTR :-)

Then, we walked through this barren, empty part of the crossing called the South Crater, but it was still cool because there were clouds sweeping across the top and at the very base of the land. Then, up another steep climb where you could see for miles and miles. This climb was a bit trickier because of the loose gravel and volcanic rock that slid under your feet. Once we reached the top of the second majorly steep climb (and thankfully, there were only two steep climbs...) we were practically going to be blown off the side of the mountain! It was so windy!! And, we all agreed that it kind of looked like the moon at the very top (or, at least what we imagined the top of the moon would look like). Jen and I climbed to the next highest peak since we wouldn't have enough time to hike all the way to the summit of Mt. Tongariro (which is actually not part of the Tongariro Crossing, just a side trip) and had a stunning view of the bluish/green lakes between the mountains. But, the higher we got, the windier it was so we went back down to find the group and eat our lunch.

Jen and I got to talking and I found out that she is a Health Promoter as well! How cool is that!? It was so fun talking to someone else who knows what Health Promotion is!

On our way to meet everyone else, we passed the Red Crater which looks exactly like it sounds – a MASSIVE red crater! Really cool looking – kind of like how I would imagine hell to look...dark, red, and ominous. We had to practically slide down the next part to reach the Emerald Lakes where our group was waiting. The terrain was soft and sandy and easy to lose your footing on.

When we reach the group we pulled out the celebratory mini bottle of bubbly and each took a sip to celebrate our climb to the top of the mountain!! Woohoo!!

Being near the Emerald Lakes you could smell the sulphur. Stinky!! But it was so beautiful that it was definitely worth the smell. The Blue Lake was next after passing through the Central Crater which was more of the same barren desert look. Still super windy and cold too! I was glad to have my jacket, hat, and mittens with me!

* Side Note – if you ever plan to do this trip, by all means, do not wear blue jeans, jean shorts, or flip flops. There is unprepared tramping, but there is also just stupid tramping. And yes, we did see people wearing all of the above on the hike. They are almost crazier than the ones running up the mountain... *

The tramp was downhill from there. Beautiful views of Lake Taupo as well. The trail became zigzaggy on the way down which we were convinced was completely unnecessary and was only done to prolong the amount of time it took to get to the next hut (aka. toilet!!). We passed by Hot Springs which were unfortunately on private land so we couldn't take advantage of a good hot soak. It also started misting, but not too terribly – just enough for us to enjoy a lovely rainbow. We really had gotten lucky with the weather. Some days, they close the Crossing completely because of wind, rain, or snow. Otherwise, you just have to face whatever elements come your way. And we got the good elements!

The final part of the track was through bush. I felt my legs on auto-pilot towards the end. But, I was feeling really good for the most part and had so enjoyed the hike and the ladies that I had done the hike with! It was the perfect group and the perfect pace. A great day of tramping!!

We were all tuckered out waiting at the carpark for our shuttle to pick us up. I used the most fowl toilet I have ever used in my life – seriously, it was AWFUL. Took pictures in front of the Tongariro Crossing sign and then hopped the bus and dozed the whole way back to the hostel.

The shower at the hostel was amazing. Everything was amazing. Dinner was bean burritos with loads of veggies and avacado and cheese and wedges to boot! Then an evening of mint dark chocolate, wine, and Cranium. It was so much fun! And then the movie “Weekend at Bernie's” before bedtime. What a fantastic day.