12th Jan - Tongariro Crossing and Mt Ngauruhoe Hike

Up at 5.30 with the rest of the family to get ready and go with them by truck to the start of the Tongariro Crossing walk. I think that we headed off about 8.30 from the car park. Fraser has done the walk before with his school and very kindly drove off in the truck (with my bike) to the carpark at the other end of the walk.


It was cloudy to begin with first thing in the morning but then cheered up as we headed higher. Nicky had been saying that her fitness was not so good and Kate was had also been playing down her fitness saying things like "I hope we will manage it" and so I was very surprised when we headed off at the normal pace that me and Christoph had been doing in the South Island. It was great. Nicky was on a mission and running ahead. I had listened to what they had said about their fitness and thought it would be a chilled day and so took loads of stuff in a big rucksack.... I regretted it when we did the first section of the walk in 2 and 1/2 hours when the doc said it would take 5 and we then headed up Mt Ngauruhoe.


I thought that I would be ahead of the family and just run up it and then catch them up. Oh no no no..... It was great as they were all keen on doing it and rather than there being a path that I could just jog up it was a serious scramble and so it was great to have some company. The rocks are very lose and the slope to the top is steep and so it really is a 2 hour climb to the top and then a 30min scree run back down again. On the way up you can actually step up and slide back to exactly the place where you started to begin with and so it was slow going and frustrating in parts.

The clouds cleared when we got to the top and there was an amazing view across to lake Taupo in the distance. At the top of the volcano there is a big crater and it was very impressive. The volcano is active and there were areas where the steam was actually coming out of the ground. There were also signs warning of a possible eruption and informing you of what to do and where to run to if it were to happen - scary! Apparently they have no idea when the next eruption is likely. The signs suggest running on the ridges rather than in the valleys because of the lava flow....







I was a big wimp on the way down. I would normally be very happy to run on the scree but I was all nervous about hurting my ankles which would then mean that I could not carry on with my trip. My footing was bad because I was nervous and I fell over several times. My legs had just about healed from all of the cuts and scratches from other walks in the South Island and about 100 sand fly bites on each leg (so many that my ankles had swollen) and then I go an fall again.... always a great look on a girl! This walk was the only time that I wished I had by big walking boots with me as my off road running shoes have no ankle support and the rocks falling on my ankles was quite sore at times.

The rocks were so lose that a major section of the way down was completed by everyone on our bums. It was much easier to slide down low to the ground than stand up. I felt like a kid again. Soooooo much fun.

After climbing Ngauruhoe (2287m) we met Fraser at about the half way point on the Crossing Walk. He had really bad blisters and could hardly walk. I felt for him! The walk down from there is beautiful and passes the Emerald lakes - so called because of their vibrant turquoise colour. We stopped off and had some food and chilled for a while but decided not to go in for a swim as it was so cold. The walk is really different to any other walk in NZ. I can see why it is called "The Best Day Tramp of NZ". The scenery is almost a lunar desert. There is very little growing. It is exciting as it is an active volcanic area. There are a lot of people on the Crossing walk but not so many up Ngauruhoe.

The last 4-5km of the walk are through native NZ bush. We were not expecting this as the rest of the walk had been so barren. I really lovely end to a great path. We finished the walk at about 4. The doc times said 9.5 hours for the Crossing Walk. We did the crossing part in 5 hours and then took another 2.5 to climb Ngauruhoe. We were even running down on the way back (partly because we wanted to get to the hut to use the toilets). It was a really great day. A great pace, fab company and totally different to anywhere else I have visited before. Well worth doing.

It worked out really well meeting Les and family. They would not have done the Crossing today if I had not persuaded them but they seemed to really enjoy the challenge. I can't believe that Les was kind enough to invite me to go flying in his private plane, control the plane myself for about 10 mins, ride and drive his quad bike, show me the flying doctor plane and feed me! What an amazing experience :-)

We finished the walk about 4ish but then by the time I packed up all of my things, got changed and got on my bike it was about 5. I had 45km to bike to get to Kerry's in Motuoapa. There was a bit of a hill on the way and it was cloudy and not a particularly interesting ride this evening but I had a great evening with Kerry. He cooked a fab meal of steak and salad with a tasty bottle of red wine. It was a shame that I was only just passing though. Kerry has had a very interesting time of it over the last few years. He has used to be a outdoor instructor. Warm Showers is great for meeting people with the same interests. I felt very nicely exercised and fed by the end of a great day.