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The Tongariro Crossing
The Tongariro Crossing is supposed to be one of the best day walks in
the
country, perhaps the world so we were pretty excited about doing it and
just a little nervous.
We’d been preparing for a while, building up our stamina,
climbing muscles and our collection of Kathmandu clothing.
We woke early on Easter Saturday and waited outside the motel as the
dawn broke on a gloriously clear day. Our bus arrived on time and the
National park and surroundings were unearthly and beautiful in the
rising sunlight. Mist hung over Lake Taupo and mingled with the thermal
steam at Tokaanu where we were staying.
Shortly before we turned off onto the approach to the walking track we
passed through a dense fog but this was the last cloud we would see
that day.
We set off walking up the Mangatepopo track shortly after 8.00 and
accompanied by hundreds of others who had the same idea. It’s
hard to really get the sense of wilderness when there are so many
others around but it has to be accepted I guess. Everyone else had just
as much right to be there as us.
After an hour’s walking the infamous devil’s
staircase loomed in front of us, with a long line of people zigzagging
their way up. It was slow going climbing up to the south crater, not
because it was particularly hard, but because with so many on the
track, when one person stopped for a breather, we all did.
Arriving on south crater was amazing though and the crowds began to
thin out as some people stopped for a rest while others took on a scary
looking detour to climb Ngauruhoe. We walked across the crater and
began the last steep ascent of the day.
This was a tough one but it brought us to the side track leading to the
Tongariro summit. Being quite early in the day, and still feeling
relatively fresh we decided to take this detour. It had the added bonus
of taking us away from the crowds for an hour and a bit. Plus, the
views from the summit were superb.
Back on the main track we slip slid our way down a scree slope to the
Emerald Lakes, a series of small explosion craters filled with eerie
green water. Despite the sulphurous smell, it was a good place to stop
for egg sandwiches.
It was pretty much all downhill from there, across another flat crater,
skirting the blue lake and then the long trudge back down the other
side of the mountain, passing hot springs half way down. The last hour
seemed to take forever as our legs and feet began to complain but we
made it to the bus stop in good time and gratefully climbed aboard.
Back at the motel, we were able to enjoy a soak in a thermal bath,
followed by a day of doing very little. We’ll be back up that
way sometime soon. There are plenty more tracks to explore and for all
our travelling, Tongariro National Park is still one of my favourite
places anywhere.
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