Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Trip Start
Feb 07, 2011
1
7
21
Trip End
Ongoing
Where I stayed
Turangi, North Island, New Zealand
Thursday, February 17, 2011
So, I was up at 5am ready to catch the shuttle bus to the start. I wanted an early start to ensure that I finished the steepest ascent part before the hottest part of the day and to allow me to have enough of the day remaining afterwards to recover. Taking the advice of experts seriously I had a rucksack full of water, food and all weather clothes, including a raincoat as the climate can vary dramatically on different parts of the walk and change from hot to cold in an instant. In fact, the temperature can range from 5-35 degrees on any given day. This is due to the steep exposure on some parts of the hike, as well as the high altitude, therefore the weather can play a big part in how the day goes. As with any mountainous environment, a sunny day can turn into a blizzard at any time of year, so I needed to be prepared.
However, despite there being an information overload on how to prepare for the hike, I seemed to have twice as much stuff compared to many of the others on the bus. There were some who were wearing just shorts and a t-shirt with a very small shoulder bag which could hardly have contained lunch let alone any extra clothes. Never mind, there was always the option to purchase food and water on the bus as well as hiring any equipment that may be required such as walking poles, etc.
I was the only one getting on the bus at Turangi for the 40 minute trip to the start but it was nearly full anyway having started at Taupo 50 minutes earlier. There are several companies who operate shuttles to/from the start and finish but some of the cheaper ones only operate 1 service back. Therefore, I paid extra for one that had several buses coming back so that I didn’t have to hang around too long once I’d finished or even worse complete the walk after the bus had been and gone.
The start was teemed with throngs of people who had appeared to come from all over and I thought it was going to get overcrowded but fairly soon everyone had dispersed to a reasonable distance and there were times where I felt I was completely alone, stranded in the middle of nowhere. This was a place in which you can truly lose youself (spiritually, not physically, although I’m sure you could probably do that as well if you weren’t paying attention.
The hike itself started fairly gently while I got used to the terrain, however I had soon arrived at the appropriately named Devil’s Staircase. This was a steep staircase of literally hundreds of stepsand I had to take several breaks before reaching the top. Now, there was an option at the top to extend the walk and climb to the summit of of Mount Ngauruhoe , which is featured in LOTR, and although the views are allegedly stunning from the top, this wasn’t an option I took. Carrying on, I soon found myself walking across huge volcanic craters and lakes. It was the gradual, never-ending steepness that took its’ toll at this point and there were times when I needed to be on all fours to scramble up. This was tough and if there’d been an easy option to give up at this point maybe I would have taken it. As there wasn’t, there was no option but to perservere onwards.
Thankful for the early start I did indeed complete the steepest climb before the midday sun arrived and whilst not easy, the rest of the tramp was more gentle in comparison and with a few breaks I completed the track in about 6 and a half hours. I completed the walk with a huge sense of achievement.
Quite simply, some of the landscape here was some of the most stunning I have ever seen. Neither words nor pictures can really do it justice and the experience is a memory that I will treasure forever. This is something that I would recommend anyone should do, there were people of all ages and size doing this and whilst it was tough in places, it was definitely worthwhile.
To my mind, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is the perfect walk. It’s challenging enough to feel an enormous sense of satisfaction having completed it, but it’s not so difficult that it can’t be done by those with a moderate fitness level and a sense of determination. I’ve got no idea about my fitness level, I know I’m not fit, but I’m not out of shape either, probably somewhere in the middle. I found this absolutely tough in place but it was a challenge that I was determined to overcome. In fact, I knew that once I started it there would (or could) be no going back.
Although I saw some people in trainers, I was very grateful for my hiking boots, which made some of treacherous terrain a little bit easier.
By the time I got back to Turangi, it was getting on for late afternoon and the rest of the day passed in a bit of a blur whilst I reminisced over the day’s adventure.
