Tongariro National Park

On Saturday morning I caught the train up to Paraparaumu to say goodbye to Melva who I'll miss going to see, before continuing north on the train to Waikanae. My aim for the day was to get to the Tongariro National Park, and shortly after leaving Waikanae I got a ride with this local baker to Otaki. From Otaki I ended up taking a slight detour to Palmerston North, although I was soon back onto SH1 by getting a ride from Palmerston North to Bulls. I had a break in Bulls which I always enjoy for its puns everywhere and statues of random bulls in the street.

From Bulls I managed to get a ride to Ohakune which is a small ski resort town near the slopes of Ruapehu. I had a look round here as it's famous for its carrot statue being the carrot capital of New Zealand. The information centre was interesting too. After sorting out some food for Tongariro National Park the following day I had problems continuing my progress. Eventually I got a lift to National Park Village which brought me within 15km of the national park. With Sunday being the only good day in the 10 day weather forecast I had to continue my progress as the sun set, which was an good one, continuing on by foot in the darkness until I found a decent place to set up camp for the night near the entrance to the road that goes to the Mangatepopo car park.

I was glad I set up myself up nicely the night before, hitching a ride bright and early to the car park which meant I was on the move not long after sunrise. My plan was to walk the Tongariro Northern Circuit, which is one New Zealands 9 great walks, from the Mangatepopo car park to Whakapapa. This basically meant I was walking about 35km of the 43km circuit, missing out on the section linking my start and finish point. On paper the whole circuit takes 3-4 days although I was planning to attempt my slightly shorter route in about 1 and a half days because there were thunderstorms forecasted for the Monday afternoon.

From the car park, the track followed the Mangatepopo stream up the valley, climbing into an alpine environment over a succession of old lava flows from Ngauruhoe, one of the three volcanoes in the national park. En route I did a little detour to Soda Springs which was a 15m waterfall flowing down an old lava flow. Before long I reached a steep climb known as the Devil’s Staircase, at the top being rewarded with views of the valley with Mount Taranaki even visible to the west. From the saddle the track crossed South Crater, before climbing again up to Red Crater presenting me with great views of the red coloured Ngauruhoe and the yellow coloured lake in South Crater below.

The track continued past the rim of Red Crater, soon being offered splendid views of the Oturere Valley and the Kaimanawa Ranges to the east. From the Red Crater which at 1868m was the highest point of the track, its red colour coming from high temperature oxidation of iron in the rock, the path descended down a steep scree slope to the Emerald Lakes, which were a very bright bluey green colour. It was a very steep path going down with some incredibly loose terrain to reach the lakes at the bottom. There was even some pretty active geysers so the area smelt very eggy.

From the Emerald Lakes the track descended steeply into the Oturere Valley with views of the valley, the Kaimanawa Ranges and the Rangipo Desert. It was here I left the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and all the crowds behind which meant I could make some more significant progress. The path weaved through an endless variety of unusual jagged lava forms from early eruptions from Red Crater, which fill the Oturere Valley. It felt like a very alien place as it was just a barren landscape full of random rock formations. After reaching the Oturere Hut the track undulated over a number of stream valleys and open gravel fields. It was a very wild place. Eventually I descended into a valley and crossed the Waihohonu Stream, before going up and over this ridge to the Waihohonu Hut.

A short distance from the Waihohonu Hut I reached the historic Waihohonu Hut which is one of the oldest huts in New Zealand. It's just a museum now though but it was very interesting. The path then followed the Waihohonu stream and gradually climbed to the Tama Saddle. I had some great views of Ruapehu here, the biggest mountain in the North Island and one of the more active volcanoes in the country. There was even snow still on the slopes. Luckily it has been pretty calm just lately. When reaching the Tama Saddle I got great views of the Lower Tama Lake. I decided to set up camp here in the end as it was off the main track inside a crater so I could be discreet and get out of the wind, and it was a very pretty location nestled between the three volcanoes in what almost felt like a beach.

Come morning Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe weren't visible anymore as they were covered in cloud, but the cloudline wasn't low enough to affect me. I actually had a really good nights sleep despite being at 1258m according to my GPS, as I was out of the wind. From the Lower Tama Lake I headed to the Upper Tama Lake and the views were stunning from the top. It was just a shame the volcanoes were no longer visible. From here I continued towards Whakapapa through the open tussocks before reaching the Wairere Stream. This led to me to the rather impressive Taranaki Falls.

Eventually I made it to Whakapapa village which at 1150m is the highest settlement in New Zealand. I spent a couple of hours here relaxing, having a good look round the visitor centre which had lots of information abouts walks in the area as well as several stories, films, and information about previous eruptions. As the weather wasn't as bad as I anticipated I went for an additional walk from the village up to the Silica Rapids which were some rapids with a distinctive milky colour. Further downstream I reached the golden rapids which were basically enriched with high levels of iron creating a rustic golden colour to the water.

When returning to Whakapapa village I followed the Whakapaipito track towards Tawhai Falls. It started raining here however although it was only a shower which was lucky. Tawhai Falls is particularly famous for being the the filming location of the so called Gollums Pool in Lord of the Rings. It was a nice little waterfall. From the falls my next stop was a visit to the mounds, formed by historic quarrying in the area. After leaving the mounds I headed back towards National Park Village. I was tempted to stay there the night as the yha there had a climbing wall and mini golf course but I decided to continue onto the small town of Taumaranui so I could get some proper services. I spent the night camping by the Whanganui River.