They say that it is the best hike in New Zealand, and in the top ten in the world. The day we took on the Crossing it was freezing cold and foggy, and it was was absolutely amazing. The trecherous 18km trail summits the saddle between Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe, two of the largest volcanoes in the North Island.
It takes about 8 hours to do the whole thing, so we drive up the day before and camped out in the park. It was impossible to sleep because it was freezing cold and we were really excited and nervous. After about an hour of sleep, we were up, broke down the tent, and were at the trail head before the sun came up.
The sunrising from behind the Tongariro Complex is one of the most beautiful sights I've seen since being in New Zealand. We hadn't even stepped foot on the trail and I was already blown away. The morning sun lit up the snow-capped volcanoes with vibrant yellows and oranges, reminiscant of the lava that created this landscape. The shrubland that surrounds the volcanoes is more like a vast Martian desert, and the "Devil's Staircase" leading up to the rim of the South Crater is equally foreign.
The vertical climb through irregular and unsteady black volcanic rock led us up into the clouds and snow. It was unfortunate that that there was such low visibility, but it only made the adventure that much more mysterious. Another steep climb put us on the rim of the Red Crater. If the clouds had lifted, we would have seen the deepest crater in the complex. The trail borded the crater just along the edge, and i actually began to fear for my life when the winds really picked, up as they do at 1900 meters above sea level on a volcano. The trail then dropped off the edge of the crater and into a region called Emerald Lakes. Rightly named so as the lakes formed in the volcanic eruption pits are the most brilliant green, looking almost unnatural. There was steam and acid sulfur seeping out right below our boots. I picked up a few red rocks to put in my pocket, and they felt warm to my skin so I put a few extras in my gloves.
Adjacent to the Emerald Lakes is the Central Crater, really really big and flat, and we were sheltered momentarily from the wind. We climbed out of the crater and started to descend Tongriro on the northern flank. It took us three hours just to get down to the foothills. The descent was just as amazing as we hiked through all of the layers of vegetation that cover the mountains. First we hiked down out of the snow into rocky shrubland, half expecting hobbits to jump out onto the trail. Once we were below the cloud cover, the views out to Lake Rotoaira were great. Farther down was the Ketetahi Springs, where massive plumes of gaseous sulfer erupted from between the rocks. There was a D.O.C. hut just below were we stopped for a break and to enjoy the view.
We continued the descent along tussock grass slopes, and then all of a sudden were found ourselves in a tropical rainforest. Crossing below the treeline is very cool. Just a couple meters of altitude can separate entirely different ecosystems. Now we were surrounded by lush green bush and heard birds chirping for the first time all day. Down at the bottom we felt very accomplished, but apprehensive about sleeping outside in the freezing cold again. So we parked the car next to the lake and all slept in the backseat of our station wagon. The next morning we drove home, very sad to leave Tongariro behind. If of you guys make a trip to New Zealand, definitely hit up the Crossing.
Gotta go now, time to study for my final tomorrow morning!
