Mount Ngauruhoe, From the Summit of Mount Tongariro
When I was coming up with things that I wanted to do while I was in New Zealand, two things were immediately placed at the head of the list. Right at the top was: "Throw myself out of a plane". Just below that was: "Hike the Tongariro Crossing".
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is described by many sources as New Zealand's best one-day hike. For a country with a surfeit of fantastic tramping (Kiwi for hiking), that's high praise indeed. But even if it was the third- or fourth-best; even if it was rated way down there as the seventeenth-best one-day hike in New Zealand; I would have gone out of my way to tramp the Crossing.
Why? Because the Tongariro National Park was one of the principle filming locations for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing runs straight though Mordor.
(Fair Warning: If you hate The Lord of the Rings or any and all references to The Lord of the Rings, please close this browser window / browser tab / Facebook note now. Your blood pressure will thank you. For all others, prepare for displays of supreme dorkiness ahead.)
Are We Coming or Are We Going? (or Into and Out of Tongariro National Park)
Mordor didn't make things easy. The Kiwi Experience buses travelling the North Island stop off in Taupo for two nights, allowing those that want to hike the Crossing a full day in the National Park. Marc, Pete, Ems, Holly, Paul and I planned to do just that, before continuing on our way south to Wellington. The weather, however, had other ideas. High winds were forecast for the next day and, as it turns out, hiking along exposed, high-altitude volcanic ridges gets a little dicey under those conditions.
Huh. You Don't Say.
It took a little convincing , but our entire group decided to stay in Taupo for two additional nights, giving ourselves some extra time to wait for a window in the weather. Fortunately, after spending an ironically sunny and calm day around town, the conditions in the National Park were forecast to be suitable the very next day.
The Company¹ was off to the foothills of Mount Doom.
View Tongariro Alpine Crossing in a larger map
The Tongariro Crossing is a 19.4 kilometre point-to-point trek, passing between the Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe volcanoes (Mt. Ngauruhoe was used as the basis for Mount Doom in the Peter Jackson films). Since the trek does not start and end at the same point, transportation has to be arranged to the starting point, and for a pick up at the end of the trek. Since the Crossing is so popular, there are plenty of companies providing these services, allowing between eight to ten hours to complete the journey.
Contemplating Mount Doom (Photo courtesy of Pete)
In addition to the standard route, trampers have the option of two side trips: one trail heads out to the top of Mt. Tongariro while the other climbs to the summit of Mt. Ngauruhoe. That's right: trampers can channel their inner Frodo and climb to the top of Mt. Doom. Needless to say, I had every intention of indulging, if only to satisfy a geek fantasy of dropping a ring into the crater (okay, I didn't exactly have a ring, but I could at least get a picture my myself pretending to drop something into the crater). In fact, I drove everybody crazy on the way to Taupo, incessantly repeating, "I'm going climb Mt. Doom" the whole way in.
The rest of the Company wasn't quite as eager to go along with this plan. I could see where they were coming from. Summiting Mt. Doom involves a 600 vertical metre ascent, along an unmarked trail of loose volcanic scree -- a difficult, two-hour side scramble. This was not a side trip to take lightly. But Frodo's journey wasn't exactly a cakewalk.
Looking Back Towards Mount Doom
In the end, wanton nerd desire wasn't enough to win out against the weather. While I'd managed to convince the others to attempt the summit in clear and calm conditions, we reached the South Crater to find Mt. Ngauruhoe covered in cloud, and a brisk, biting wind blowing over the col. My hiker's instinct won out against the dork and the metaphorical ring would live to see another day. However, I was determined to mount something, so when we reached the Red Crater, we struck out for the top of Mt. Tongariro, only eighty-one vertical metres above the pass between the two volcanoes, and a relatively easy hike along a gently sloping ridge.
Descending To the Emerald Lakes
The Tongariro Crossing is a phenomenal day-hike and certainly lives up to the "New Zealand's Best" hype. The volcanic scenery is spectacular, and the tramp was one of the bext I've done -- anywhere in the world. The hiker in me was well satisfied. The Lord of the Rings geek in me was just as happy. Looking out on the desolate landscape around the South and Red Craters; smelling the sulfurous gas bursting forth from the geothermal activity just below our feet; it just felt like Mordor.
We even saw some hobbits. (I should really ask Paul for that picture.)
Out of the Badlands
¹ Nerd fact for those only familiar with The Lord of the Rings through the films. In J.R.R. Tolkien's books, The Fellowship is more commonly referred to as The Company.
Related Entries:
1. My Travel Wishlist (Part III)
2. The Kiwi Experience
3. East As!
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