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April 1, 2006
Mt.Doom and the Tongariro Crossing
Taupo, home of NZ's cheapest skydiving, their largest lake, beautiful parkland and of course, one of Canada's most sarcastic exports...Chris Lahey.
The Tongariro Crossing is a day hike of about 7h which is part of the larger Tongariro Northern Circuit, a 3-4 day hike of 70km. My day started at 5:40am (yeah, apparently it exists in NZ as well) with a pickup from the hostel. The bus, carrying backpackers from around the city then carted us 40 minutes out of town, to the start of the trek, at the foot of Mt.Ngauruhoe a.k.a. Mt.Doom of Lord of the Ring's fame. It's not the same without digital lava and hot magma F/X but still quite ominous in its silence.
I ran into Leah, the Canadian I met in Rotorua, as well as her friend Saskia. We resolved to conquer the trek together and so began the adventure. The hike started out with a gentle slope and then quickly moved to some more difficult terrain - the devil's staircase. This provided some amazing photo op's as well as getting the heart rate going and keeping warm...essential as the wind picks up the higher you go. I estimated it was probably about 30-40km/h at this point. Further up, the South Crater provides a nice rest as it is an incredibly flat walk with a pleasant break from the winds. After that, it's more vertical trekkin eventually leading us to the Red Crater, the highest point of the Crossing at 1800+m. You can get higher if you climb to the summits of Mt.Tongariro or Mt.Ngauruhoe, but the weather wasn't in our favour for these extra treks. The view, although clouded that day, was still spectabular to coin a new, useless word. The descent to the next crater was steep and supplanted by the emerald lakes in the background. 
The sulphur from the volcanic activity renders them a greenish hue that seems unnatural. We stopped at the central crater for lunch and then proceeded to the Blue Lake and the remaining hike to Ketetahi Hut. A quick break here was followed by a leisurely but lengthy hike downhill traversing open ground and eventually forest and creeks to end up at the car park where the bus was to pick us up. Overall, an incredible hike, and a great way to enjoy New Zealand without blowing a lot of cash.
I spent the rest of my time in Taupo trying to get pics uploaded and some more updates posted. I had hoped to do some cheapazz skydiving but the weather was not my friend for it rained the remainder of the days there. Luckily, I did get a chance to enjoy some drinks and a marvelous dinner cooked by Lahey. He's got a sweetazz pad in Taupo so if you're in this hemisphere make sure to stop by and say g'day.
Posted by Dr.Unk at April 1, 2006 9:14 PM
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