Tongariro National Park

February 21-22, 2009

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We got up early in Wellington to catch the train to Tongariro National Park. This train is the only long-distance passenger train on the north island, and it goes from Wellington to Auckland. We had three nights at National Park Backpackers scheduled in the village of National Park, right at the edge of Tongariro National Park. Steve wanted to do a popular day walk here called the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which goes through volcanic areas, and is a fairly strenuous hike with elevation gain and a distance of 19.4 km (12 miles). The north island has active volcanic areas, and this was one of them. We had two full days here in order to pick the best weather for the track.

It turns out that neither day had really good weather, but the second was better than the first. The first day we took as a “rest day” and didn’t really do anything much, hung around the hostel that we were staying at and relaxed. The second day Steve headed for the crossing and Patty headed for Whakapapa, a village inside the park, where she went to the Tongariro visitor center and walked one of the nearby tracks, attempting (unsuccessfully due to clouds) to see “Mt. Doom” from the Lord of the Rings movies. The weather was low clouds and periodic drizzle, and the first part Steve’s track was in the clouds, with views only a hundred feet or so at best. The wind was really strong heading up just past the Mt. Tongariro turnoff. Right around the Emerald Lakes, however, the clouds cleared a bit from time to time, and views opened up just in time! There were areas of steam vents from the volcanic activity, and the lakes were interesting shades of blue and green. The track continued past Blue Lake and then over to the Ketetahi Hut (the alpine crossing is part of one of NZ’s great walks, the Tongariro Circuit, and this is one of the huts). Everyone was taking a break at the hut before the final downhill to the other end of the track. Our hostel provided bus transport to and from the track, and the crowds were reportedly much smaller on this day compared to a typical day with nicer weather, so that was an advantage! Always try to see the “bright” side of imperfect weather!