Touted as New Zealand’s best 1-day walk, the Tongariro Crossing is a one-way journey up and over 3, most definitely active, volcanoes. Completing the crossing can be tricky, as gales often prevent trekkers from making it across. Thankfully, I could not have had better weather, as the skies were crystal clear from sunrise through to late afternoon.
I began the trek just before sunrise, with the dawn light silhouetting the ominous peak that lay in front of me. As day broke and I climbed higher, the views of the valley below, spotted with distant peaks, were soon to be hidden as I crossed a saddle into what looked like the surface of the moon. Barren flatland, maybe a dozen football fields wide and long, was dotted with strange boulders that had one time been blown from the surrounding volcanoes. The colorless landscape would have been especially creepy in the fog, but thankfully I had nothing but blue skies ahead.
After crossing the wasteland, one more climb lay ahead before I reached the high point of the trek. After a bit of a scramble, I stood at the top of the crossing, an ominous volcano to my right, a deep red crater just below, and a series of brightly colored lakes, flanked in steam from the vents down to my left. It was striking. I felt tiny, yet at the same time powerful, as though I was feeding off the energy of the peak. For Lord of the Rings fans, yes, that is Mount Doom. And I may or may not have tried to throw a ring inside…
After an extended lunch at the top, I made my way down the mountain, around the lakes that contained more colors than an artist’s pallet, and over to the other side, with Lake Taupo off in the distance serving as a constant backdrop to my descent. The last few kilometers of the trek passed through dense forest, yet another landscape contained within the trek.
After finishing the crossing, I rode the shuttle bus back to my car, and took off for my next adventure.
A shower can wait, there’s no rest for a traveler on a mission.