Red Crater (and a tiny human on top).
After talking with Erin and realizing we didn't have much time left before heading to Auckland, we needed to make a decision on which part of the North Island we would see. We decided to explore more of the awesome New Zealand outdoors and do the Tongariro crossing. The Tongariro crossing is a 12.1 mile trek across New Zealand amazingness. It is considered to be the best day hike in the country. It was a filming location for the Lord of the Rings (I really need to see these movies) and for those that know them the location of "Mount Doom." The walk is mostly through volcanic terrain as there are three volcanoes in the area that are highly active. The best way to access the hike is to go to the town of National Park and have a shuttle bus deliver you to the start of the hike and then pick you up at the end.
Arriving the afternoon in the small town of National Park it was foggy, pouring rain, and pretty cold - pretty much ideal hiking weather. As with every tourist who comes mildly unprepared, we visited the tiny local gas station (the only store in town) which carried gloves, winter hats and ponchos at a premium price. But after seeing the weather we were hook, line and sinker. The lady at the cash register even made it a point to tell us we could not return our ponchos even if they went unused!
We woke up the next morning, jumped on the transport bus along with 40 of our closest friends and made our way to the trail head. No rain and only a few clouds! We couldn't believe our luck. We got to the trail head and there were hundreds of people everywhere. I guess we weren't the only ones that had heard this was a good hike.
This is one of the most incredible hikes I have ever done! I couldn't believe all of the different terrain we crossed. We started out on flat ground, my kind of hike. Straight ahead of us laid Mount Ngauruhoe (or as the Lord of the Ring lovers know it, Mount Doom). We had a steep uphill (which included nicely made steps) to get us around/over Mount Doom and then walked along a large valley to get to our next mountain pass. After getting up on the ridge of the next mountain, we came across a beautiful blue lake with grasses all around it. A little bit further we saw Red Crater, where there were old lava flows and an amazing red color to the soil. From there, we slid down the loose scoria (felt like we were in snow) to get to the beautiful Emerald Lakes. Minerals around the lakes cause the bright green/blue color and many steam vents in the area cause the sulphur smell (not my fave). After taking our time admiring the lakes, we kept trucking along. All of a sudden, we came out on the side of a mountain covered in grasses and could see unbelievable views of more mountains and Lake Taupo. At the very end of the hike, we were back in the rain forest - green, mossy, and it felt like it had just rained. Such a great hike with varied landscapes and so much to look at. I kept thinking during the hike, is this real life?! I felt like I was on a movie set!
We stayed in National Park that night and went to bed suuuuper early after our long day. The next day we headed onto the big city of Auckland!
Highlights:
1. All of it, minus the steep uphills.
2. Great weather...we really lucked out. We talked to another American that had done it a few days prior and she said it was rainy and cold and they couldn't see anything!
Lessons Learned:
1. The Youth Hostel Association (YHA) in New Zealand is great - they have hostels all over the country, in good central locations and are very well run! Would highly recommend staying at these.
2. More sheep on our way to National Park!
3. They really know how to sucker a couple tourists!
Our view of Lake Taupo.
Emerald Lakes.