Tongariro Crossing - New Zealand North Island

Sorry for the brief hiatus folks - limited wifi slowed me down!  We did the Tongariro crossing 15yrs ago and fell in love with it then - we knew our kids had to experience it too.

Ummm... can anyone say AMAZING!

For those unfamiliar, the Tongariro Crossing is a 20km hike/tramp that takes you into the caldera(s)  of Mt. Ngauruhoe (more famously known as Mt. Doom in Tolkein's Lord Of The Rings trilogy). The mountain lies above Lake Taupo - New Zealand's biggest lake - which makes for a fitting backdrop throughout the 2nd half of the hike.

Turangi - not far from Tongariro National Park

We holed-up in VRBO/HomeAway a little town called Turangi, close to Tongariro National Park.  Cheryl's wrote a post about Turangi - check it out!

The hike route

This hike is, very debatably, the best day hike in the world - certainly the best we've ever done.   If you like the outdoors, you're fit, and you can do only one thing in NZ - hike the Tongariro Crossing.  Sound over-the-top?  It's not.  Despite it's 20km length and intense vertical, this hike has become NZ's most popular day tramp.

A tour bus - one of very few on this trip

During this hike, you ascend a 1,630ft vertical.  You're on a volcano the entire time - with constant views of neighbouring, snow-capped, Mt Ruapehu, and Mt. Taranaki.   You walk on or beside Fumaroles, mineral seeps, emerald lakes, steep exposed ridges, a flat caldera bottom, snowy caldera rim peaks, orange mineral deposits, Sulphurous steam and, astonishingly, a variety of plant life.  You soak in unparalleled views of the Taupo valley and Tongariro National Park.  In short, it's eye candy, every which way you look... the entire time!

20kms with 1,600ft vertical... for a 7yr old - now that's impressive!  Many hikers stopped to ask us how we managed to coerce our 3 kids into doing this hike... and with smiles on their faces ta boot!  Our answer is always that "how you frame a thing in your kids' minds makes all the difference".

Happy kids at the start

If we let our kids establish the narrative about exploits like this, they would inevitably moan about the work and pointlessness of it all - walking from here to there when it could be driven in 1/100 the time and they could spend their time doing something else... so we've learned to be marketers.

We use hype like:

• Want to walk in a volcano caldera that's still steaming out of its vents and full-on erupted just 7yrs ago?  
• Ever seen a turquoise lake?
• You'll be among the youngest kids to have ever walked this hike
• You'll get to take an expedition bus filled with excited hikers
• You can "ski down" the scree ridges

And so on... the best part is that all of this stuff is true - no exaggeration/risk of disappointment.... and... I have to disclose that we promised them sugar would be doled-out during breaks :)

In any case, they rocked it - we completed the whole shebang in about 7.5hrs, including all our breaks.

Mt Taranaki from the parking lot

We started this hike at 10deg C on a beautifully sunny November morning.  It begins be knocking out much of the ascent in one go - my kind of intense climb.  This is done on civilized staircases... with occasional outhouses too - significant upgrades since the last time we visited!  The surrounds are relatively barren volcanic rock spewed from the volcano during its eruptions. 

Snow melt runoff

First few km

Serious business  - 2 people/week get rescued by helicopter off the mountain!

5km in

Gaining altitude - intense-ish climb

Rounding the first peak

Thick crowd at the start

We were not alone; however, crowds thinned as the hike progressed and we didn't feel bottle-necked very often.  The space is so expansive, that having others around is less of a big deal.

In the caldera!

Hot stuff!

Up here, crowds don't matter anymore - it's HUGE.  You'll notice we're all peeling off and then putting back on clothing layers as the hike progresses - you have to pack a variety of clothing for this one.  A wind and waterproof shell is a must on rainy days.  We also each had a toque/beanie, gloves, a sweatshirt/hoodie and a t-shirt.

I was very confident in my hiking boots, but... in the end, the kids managed fine in their all-terrain sneakers - thanks in no small part to the perfect weather.

Climbing some scree - much less scree-ish than it was 15yrs ago - lots of foot traffic!

You have to skid/ski down the scree that makes up the mountain ridge - fun for some, downright scary for others.  It's very unsteady underfoot - best to let gravity do the work and ride it down with huge moon-steps.

We saw a guy with adaptive arm braces and a balance problem tackling it - clearly, it can be done!

Hello scree, my old friend - let me see those emerald pools again!

Scree monkey skiers must wait!

Reunited!

Lunch anyone?  Notice Chelsea is plugging her nose?  It wasn't me, I swear - it was Mt. Tongariro!!!

Chelsea really isn't a fan of the sulfurous smell that accompanies fumeroles and geothermal activity in general... so she sort of lost her appetite.

But wait!  There's more!

A little closer now...

It's hard to say what makes these pools so special - their colour is much like what we saw in Alberta, Canada... maybe it's the fact that they are cradled in a volcanic crater with snow-capped peaks all around... or maybe it's their stark contrast against the volcanic rock and sky... either way, they're truly eye candy that cannot be missed!

And more...

Pinch me - is this real?!

The lakes are so boldly coloured due to minerals washed out of a nearby red crater.  There's a short-ish ascent to get back out of the caldera.

Caldera ascent views - so very photogenic!

Snow - several sections require a snow crossing

Downhill, anyone?

Parker often lead the way on this hike - alternating with Chelsea.I have to give the little guy some 'props' - he really was a tough kid - to the last!

Over the hump!

Hello life - classic NZ alpine tarns - from alien to earthly!

Once you're over the caldera rim, things change, rapidly.  Life springs from everywhere on the Eastward-facing side of the mountain and the winds die down a ton.

This fabulous tramp keeps on surprising you with beauty and awe-inspiring geothermal activity at every turn!

More Fumaroles!

Views of lake Taupo - NZ's largest lake!

The descent is slow and gentle - a series of man-made switchbacks bring you home.

Pardon the fish-eye in this shot... it shows the switchbacks quite well!

Into the forest - 16km mark

Just when you think you're done and that you can't possibly absorb any more beauty... you're treated to a volcanic silt watershed through the woods.

Silty runoff - a limited time affair - ends when the snowpack melts.

Puts the fear of mother nature back into you!

Last 1km

Heading home!

We packed in over +12L of water for 5 people and went through about 2/3rds of it.  This hike left us all sore but feeling quite accomplished and inspired - nothing a rest day couldn't fix :)

Hopefully this post gives you a sense of the grandeur and beauty of this experience and justifies the effort and priming required to get 3 younger kids to smile their way through all 20km of it.

All of us would recommend this hike to anyone who's fit and wants to explore an otherworldly place of extreme beauty.  We took so many photos that I have not shared here - we simply couldn't resist!

Here's a fun collage video!

BEST. DAY. HIKE. EVER!