New Zealand Travels (March 25th, 2003) Tongariro Crossing

"The Tongariro Crossing. One of the top 20 walks in the world. An unmissable experience for anybody interested in walking in New Zealand. If the day is good it’s awesome, if it’s bad weather then it’s a dispiriting slog in the rain. Hesitantly, I opened the curtains. The sight that greeted my peering eye filled my heart with joy… an outstanding day – not a cloud in the sky.

One hour later and the posse was standing at the base of the walk staring up at the imposing volcanic features ahead of us. Mount Doom (for it was in LOTR) dominated the skyline with sides so steep that it would require hands and feet to get up them. Ahead of us the path meandered over a level plain until vanished from view. So no problem so far.

The path was pretty straightforward until reached the first real ascent. Not so much a hand and feet climb, but more a continuous uphill drag over sandy rocks. So for about half and hour we made a slow, steady pace reaching the top in good shape. At this point I should mention that all the time we were in the bus on the way there we were relentlessly drilled about how we must not be late for the buses which were to pick us up at the other end. This kind of put the fear of God into us so that we didn’t dare stop for very long which was a shame because I would have liked to ascend Mt. Doom and done some more exploring around the area. So the full extended posse (myself, Chris, Donny, Amy the Hobbit, Amanda the Lawyer, Charlie and Bernie, Aimless Amy and Charmaigne pressed on.

We ascended a short rise and the whole view opened up to reveal Red Crater. Oh my God, what a view. A vast panorama stretched out before us as the ground dropped away steeply into a huge smoking volcanic crater. Photographs just could not do justice to this breathtaking sight. One can only simply stand and stare at the awesome scale of the beauty that has been revealed.

As ever, the nagging clock was ticking and we trudged reluctantly up the next rise only to be greeted with another awe inspiring sight. Below us, set against a yellow ochre region of harsh rocks, were 3 emerald lakes sparkling in the high noon sun. Magnificent.

Shortly afterwards, we sped down a steep scree run and rapidly crossed a huge extinct crater. The scale of everything was amazing and leaves one with a profound sense of insignificance in the presence of Nature. After that, the walk began a long, slow, steeply stepped descent to the valley floor. Once past the hand halfway hut (Chris and I had a chance for an hours kip while we waited for the others to catch up) we al trooped down the endless series of steps, into the forest and finally made out just in time for Donny to catch the early bus home (so she could get her dinner)."