We had a long weekend in Auckland as it was the Auckland Anniversary Weekend. I went with a group of 12 friends from work down to make another attempt at the Tongariro Crossing. This was the same trip that Dan and I attempted to do over the Christmas Holiday (see link) but did not finish due to terrible weather. This time around, it was a completely different story - the weather was absolutely beautiful.
We caught the 7:00 bus on Saturday morning from the lodge we were staying at (The Park) to take us to the beginning of the hike. We set off around 7:30 and were up to the South Crater by around 9:30 (this was the point where Dan and I turned back last time). This time, there was hardly any wind and we had bright blue skies. It was a pretty tough uphill hike to the South Crater which turned a few of the group off to the next idea, but 6 of us (me, James, Jeremy, Paul, Jacco, and Michelle) decided to try to hike up Mount Ngauruhoe which was Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies. In an earlier post, I said that Mount Ruapehu (which was right next door) was Mt. Doom, but just found out that it was actually Mt. Ngauruhoe.
Anyway, hiking up Mt. Doom was one of the toughest things I've done in recent memory. There was a lot of loose gravel and some larger rocks that made it difficult to navigate. It wasn't actually mountain climbing like with pick axes and stuff, but most of the time we had to use our hands to pull us along up the mountain (scrambling). It took about two hours to get to the top (2,291 meters which is 7,520 feet), but the view was certainly worth it. We could see for miles. The climb was tiring and my leg muscles kept cramping up - I think I was pretty dehydrated since I drank about 2 liters of water on the way up. There was still a good bit of snow at the top then another 10 minute climb up loose lava rocks to the actual crater. We were able to stand along the edge of the volcanic crater which was a little unnerving but really cool as well. There was a lot of steam coming up from the rocks around us.
After admiring the views for a bit, we had to get back down. This was much easier. We were able to scree down the entire side of the mountain. This was basically like skiing down the loose rocks in our shoes. It was pretty fun, but I fell a couple times and cut up my legs and arms a bit.
Afterwards, we continued on and met up with the others at the Emerald Lakes. These were really pretty lakes a colorful turquoise bluish color from all of the minerals. We stopped for a bit for some food then continued on as we had to catch our bus home at 4:30. We made it the rest of the 19 km with just a few minutes to spare.
The following day, the group decided to go to a local river (Retaruke River) to hang out, swim, barbecue and try some fly fishing for some trout. One of the guys, Steve, is into fly fishing and had a few extra rods so he taught us. Unfortunately, we didn't catch anything but had a great relaxing day hanging out like bums under a bridge by the river drinking beers, barbecuing, and taking dips in the swimming hole. The whole weekend was very relaxing with beautiful weather and a great group of people. Looking forward to the next long weekend two weeks from now.
UPDATE: Have a look at my friends' Steve and Deon's Blog for some really great pictures of the trip. Deon is a photographer and she took some amazing pictures.
We caught the 7:00 bus on Saturday morning from the lodge we were staying at (The Park) to take us to the beginning of the hike. We set off around 7:30 and were up to the South Crater by around 9:30 (this was the point where Dan and I turned back last time). This time, there was hardly any wind and we had bright blue skies. It was a pretty tough uphill hike to the South Crater which turned a few of the group off to the next idea, but 6 of us (me, James, Jeremy, Paul, Jacco, and Michelle) decided to try to hike up Mount Ngauruhoe which was Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies. In an earlier post, I said that Mount Ruapehu (which was right next door) was Mt. Doom, but just found out that it was actually Mt. Ngauruhoe.
Anyway, hiking up Mt. Doom was one of the toughest things I've done in recent memory. There was a lot of loose gravel and some larger rocks that made it difficult to navigate. It wasn't actually mountain climbing like with pick axes and stuff, but most of the time we had to use our hands to pull us along up the mountain (scrambling). It took about two hours to get to the top (2,291 meters which is 7,520 feet), but the view was certainly worth it. We could see for miles. The climb was tiring and my leg muscles kept cramping up - I think I was pretty dehydrated since I drank about 2 liters of water on the way up. There was still a good bit of snow at the top then another 10 minute climb up loose lava rocks to the actual crater. We were able to stand along the edge of the volcanic crater which was a little unnerving but really cool as well. There was a lot of steam coming up from the rocks around us.
After admiring the views for a bit, we had to get back down. This was much easier. We were able to scree down the entire side of the mountain. This was basically like skiing down the loose rocks in our shoes. It was pretty fun, but I fell a couple times and cut up my legs and arms a bit.
Afterwards, we continued on and met up with the others at the Emerald Lakes. These were really pretty lakes a colorful turquoise bluish color from all of the minerals. We stopped for a bit for some food then continued on as we had to catch our bus home at 4:30. We made it the rest of the 19 km with just a few minutes to spare.
The following day, the group decided to go to a local river (Retaruke River) to hang out, swim, barbecue and try some fly fishing for some trout. One of the guys, Steve, is into fly fishing and had a few extra rods so he taught us. Unfortunately, we didn't catch anything but had a great relaxing day hanging out like bums under a bridge by the river drinking beers, barbecuing, and taking dips in the swimming hole. The whole weekend was very relaxing with beautiful weather and a great group of people. Looking forward to the next long weekend two weeks from now.
UPDATE: Have a look at my friends' Steve and Deon's Blog for some really great pictures of the trip. Deon is a photographer and she took some amazing pictures.
Group shot at start of trek (From Left: Paul Cheshire, Fiona Finlay, Paula Kilcolm, Jeremy Ciaccia, Erin Ciaccia, Jacco Moison, Me, Stephen James, Chi Le, Deon James, Michelle Christensen, Mike Gray, Tara Gray, James Casey)
Mt. Ruapehu
Rock formations on the beginning of the Tongariro Crossing hike
Mt. Ngauruhoe (This was actually Mt. Doom but couldn't see it well last time due to heavy cloud cover)
Almost up to the South Crater where we would begin the hike up Mt. Doom
Everyone made it to the South Crater and stopped for a bite to eat
Me at the South Crater with Mt. Doom in the background (this is the same place where I was a few weeks ago when it was freezing cold and winds of 80km / hour. The video on earlier post of me talking was taken on the other side of the rock I'm sitting on. Completely different weather this time).
James and Jeremy taking a break on the hike up Mt. Doom
Paul and me hiking up the mountain
Finally almost to the top of Mt. Doom where we started to see snow
View from the top. South Crater is down below where the light brown patches are.
Me finally making it to the top of the Crater.
Group shot posing at the top
View inside the crater
Me at the Summit
Inside the crater again.
Continuing the journey (the mountain we just climbed is the one in the background)
Red Crater 
Blue Lake
Emerald Lakes
Emerald Lake
Steve teaching how to fly fish.
Redneck Barbecue under the bridge
Mt. Ruapehu
Me calling AA when my radiator boiled over. The guy fixed it in about 1 minute when it turned out the hoses were backwards or something.
Ski lifts up Mt. Ruapehu
Skiwi sign with Mt. Ruapehu in the background
Sorry about your car, Nate! Obviously "Happy Valley" needs to be renamed now.
ReplyDeleteYour pics look awesome from the hike. We really got lucky with the weather this time around, I guess.
Thanks again for planning an amazing time for the group!!! Hopefully you were able to catch-up on your sleep last night without any Spaghetti-O incidents. - Deon
Dad says - Magnificent!!! Wow, what georgeous scenery, and you have become quite a photographer. Lots of interesting angles and lighting in your pics. What elevation were you at at the top of Mt. Doom? Must have been really up there. Hard to catch your breath?
ReplyDeleteMom says - I have enjoyed looking at your blog with Dad and am amazed at the beautiful scenery in so many of your hiking trips! Glad you are having this time in Kiwiland and are taking advantage of it all. Can't wait to go there next year!
Mom again - I never would have stood next to the crater with that loose rock - weren't you afraid you'd slide in to the crater?
ReplyDeleteThe elevation was 7,520 feet so the air was a bit thin up there. It was definitely great to do once but I don't think I'll do it again because it's pretty tough. The loose rock did make it a bit scary to get close to the edge but I kept a few feet back because it would have been a tough climb out of that crater.
ReplyDeleteNate,
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking out our NZ blog! It doesn't compare to 'Kiwiland', but we try. Actually, as you suspected, Steve really doesn't contribute much (besides his opinion).
I did take a few pics of you fly-fishing with Steve on Sunday. I will get them to you in the next few days. I'm sure I have some of you from the hike as well. I am a little slow this week getting to my editing!!!!