Our alarms started going off at 5am, it was still dark out and incredibly foggy. We made a hearty breakfast, changed, and got our packs together. 20 minutes away was the trailhead for the Tongariro Crossing. A good part of the big parking lot was already full and there were a few bus loads of people and it was only 7:30am. By now the fog had lifted and the sun was coming up. We grabbed our stuff and set off on the trail. There were soooo many people I couldn't tell if we were on a hike or in a parade. Apparently everyone also got the memo that this is an amazing hike and that its best to begin it early in the day..
The first part of the track was mostly flat and through the swamps, we walked along wood platforms. It started to get warm so we took of one layer. There were so many people, on some of the little uphill parts, a queue would form and we'd have to wait in line. There were markers every kilometer so we knew how far we'd gone. After a kilometer or two, the trail came to a big wide open area at the base of Mt Doom, which was massive and majestic on this day. There were a few toilets in this area and hoards of people were lined up for them. We took a quick break then were on our way. We could see people on the trail high above us and we were dreading the difficult climb to come. The trail went off to the right and we made the incline up sets of stairs. We kept stopping every so often to catch our breath and take pictures of the gorgeous landscape below us.
The terrain was quite barren, no trees, mostly brown and grey, but pretty. We kept climbing up and up and I could feel the burn. I could also feel my weak hips beginning to ache. We reached a part where the trail leveled out for a bit. I looked back and I could see a tall mountain in the distance. I had read that on a clear day, one could see Mt Taranaki all the way on the west coast. My favorite mountain that I hiked up to months ago, so beautiful! We continued on. The trail came down to another wide open area that resembled the desert. Or more like Mars. Reddish/brown in color, flat, sandy, and also rocky. We could see people high up on another ridge and we knew another tough climb was before us. We made it across the flat wasteland and before we started up the hill, I put more wool on my heels because I could feel blisters beginning to form.
It was a rocky and difficult climb. The wind was becoming more and more intense the higher we got, at one point Cassela's hat blew away and I was able to run and retrieve it. We started to go through our water supply. It was so so windy we all had our coats zipped up tight and our hats on. We finally made it to the top and tried to find a place out of the wind a little bit. We sat next to a big rock and had our chicken and veggie wraps. Along with chocolate of course. Mt Doom was right before us and we could see the hidden side of it where it was more of a red color than brown. We could also see brave souls who were climbing up it. Next to us was a side trail up to the Tongariro Mountain summit. Near us, we saw an older Asian lady who was wearing a pair of dress shoes!.....not hiking boots. Wow...we were impressed. We took pictures with the crossing sign and headed off. Once we climbed up the next hill, we were at the highest elevation of the whole hike. I was relieved and hoped it was all downhill from there.
Up on this hill, I could see the Emerald Lakes! I'd seen so many pictures of them before but now I was seeing them for myself. There were two greenish blue lakes and a third once which was more blue and kind of clear. They were all so pretty I couldn't stop taking pictures of them. The brown terrain surrounding them and the bright blue sky made for awesome shots. Further up ahead on the left was a much bigger lake known as Blue Lake, as well. Behind us on the right was the red crater too! From the spot we were at, it was more of a big deep crevasse/gully that was dark red and black, but super cool looking. The descent down the ridge to the Emerald Lakes was steep with soft gravel and rocks. It was easier to kind of just step and slide down. We took pictures down at the lakes which were just so pretty.
Next, we were back on even ground. Then a small climb up to the bigger Blue Lake and on around it. The trail went along the mountain side and out of the crossing area. Once we could see the other side of a mountain next to us, we saw that there was steam spewing out of a single spot. Cool volcanic/thermal activity going on. After a bit, the trail turned into a gravel path that wound down and around switchback after switchback. There were now gorgeous views of the mountains and lakes beyond. We could also see the trail for kilometers ahead of us, up and down and around the hills below. We could see people walking it so far away that it seemed like it was going to take us forever to get to those spots. Everyone was still in a pretty thick line as we walked on. Finally, we came to a hut where we stopped for a minute. A sign said we had 6 or so kilometers to go.
We were all beginning to get really hot in the sun and my hips hurt along with my knee and Michealla's knee was hurting too. I had a fair amount of wool in my boots now so my feet were crammed into them and on all the downhills that we were experiencing, my poor toes were smashed into the front of my boots, ouch! They were getting quite sore. On and on and on down the trail in pain. By now I could have swore we went at least 4-5 kilometers, we then saw a sign that said 3km to go. We had only gone 3km since the hut.... We weren't happy. After awhile, the trail out in the open turned and went into the jungle like forest. Thankfully, it was much cooler in there out of the sun but the downhill was still painful. We trudged on. Finally, finally, finally we reached the end!!! 2:30pm, it only took us 7 hours! 19 kilometers, complete.
Many people were hanging around waiting for their shuttles and there were dozens and dozens of cars lined up along the gravel road. I don't know how many hundreds of people hiked the crossing on this pretty day but they were from all walks of life, old and young. And we all accomplished something neat on this day. We, however, did not pay money for a shuttle back to the start of the track where our car was so we planned on hitchhiking. We asked someone and they said it was 35km away. We put our thumbs out as we walked a kilometer or two on the gravel road, back out in the hot sun. We then made it to the paved road on highway 46. We walked for a ways, then stopped and ate a few snacks, all the while putting our thumbs out when a car would pass. But no takers. About three different cars acted like they were going to stop and pick us up, they would brake as they drove past and would make it seem like they were pulling over for us but then would just speed off! How rude.
Then finally, a big shuttle van with two ladies in it pulled over for us! We were so grateful. Grateful for a ride, a place to sit down, and a spot out of the sun. They were really really nice and drove us all the way to the beginning of the gravel road leading up to the start of the crossing. They dropped us off, we were happy to be much closer to our car but it was still 7km to the trailhead. Back out in the sun and on the dusty road, we put our thumbs out once again. We walked a kilometer or two and then a young guy in his car picked us up. We were so happy! He was from Brazil but has been living in NZ for the last three years. By now it was about 3:30, 4 o'clock and he was planning to run as far as he could on the trail for two hours and then turn around. We thought he was crazy. Somehow the topic came up of having enough water for the hike and he said he didn't have any. No water at all. He gave us a ride to our car so in exchange, we took all the quality H2O we had out of our bottles and my camelback.
We were so happy to be back with our Helga. And so happy to have had a successful day. We drove north back to Taupo and got a holiday park. This one was huge and it also had a big pool and hot tub which we were excited to soak in. We showered the sweat and grime off of us and then headed to the pool. It also had a big tv screen next to it that was playing Disney movies for all the kids. And for the adults, there was a bar in the middle of the pool. We had a few drinks, which we definitely earned today. We were quite content; pool, drinks, and Disney movies. We left after awhile and went back to camp. We played beer pong with a group of the locals but I got tired of it and went off to bed after awhile.
