Day 13
Summary: Hiked Tongariro Alpine Crossing, drove to Lake Taupo and had our best meal of the trip
Tuesday, January 14th
We got up at 6:30am and got dressed in layers of warm hiking clothes. Since there are no water sources on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing trail, we filled our Osprey water reservoirs with enough water for the day and carried them in our day packs. I highly recommend hydrating with a system that uses a tube and valve instead of a regular water bottle. We find that we drink way more water when the mouthpiece is clipped to our backpack strap than we do when we have to constantly retrieve the water bottle from a backpack.
We left the Airbnb by 7:30 and drove 20 minutes to the shuttle pickup at the end of the trail. We parked along the road by the Ketetahi car park and took the shuttle to the trailhead at the Mangatepopo road end, which took about 30 minutes. Since this is a popular one way hike, shuttle services are available for a fee. We booked with Tongariro Expeditions because that’s what our friends used so I went with it!
When we got off the shuttle, we were glad for all of our layers! It was windy and cloudy, which made it a bit chilly! We wore hats and gloves as well as Buffs to cover our face from the wind. The hike is 19.4 km, about 12 miles. It took us about 6 hours and 45 minutes, including lots of stopping to take pictures and a break to eat lunch (crackers, granola bar, and apple).
The main appeal of this hike for us was the opportunity to see Mount Ngauruhoe, which is a volcano that was used to portray Mount Doom in some scenes in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. For other shots, they used a combination of CGI, models, and different mountainsides.
If you’ve never seen the Lord of the Rings movies, Mt Doom is where the One Ring was made and where they must destroy it to terminate its power.
They couldn’t film on the summit, nor could we hike on the mountain, because it is sacred to the Maori people. So we walked up and along a ridge and through craters, but not on any peaks. Basically walking through Mordor like Frodo and Sam.
There were volcanic rocks scattered around the base from previous eruptions. We were very thankful that it was quiet while we were nearby!
As we walked, we kept adjusting our layers as we would get hot on the ascents and chilly when the strong winds would pick up. There were lots of signs warning hikers that the weather can change quickly and alerting them to the difficulty of the terrain. It wasn’t actually that difficult, but due to the popularity of the hike, I can see why they need to warn people who may be less experienced. I’m very grateful that it didn’t rain while we were hiking, we got lucky with nice weather despite the chilly wind.
We took a short trail off the main path to a small waterfall called Soda Springs.
We walked across several flat craters that were formed by eruptions below.
It was cloudy when we reached the highest point, so our view was the grey abyss.
After summiting Red Crater, the highest point on the track, we descended to the Emerald Lakes. It smelled like sulfur and we could see steam continuously rising from the vents. New Zealand is definitely a hotbed for geothermal activity. We did not touch the water, because it is sacred, but also because it is very acidic! Common sense tells you that touching the water would just be a bad idea.
After admiring the Emerald Lakes for a while, we continued on to Blue Lake.
There were several privies along the trail, and I loved how they were wrapped in a rocky design to blend in with the landscape. Unfortunately, they did not contain any toilet paper, but I was able to ration the tissues I brought and it worked out just fine.
The photo below is the view as we started our descent. We thought maybe the water in the foreground was Lake Taupo, our next destination, but it’s actually Lake Rotoaira. Lake Taupo is the lake behind the mountains, which I didn’t even realize was water, I thought it was clouds on the horizon! Once you see it, you’ll know what I mean. It makes sense that the lake stretches across the landscape because it is the largest lake in New Zealand. Lake Taupo is another crater lake, formed by a volcanic eruption 2,000 years ago.
This end of the trail consisted of many switchbacks, making a very gradual descent. The switchbacks were nicely tucked into the mountainside, making them practically invisible even as we walked among them.
As we descended, the sun came out and it felt like a warm spring day. The landscape morphed from raw volcanic terrain to alpine to grassland to rainforest!
We saw several of these fern trees – it looks like a palm tree with a fern on top instead of palm fronds. Something I haven’t seen before.
We made it to the end of the trail! Then we had to walk about 1.5km from there to the road where our car was parked.
We took our boots off and hopped in the car to drive an hour to Taupo. Along the way, we tried the Tim Tams we bought in Australia and decided they are delicious! It consists of two chocolate cookies with a very light chocolate cream between them, and covered with a thin layer of chocolate. What’s not to like? If you see them in a grocery store, definitely give them a try!
The road to Taupo skirts right along the lake, making for a beautiful drive. Our Airbnb was called “Gorgeous Retreat” and it lived up to its name! It seemed to be a garage converted into a tiny house and the design aesthetic was very minimal and homey. There was a super friendly cat in the garden outside that we gushed over. We learned from the host that his name is Howzit Meowzit.
We showered, rested, and headed to dinner at a place called Plateau Bar & Eatery. I don’t think it was just because we were hungry and worn out from our hike, but we had THE BEST meal of our trip here! I had the kumara gnocchi, which was sweet potato gnocchi with marinated zucchini, roasted tomato, black olive crumble, and arugula/cashew pesto. There must have been garlic and parmesan cheese in there too, because the gnocchi smelled like garlic bread. It was so good! Greg figured he should try lamb while in New Zealand, so he had the NZ lamb rump, which came with potatoes, pickled red onions, feta, and salsa verde. The portions were just right and we enjoyed every bite.
We had a great day hiking in “Mordor” and visiting Lake Taupo. We didn’t get to explore Taupo too much as we moved on the next day, but it was beautiful and worth a stop!
Thanks for reading!
-Rebecca
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