They say it’s ‘the best short hike in New Zealand’. Just let that sink in for a moment... New Zealand is arguably one of the most beautiful countries on earth. It’s a place known for it’s tremendously varied and unusual scenery showcasing some of the best the world has to offer in every category. From beaches stretching out indefinitely towards the horizon, to mountain ranges unifying the sky’s azure-cyan toned grandeur with the ever impressing landscapes below, this is a country whose name makes the shortlist in every travel category - if there was a gallery for all of the world’s most inspiring views, New Zealand would have its photo framed on every wall.
So it’s safe to assume then that there are some pretty nice hike’s dotted around the place. These come in the forms of both long and short, easy and challenging, and through every environment you can think of. As you can probably imagine, some of them are pretty good... to say the least.
For one of those to be crowned with the title of ‘Best short hike in New Zealand’ it would undoubtedly then have to be nothing short of phenomenal, right? In which case, what is it exactly about the Tongariro Alpine Crossing that gives credence to its reputation as being number one? Well, to determine that we first need to quickly explore what exactly the term ‘best’ really means in this instance.
Firstly, this is just one of the many famed ‘great walks’ across the country, but unlike many others, this one stands out because actually it’s not so, well... great. Sure it has impeccable views, a truly unique terrain and boasts landmarks that explosively made their way into one of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, but what’s more impressive is the way that the Tongariro Alpine Crossing manages to cram all of this into a walk that can be accomplished in just 6 hours.
In essence, whilst most of the top hikes in New Zealand will have you trekking across the landscape(s) for multiple days as a trade-off for experiencing all the most iconic views, the Tongariro crossing condenses all the best bits associated with a great walk into a much less intimidating day-long hike. A ‘great walk’ that can be done without the need to stuff half of your belongings into a huge, heavy and uncomfortable backpack, and doesn’t require you to spend the night shivering in a tent, forced to listen to mosquitos circle around your head whilst they wait for you to fall asleep so they can swarm you like a flock of seagulls on chips. For that reason, it’s fairly suited to the likes of everyone with an average amount of fitness, regardless of age or outdoor expertise. To put simply the reasoning behind giving this walk such an honourable title, in terms of pure enjoyment factor and reward vs investment, there’s no other hike quite like it.
With that cleared up then, we were fortunate enough to have the crossing on our doorstep during our month-long stay at the Chateau Tongariro, so it may come as a surprise to you to hear that we nearly didn’t get the chance to tick it off our list. To answer the question “how is that even possible?” we have to mention that the weather in the Tongariro National Park isn’t exactly favourable to those who like to be outdoors... nor is it predictable, or forgiving, or ideal in pretty much any respect considering that to do the hike you’ll need a nice, preferably clear and sunny day.
It is after all an alpine environment which means the whole experience is hugely dependant on the conditions at the time... conditions that change frequently - the blue skies come in small windows of opportunity; miss your chance and you might not get another. Go at the wrong time and you’ll quickly discover how the infamous weather is not to be reckoned with.
So with the climate against us for the most part, added to the fact that we were working 5 days a week, our chances of catching one of these windows of opportunity were sub-optimal at best. When things lined up for us in April we prepared ourselves for the expedition but a last-minute change in weather doused our excitement; instead of setting foot on the mountains, we watched the skies fill with drizzle as another window passed us by.
Of course, having already set time aside for that day, we still went out and took our chances with the Silica Rapids Walk. The drizzle eventually turned to rain, and the rain into what’s better described as a monsoon. This made our day not only interesting but also made for an unusual and rememberable hike along the river which we thoroughly enjoyed. In the back of our minds however, we couldn’t escape the feeling that with every wet and cloudy day, our chances of doing the crossing grew increasingly thinner.
Our last week at the Chateau wasn’t looking promising. Patches of blue sky appeared occasionally only to be swallowed up soon after by dark grey clouds, bringing yet more rain to the national park as the days went by one by one. With just five days of our stay left, we were starting to wave our chances goodbye. It was the evening before what would be our last chance to do the crossing, but as we waved away our adventure and watched the puddles fill deeper with each passing hour as the night crept closer, an unexpected glimpse of hope hinted from above...
As the evening progressed, the looming shadows of the all too familiar clouds began to slowly fade back into a fluffier, translucent grey as the rain gradually lost its roar. If the weather gods were listening, perhaps they had heard our calls. We waited in anticipation as the sky carefully unravelled while the night pushed on. It was as if by some miracle the window we had been waiting for was coming round and once again, everything seemed to be lining up for us, though we would have to wait until morning before we could see if this was truly the case.
At 6 am our alarm went off. Today was the day, and waking up in a room gently glowing warm as the morning sun spilled through the curtains filled us both with confidence. As promised, what we could see of the sky looked clear. The sun was just climbing above the horizon as we left to grab a quick breakfast. Shortly after, we made our way outside to be picked up by the shuttle. A few others were beginning to collect in the same area, all of them giving subtle clues as to how they were seemingly pleased and excited with the change of conditions that day. Looks like we weren’t the only ones with our fingers crossed last night.
We hopped on the shuttle bus, for which we got 50% off for being employees of the Chateau (Dempsey Buses). As far as choosing which company to go with, we don’t think it makes much of a difference who you choose. They are all equally priced and offer guided tours, majority of people however opt for the non-guided package and are simply dropped off at the start and picked up at the finish. It’s no longer possible to drive your own car to the starting point during season as the parking restrictions won’t allow you enough time to complete the hike; you can expect over a thousand people on the crossing when a good day comes around, and the car park simply can’t handle this amount of vehicles.
Back on the bus, the journey to the starting point was exciting on its own. The sun was starting to pick up its pace as it climbed higher and the day was looking increasingly more promising, the mountains were getting taller than we had ever seen them before and with every mile we drove closer, we felt further and further from reality. The journey took around half an hour, but despite being entertained by the passing scenery we couldn’t wait for the ride to be over so we could start our adventure as soon as possible.
Stepping off the bus at the other end was like disembarking a plane after landing on holiday. The excitement was unmistakable, everybody looking around into the distance as if we had arrived on an exotic island. The only thing missing was the signature rush of hot air as you walk out of the plane door. (Those of you that are lucky enough to not live in England read: rush of the usual everyday-temperature air as you walk out of the plane door.) The carpark quickly emptied as we all scurried to the starting point where the toilets were located, we had around 10 hours from now and we couldn’t get started any sooner.
At 07:40 we left the real world and entered Mordor-world. Keen, energetic, enthusiastic, and wearing enough warm clothing to keep us comfortable in the alpine conditions... apparently much more clothing than we needed in fact - just a few minutes in we were already taking off our first layers, then another layer a few minutes later, then another... In no time at all our backpack’s were full of clothes and we looked like a pair of snails.
We moved like snails too. After 25 minutes we reached the first unofficial checkpoint, Mangatepopo Hut. The Tongariro Crossing forms just a small section of the Tongariro Northern Circuit, part of which we saw a couple of weeks before when we walked from Whakapapa to Tama Lakes. The hut we stopped by is for the trampers navigating this Northern Circuit, who usually spend 3-4 days walking the 43k loop. For us it was a chance to take off yet another layer, in this case, one of Liam’s three pairs of trousers... yes really.
“Everybody kept going on about how dangerous the weather is, how if you don’t wrap up like your going to Antarctica your limbs will freeze and fall off and you’ll have to spend the rest of your life being carried around in a bucket... I understand the staff at the i-site have a duty of care but they made us believe it would be like going to the top of Everest... in reality it was more like going to Scotland. Yes it was cold, but nothing like they said.”
After stripping down once more we continued on what was so far a surprisingly modest hike. We followed the Mangatepopo Stream and ‘board-walk’ around the edge of an ancient (and dried) lava flow for around an hour before getting to the Soda Springs. This was around a 5 minute detour but honestly, there’s not much to see there. Think of it like more of an optional extra that doesn’t really add any significant value, but it’s free so... why not.
Shortly after leaving the springs we came to a part of the track known as ‘The Devils Staircase’, a steep hill climb gaining 200m elevation in a very short distance. This part of the crossing is known to be the most challenging part and often people are known to turn around without even attempting it. For the rest of us, you should allow around an hour to do the staircase and be prepared to have sore legs at the end. In our case, it took much longer than an hour to reach the top and for the duration of the climb Sabina reminded Liam how much she dislikes stairs - apparently a lot.
“So far this is the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. Walking up the stairs is super exhausting and I had to take many breaks on the way up. I tried really hard to carry on walking but I couldn’t help it and had to keep stopping to catch my breath... on the other hand we had many chances to enjoy the views of the National Park and Mt Taranaki in the far distance.”
“After about the 20th break I started putting layers back on, a hint which didn’t go down too well and opened up another opportunity to talk about stairs, specifically how Sabina doesn’t like them...”
“Have I already mentioned how much I hate stairs?”
The Devil’s Staircase will without doubt make you sweat. Whatever your state of fitness, it’s still a steep climb but at least it can be done at your own pace. Anyway, if you rush to the top you’ll have less time to take in the views which on a clear day expand as far as Mt Taranaki near New Plymouth. The views got better of course the higher we ascended and eventually the struggle paid off as we reached flat ground once more. We still weren’t at the highest point but could rest assured that the rest of the walk would be much easier.
... TO BE CONTINUED ...
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