This hiking track will blow you away with stunning views and put you to the test!
New Zealand offers an astounding array of natural wonders. The South Island often gets a lot of attention for it’s beautiful mountains, fiords and glaciers. Don’t get me wrong, it is out-of-this-world beautiful. However, the North Island harbours certain wonders that mustn’t go unnoticed by any avid traveller. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is among of one the most popular hiking tracks in New Zealand and makes up one of country’s Great Walks, the Tongariro Northern Circuit, taking only one day to complete.
It is approximately 19.4km from start to finish and takes around 6.5 hours to complete. During this time, you will encounter all kinds of terrain, views and weather conditions. First, you enter the car park and begin on this long wooden track into the valley (see above). On your right is the largest volcano within the area, Mt Ngauruhoe, standing at 2,291m. Others may know this one as Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. This vast landmark stands as a reminder that you are walking through an active volcanic area, a somewhat eerie and exciting idea. Secondly you will encounter the Devil’s Staircase. It does what it says on the tin. These series of steps will test your fitness level and your will to live. Instead of being a continuous set of stairs, the groupings of steps are separated from one another, drawing out the whole experience a little. Nevertheless, upon reaching the top and looking down into the South Crater it all becomes worth it.
Entering the South Crater – the “steaming moonscape” as Wikipedia calls it – dust will swirl around you, making your vision. One thing I can say about this hike is that you will have so much dust in your hair, your clothes and don’t expect to have your shoes the same colour they were when you started.
Following this is another climb towards the Red Crater. This is where the climbing gets serious. In particular, the sheer volume of people doing the hike alongside us make the experience of climbing towards the top west side of Mt Tongariro all the more taxing. At one point, I found myself on the edge of a ridge in a line waiting to climb up further, sheer drops to my left, large rocks to my right. Despite the fierce winds and the life-threatening cliffs, the spectacular view at the summit made all of the previous struggle worthwhile.
Note that we did the walk in January which is during peak time for the walk given the conditions are more favourable in summer. The winter walk requires much more intense preparation and equipment, so keep this in mind when planning your trip.
Looking down from the highest point, you can see the bright pools known as the Emerald Lakes. Accompanying this view is a steep scree which you must walk down to continue the track. There is the option to turn back towards the starting place, yet I can’t imagine going down towards South Crater is any easier than going up from it. For those who don’t know what a scree is, it is basically a downward facing slip of unstable rocks and earth. We saw many people falling down, tiptoeing towards the lakes and generally crawling down the hill like young toddlers. It was all quite hilarious, even when I comically slipped over right onto my back and gave myself a winning hip bruise. Top tip: have a hand to hold or step sideways and take your time!
I will stop at this point to let you in on a few top tips to survive this walk. In general, you will need the following things for the summer walk:
- Water bottles (or a Camelbak)
- Walking boots or sturdy trainers
- Sunglasses and hat (one that tightens, trust me!)
- Suncream (you won’t regret it!)
- Packed lunch
- A rain jacket or wind jacket
- Jumper (I found this incredibly useful as the wind cut icy daggers into my skin atop the mountain)
- Backpack (to put everything in!!)
- Breathable clothing – wearing jeans and shorts is not ideal. If you fall, you may scrape yourself and jeans are very impractical for this kind of walking.
This downward segment of the walk marks the halfway point. From here, the walk is relatively easy. That is, in comparison to the first bit. Perhaps take a break here, nibble at your packed lunch and admire the natural phenomenon that is the Emerald Lakes. Before you start packing your swimming gear, note that these are not safe to swim in due to the high levels of sulphur found in the water.
From the Blue Lake onwards the walking conditions return to the tussocks of Mt Tongariro’s northern flank. This long and winding descent towards the end of the track seems to go on forever but will take approximately two hours. At this point I couldn’t tell whether I was more exhausted after the Devil’s Staircase or this dizzying descent. As per the rest of the track, the views were stunning. Admittedly, we were incredibly blessed with beautiful weather that day, providing us with these outstanding views. During the final 20 minutes of the walk the track is submerged by trees and follows a stream down to the carpark. This allows for you to cool down and appreciate the forms of New Zealand’s hidden beauty.
By the end of the walk, our feet were sore but we very proud of ourselves. Having begun the walk at around 8.30am, we finished just before 4pm. It was interesting watching the kinds of people doing the walk. People from all walks of earth were there doing this walk with us. Americans, Southeast Asians, Australians, Europeans etc. The walk itself has a reputation and this was clear by the hoards of people that did the walk with us that day.
I would rate this walk a 10/10 for spectacular views. A 10/10 for giving us beautiful weather but a 3/10 for windburn and knotty hair (joking, really). I highly recommend this walk for anyone keen to see a bit more of New Zealand from a different perspective. Definitely include this one in your itinerary if you are coming to the shores of NZ.
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