This past Saturday Bryan and I went up to the Tongariro National Park, about five hours driving time from Wellington and hiked the 17 kilometre Tongariro crossing track. This was some of the most rugged hiking that I have ever done anywhere and we trekked through a lunar-like landscape of volcanic craters that took us over 8 hours of steady climbing to complete. To reach our first point of interest, the South Crater we had to first ascend the aptly named Devils Staircase. Our highest point of elevation was when we reached the Red Crater at 1,900 metres. We had the option of climbing nearby Mt. Ngauruhoe, New Zealand’s newest and most active volcano, but took a pass when we realized that we wouldn’t have had enough time. I also didn’t relish climbing the very steep 600 metres of very loose volcanic rock to reach the summit. The last 6 or seven kilometres were mostly downhill switchbacks that I actually found more tiring to negotiate with my aching legs than I had anticipated. Still this part of the crossing afforded some fine views of Lake Taupo, New Zealand largest inland lake. At the trails end we were utterly exhausted but we agreed that experiencing this unique landscape up close was well worth all the aches and soreness. In 1990 the park was deemed a World Heritage Site.
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