At 7.15am on a dark and chilly morning, Helen, Laura and I shuttled off to embark upon the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. My spine tingled and my heart was tremouring with trepidation while these questions whirled in my mind: HOW did this come to be? What are we to endure? Are we a bunch of sadists? Will we meet our doom?
Misty morns in Mordor are a marvel to behold; it was straight out of a Tolkein novel and created a cool atmosphere. As we descended the trail start, there was a fresh nip in the air and dew soaked any patch of grass. By now, I was surprisingly perky and peppy in spirit! Was the REAL Rianne Montigue body snatched?
Beginning at an altitude of 1120 metres from Mangatepopo car park, we frolicked through volcanic landscapes over a boardwalk for our stability but this wasn't always in place. Following the scores of alpinists and the marker poles, it is impossible to stray from the course and get lost. Such was the prettiness that I wanted to photograph absolutely everything to document the entire expedition but I had the fear of my phone battery dying.
As we were already highly elevated and swiftly above the clouds, we were fully exposed to the elements with little to no vegetation to shield us from the sun's harsh rays. When taking on Tongariro, it is so so SO vital to be fully prepared for all atmospheric conditions and layer up. It was incredible to be up close to Mt Doom but our shuttle driver had warned us NOT to hike up here in addition to the crossing that day. The reason he gave was because boulders had fallen frequently in recent weeks.
When I'm out exploring the wilderness in a beeeeautiful country and challenging myself! The only downer on our walkabouts was that my ankle was aching before we'd even really got stuck in; I removed my bandage in the hope it would make a comfortable difference. It serves me right not listening to Mama Montigue; Kmart failed me with the cheap material on the footwear.
Soda Springs was a pit stop for the only toilet break we took, at only an hour or so in. I made myself use the long drop like a person of filth, knowing there were not many more opportunities to relieve our bladders en route. Thank goodness for hand sanitiser is all I can say; without which we would not have been able to wash our hands. PLEASE NOTE: If you're planning to do the crossing, it would be wise to bring your own toilet paper and a means of washing your hands hygienically as nothing is provided. You're on a volcano after all!
I hate steps. And the moron that invented them. You, sir/madam, would be correct if you guessed that I struggled, took breaks and murmured not so under my breath at the Devil's Staircase. On the flip side, I remarked that I had built this section up in my head as so big and bad that it wasn't nearly as awful or terrifying as I had expected. It IS a steep climb of step after step over 'layers of ancient and modern lava flows and other volcanic deposits' on a 'steaming moonscape'.
Red Crater was like another planet with its asteroidy, rough, rocky terrain. Me and mountains are like best friends by this point as we had a short clamber up an exposed ridge. The wind was frosty and snatched breath from my lungs; it became a mammoth effort to inhale and exhale. This was the sole section where I needed my snow jacket in order to combat the Antarctic blasts. My cerebellum even hurt.
For many, gliding down the sandy slope with loose basaltic lava underfoot was the toughest mission but I LOVED it. I skated down sideways with style, grace and relative ease *toot toot of the ego trumpet* There was something very chuckleworthy about seeing others tumble on their tushies.
ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SIGHTS OF MY LIFE -
Emerald Lakes startled me with its heartwrenching beauty, in a way I can show off on all forms of social media. Astonished doesn't even begin to cover the exceptionally emerald and turquoise gorgeousness of these lakes. The colours came about from dissolved minerals which washed down from the thermal area of Red Crater. My heart was full at this little slice of heaven.
It is more perfect than perfect to picnic around lakes that look like a work of art. We were so lucky to have had beauteous, ideal weather all day long. At some stages I was too hot but still seizing the day; Rianne likes seizing. The only worrying aspect of the voyage is when you come across a warning signpost of possible volcanic eruptions, instructing you to RUN and find shelter out of the valley in its unlikely event. The last were in 2012 where 10,000 cubic metres of ash erupted skywards. Geonet had March 6th's volcanic alert level at 0 so we were fairly confident nothing would happen on that front. That's not to say it will NEVER happen while YOU are there. It is imperative to remember that Red Crater and Te Maari are two active craters.
HOBBLING A LA HOBBIT -
Another small scale took us to the edge of North Crater which was once filled with molten lava, before it cooled and solidified; this resulted in a level surface greater than 1000 metres. I had to summon up inner strength I didn't know I possessed for it was here at Te Ketetahi Hut where my ankle was throbbing unbearably. A handsome rescuer bandaged my foot up after applying some cream which stung my wound. It didn't do much to take away my now excruciating agony but he was still my momentary hero.
And so for the next 2 hours down and down and down, I limped these endless paths dejectedly groundwards. I joked about wanting to dial 111 for a helicopter to airlift me to the end but I had gotten this far that I was in it for the long haul. There was no way I would allow myself to fall at the last hurdle - I REFUSED. Shade from a foresty area motivated me to trooper on; reviving me with a second wind, though I could only communicate in grunts and, sighs and yelps.
IF THERE'S ONE THING I KNOW HOW TO DO IT'S REJOICE -
Relief swept over me as the final furlong came into view; it wasn't a hallucination, we really had FINISHED and arrived at Ketetahi car park. I deafened those who were already done with an almighty bellow in jubilation, flung off my boot and planned a ceremonial burning of said boot while we awaited oue shuttle to pick us up.
It's pure lunacy to think that I was able to accomplish this! If I'm honest, I was pretty pleased with myself and overcome with a sense of amazement, liking how adventurous I am being right now. Every minute was special! The irony is that poor Helen was stung by a wasp as she sat down resting at the end; she had suffered no injury while we were actually mountaineering :(
For many, gliding down the sandy slope with loose basaltic lava underfoot was the toughest mission but I LOVED it. I skated down sideways with style, grace and relative ease *toot toot of the ego trumpet* There was something very chuckleworthy about seeing others tumble on their tushies.
Emerald Lakes startled me with its heartwrenching beauty, in a way I can show off on all forms of social media. Astonished doesn't even begin to cover the exceptionally emerald and turquoise gorgeousness of these lakes. The colours came about from dissolved minerals which washed down from the thermal area of Red Crater. My heart was full at this little slice of heaven.
It is more perfect than perfect to picnic around lakes that look like a work of art. We were so lucky to have had beauteous, ideal weather all day long. At some stages I was too hot but still seizing the day; Rianne likes seizing. The only worrying aspect of the voyage is when you come across a warning signpost of possible volcanic eruptions, instructing you to RUN and find shelter out of the valley in its unlikely event. The last were in 2012 where 10,000 cubic metres of ash erupted skywards. Geonet had March 6th's volcanic alert level at 0 so we were fairly confident nothing would happen on that front. That's not to say it will NEVER happen while YOU are there. It is imperative to remember that Red Crater and Te Maari are two active craters.
Another small scale took us to the edge of North Crater which was once filled with molten lava, before it cooled and solidified; this resulted in a level surface greater than 1000 metres. I had to summon up inner strength I didn't know I possessed for it was here at Te Ketetahi Hut where my ankle was throbbing unbearably. A handsome rescuer bandaged my foot up after applying some cream which stung my wound. It didn't do much to take away my now excruciating agony but he was still my momentary hero.
And so for the next 2 hours down and down and down, I limped these endless paths dejectedly groundwards. I joked about wanting to dial 111 for a helicopter to airlift me to the end but I had gotten this far that I was in it for the long haul. There was no way I would allow myself to fall at the last hurdle - I REFUSED. Shade from a foresty area motivated me to trooper on; reviving me with a second wind, though I could only communicate in grunts and, sighs and yelps.
Relief swept over me as the final furlong came into view; it wasn't a hallucination, we really had FINISHED and arrived at Ketetahi car park. I deafened those who were already done with an almighty bellow in jubilation, flung off my boot and planned a ceremonial burning of said boot while we awaited oue shuttle to pick us up.
It's pure lunacy to think that I was able to accomplish this! If I'm honest, I was pretty pleased with myself and overcome with a sense of amazement, liking how adventurous I am being right now. Every minute was special! The irony is that poor Helen was stung by a wasp as she sat down resting at the end; she had suffered no injury while we were actually mountaineering :(
Helen's fitbit notified her that we'd ascended the equivalent of 300 flights of stairs. And the leaflet our backpackers provided me with stats that we'd gone up approx 800 metres in altitude; the highest point 1886 metres at Red Crater as we didn't detour to reach the summit. I hope all who tread this path fall in love with it as much as I did. This was the single, greatest hike of my existence.
We rewarded ourselves with ice cream from Four Square, the only shop for miles around. A cookies and cream Magnum made me stupidly happy; I was more than entitled to one having burnt over 1400 calories and walked in excess of 42,000 steps. Mind, I don't think anyone cares for their figure after what we withstood of our own free will. Our evening meal was carb overload as we plied ourselves with pasta bolognese WITH sweet potato and other veggies. My body was basically calling out for that and an early-ish night.
That was the highest priority of the day after our lengthy trek; I took fine joy in our private pool at Tokaanu Hot Pools on a fine and dandy Tuesday. It was miserably steaming, grungy and resembled the tanks for pygmy hippos at Marwell Zoo as Helen observed. The public pool was cooler and soothed our tired limbs miraculously.
My infinitely swollen and bruised, left ankle was severely sore and causing me some trouble but I laughed it off anyway! Laura, Helen and I took the Geothermal walk all round the garden path to see more steaminess and bubbling mud pits. We then fed the trouts in the stream with food pellets but they didn't appear mega hungry. Maybe they were scared away by the trout BEASTIE, 4 or 5 times larger in size than the rest!
The next morning, it was time for me to go home from living the beautiful life :( I couldn't have wished for two better girls to have shared such an extraordinary experience with. Tongariro has left a big imprint on my heart for all time xx
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