Tongariro Crossing

Before I left the North Island, Shane and I did the Mt Tongariro Crossing, which is one of the eight Great Walks in New Zealand. It is a 10 mile walk, but there is a very steep 3000 ft ascent (The Devil's Staircase) that made it kind of difficult. Nonetheless, it was a great walk, with perfect weather. The walk is a little south of Turangi in the center of the island, and it was clear enough to see Mt Tarakani, which is on the west coast. It is the green circle south of New Plymouth on the map. The pictures are in reverse chronological order.

This is the departing view of the Red Crater in the foreground with Mt Ngauruhoe in the back and part of Tongariro on the right. The sign said that if you fall in the Red Crater, you won't come back out. When we were on the ridge to the right, at the top of the mountain, there was steam rising out of the ground, which was quite hot. It was a bit unexpected and a reminder that these are active volcanoes.



Here we are standing near the Red Crater and looking down on the blue and green lakes. The lakes are cold and nothing lives in them, but they are pretty colors due to dissolved minerals.


On our way to the peak, we walked across this volcanic crater that is on the shoulder of Tongariro. The mountain used to be 50% taller before this eruption. I forget when that was, but it was centuries ago.


After the painful Devil's Staircase, but before ascending Tongariro, we stopped at the base of Mt Ngauruhoe. My book calls it "the most dispiriting walk in the country" so we just admired it from below.

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