Tongariro Alpine Crossing

As announced yesterday, today I did my own Ironman.

Get up: 05:30

Start: shortly after 6

And this on vacation! But there was a reason, today I had planned to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing:

A day hike that is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. 19.4km distance, 800 meters altitude, past volcanic area that served as the model for Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings.

You park in the morning at the end point of the hike and a bus takes you to the starting point. Then you can leave whenever you are done.

I started at 8am and as everywhere else, the real challenge is the cold and wind, because except for the last 3km, it's a rocky desert. The wind was really brutal. It wasn't strong enough to crawl on all fours at the summit, as some horror stories claim, but the 55km/h and temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius are really tough. I can't imagine how people managed to hike in shorts and a T-shirt. The only good thing about the wind is that it carries away the sulphur fumes.

But the path is well maintained and not difficult, only the last kilometers are a bit tiring. But I was already rewarded with incredible views before.

Despite a rather moderate pace and several breaks, I arrived at the car at 13:45, so it wasn't as much of a challenge as the time frame and the data suggest.

So what to do with the rest of the afternoon?

To avoid the long drive tomorrow, I went straight to Whanganui on the west coast. That way, I can have a comfortable transfer day to Wellington tomorrow.

Speaking of comfort: for dinner, I had pasta and pear cider, and later maybe chocolate for the first time as a reward.

I am sitting on the field of victory enjoying some well earned comforts :-D

By the way, the campsite is almost entirely occupied by Bavarians, even two from Augsburg are there...

Probably the evening will be short anyway, strangely enough I am a bit tired ;-)

Well then, I bid you farewell!