Tongariro Alpine Crossing

That was quick with a new blog post, but I've decided that the hike deserves its own entry. We did the famous-infamous Tongariro Alpine Crossing and it was breathtaking!

After our alarm rang at 4:15 am and we unfortunately didn't have time for a coffee, we were quite sleepy in the beginning. However, that changed after the first few meters. At 6 am, a shuttle took us to the starting point of the hike and at 6:45 am we set off, right on time for the sunrise behind the mountain.

Then we walked straight for 4 kilometers with minimal slope. I got some blisters right away. The walk was only 16 kilometers, after all. Then we went uphill for two kilometers. At the top, we passed through the Gates of Mordor... literally. This was one of the filming locations for The Lord of the Rings. But the whole landscape around also resembled the cold and barren volcanic landscape. At the top, we could admire Mount Doom in all its glory. However, we didn't climb it because we wouldn't have had enough time for the rest of the hike, and we had forgotten the ring in the car anyway... it would've been pointless.

After that, we walked straight for a while until the last steep climb to the Red Crater. It was fun climbing up with my blisters. But once at the top, we had already completed one third of the way. And it was definitely worth it for this view! From up there, we could see everything. The Red Crater, Mount Doom, the Blue Lake, and the Emerald Lakes. We took a little break there and had something to eat. However, the way down proved to be a bit difficult as the ground was extremely sandy and everyone was falling, including us. When we reached the bottom, we were greeted by the wonderful smell of rotten eggs emitted by the sulfur lakes. I forgot to mention last time that the reason we didn't stay in Rotorua for long is because it's the city of sulfur lakes and therefore has a persistent smell. But the clarity of the Emerald Lakes was still breathtaking. Unfortunately, touching the water is not allowed as these lakes are sacred to the Maori.

Then we continued up to the Blue Lake and finally tackled the last uphill section before going downhill. We entered the actual alpine landscape, from which the walk gets its name. There, we reached the 10-kilometer mark. So, we went downhill for quite a bit in the blazing midday sun of New Zealand. At some point, we could feel our legs getting tired. It was made even more difficult by the fact that we were wearing too many clothes - which I took off after the first 4 kilometers because it was so warm, and my backpack was consequently heavy. When we reached the bottom, the torture was still not over. We walked through a seemingly endless stretch of jungle landscape until we finally reached the relieving 19-kilometer mark... only 400 meters left! And then we couldn't move anymore. After resting for a bit, we still had to walk to our car. According to the bus driver, it was only 600 meters... it was 1.5 km -.- It's not fun anymore to walk with blistered feet after almost 20 km. Finally reaching the car (after what felt like an eternity), we went straight to a Thai restaurant and then straight to bed.