Trip to Mount Doom! - Tongariro

19/11 - 23/11

We took the ferry from the South to the North Island. From Picton, we headed to Wellington. I didn't really plan on exploring the major cities in New Zealand, but Emi wanted to make a short stop in the capital before we continued north.



So we had a whole day in Wellington. In the morning, we took a leisurely walk up Mount Victoria, which offers a great view of the city, the airport (you can watch the planes take off and land), and the harbor.



After that, we went to the Cuba Street and stopped at a café. Besides having coffee, we enjoyed people-watching. There's a lot to do in Wellington if you want to be a hipster. There are also some second-hand stores where you can buy old, used clothes at ridiculously high prices, which wouldn't have been fashionable even in the 70s and 80s.

The city surprised me when we walked along the waterfront promenade. There are some trendy restaurants surrounded by artistic architecture and a lot of recreational athletes.





Unfortunately, our accommodation in Wellington was not the best, to put it mildly. The kitchen was dirty and not equipped at all, and our windowless room felt like sleeping in an office complex. The only positive thing was that we got free access to the nearby gym. We spent our afternoon doing cardio and strength training and earned ourselves burgers for dinner.

After the short city trip, we drove to our actual destination, the small town of Turangi near the Tongariro National Park. Almost every tourist comes to this area to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a 20 km day hike through volcanic landscape. The hike is particularly popular because you pass by Mount Ngauruhoe, a volcano better known as Mount Doom from 'The Lord of the Rings'.





The hike only goes in one direction, so it's best to park your car at the end point and arrange a shuttle service to the starting point. The manager at our hostel was very keen on having his guests organize themselves and save on transportation costs. It's a commendable idea...in our case, however, it led to us having to take a young Frenchman who spoke hardly any English. Apparently, he didn't want to do the hike alone despite the communication difficulties, so we had a mute Frenchman following us every step of the way. Emi tried to engage him in small talk from time to time, but unfortunately with little success. After the 6-hour hike, he bid us farewell with an 'Ok, thank you!' and we never saw him again - we managed to record his share of the shuttle costs though...

The hike itself was estimated to take 8 hours, but we ended up completing it in 6. The first half of the hike takes you to the highest point at 1,886 meters, where you have a great view of Mount Doom. Then you go down a steep gravel slope - it was quite slippery! On the hike down to the valley, you could admire some crater lakes (Emerald Lakes) and volcanic gases, listen to the ominously muffled rumbling, or simply enjoy the sulfur aroma.







After the hike, we were pretty exhausted. Emi immediately fell into a comatose state back at the hostel. The fitness session from Wellington was still weighing on us a bit. We treated ourselves to a big dinner, isotonic drinks in the form of beer, and much-needed rest and recovery for the rest of the evening. I even gave a ride to a Mexican hitchhiker to the supermarket, as he was still hungry after two small cans of tuna and I felt a bit sorry for him - we were obviously in a generous mood that day! :)

Summary:

For our last hiking adventure in New Zealand, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing was an excellent choice. The volcanic landscape was a welcome change compared to the alpine landscape on the South Island. I wonder, though, how popular this hike was before the landscape served as a filming location for Peter Jackson's trilogy...
But I find it particularly pleasant that New Zealand doesn't make any effort to profit from the fame brought by 'The Lord of the Rings'. Instead, it seems to try to reduce the number of hikers. Preservation of nature always seems to be the top priority!

Hasta pronto!

E&L

>> Next stop: Rotorua <<