Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a childhood wish come true

This excursion is what I was most excited about on the North Island. I am climbing the Tongariro National Park in New Zealand. And in winter, incredible!

I had been waiting for a long time because the park had been closed for a week, but on 10/09/2018 it was reopened because the snowstorm had passed. This tour can only be done with a guide. So I booked myself in. The company kindly provided me with spikes, hiking boots, and an ice axe. So I woke up at 04:30 the next morning to be able to drive from Wanganui to Tongariro National Park. The journey took just under 100 minutes. Just before 7, the other mountaineers and I met at the agreed meeting point.

When we were all on the bus, everyone was handed their equipment (helmet, axe, spikes, etc.) to not waste any time. When we finally arrived at the entrance of the national park and stood in front of it, I thought, 'We're climbing up there?'.

So we started walking. At first, you could still call it a stroll, at some point 'hiking' became the right term, and in the end, it was mountaineering. The first few kilometers were relatively calm and serene. After a while, however, the ascent began, not yet steep, but getting steeper and steeper.

Our guide took a 5-minute break every 30 minutes to enjoy the view. We were above the clouds and could see Mt. Taranaki, 200 km away, on the horizon.

We hiked along the slope. Many people also know Tongariro as 'Mordor' from the movie 'The Lord of the Rings'.

At some point, we found ourselves in a gigantic gorge. Rarely in my life has there been a moment as quiet as this. You could hear nothing. Absolutely nothing. You realized how loud silence can be.

At the highest point of our 'hike', we had a picnic. It was the back of an inactive volcano. The ground was so warm that the snow melted immediately at this point. You can see dozens of small holes from which hot steam rises. A beautiful sight.

After a short break, the second half awaited. This only consisted of the descent. I noticed that the descent was much flatter and longer than the ascent, which was steep and short (but very strenuous). On some slopes, we had to walk in a 'stretched' line so that our weight would not trigger an avalanche.

On our final sprint into the valley, we were treated to a gigantic view. We looked out over Lake Taupo, which looks tiny from up here, but is the largest lake in New Zealand.

After almost 10 hours, we arrived in the valley, where each of us was handed a beer and we all toasted together. Then it was back on the bus to the 'National park village', where we said goodbye to each other. I have a lot of respect for the profession of the local 'mountain guides', who hike 20 km a day through this definitely dangerous national park, seven days a week, 10 hours a day, in snow and rain.