Tongariro National Park (NZL)

23.10.2019 - 27.10.2019

The Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand. One of the most popular day hikes (one of the Great Walks) goes through the national park - the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. My plan was to do this hike. But as usual, things didn't go as expected....

For the time there, I found a nice accommodation in National Park Village. You can get to National Park Village with Intercity. However, in the national park itself, there are only shuttles and they don't operate during the winter season (I found the earliest transfer for 25.10.2019). It rained most of the time during the first two days there, so I spent two days relaxing in the accommodation and reading.

On 25.10., the rain finally stopped in the afternoon and I went on a short hike from the village to the Taranaki Lookout. It was a beautiful path through the forest and I didn't encounter anyone along the way. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy and the visibility was limited.

On 26.10., the weather was forecasted to be consistently nice. But not good enough to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing without a guide (at Red Crater, the highest point of the hike, it was still around 0°C in the afternoon - which means there was still snow and ice). I wasn't equipped for those temperatures either.

But the Tongariro National Park also has other hiking trails. So I booked a shuttle to Whakapapa Village without knowing exactly which trail I would do (of course, I had done my research, I just couldn't decide). At the tourist information center there, I got a recommendation for a hike. So I set off to the Taranaki Falls. After about an hour, you reach the waterfall.

My plan was to do the loop track and then do another track. Then I stood above the waterfall and took pictures when it appeared for the first time - Mt. Ngauruhoe (also known as Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings).

Fascinated by the mountain and encouraged by many other hikers, I hiked the Tama Lakes Track from the waterfall (unplanned because I had read that the weather on the track can be unpredictable and very windy). But the track was really worth it. It takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes from the Taranaki Falls to reach the first lake (1,240m). From there, it takes another half an hour to climb steeply to the second lake (1,440m) and here you have a fantastic and breathtaking view, with Mount Doom nearby.

However, it was very windy and quite cold up there. Since this is not a loop track, I had to go back to the waterfall and then take the loop track of the Taranaki Falls back to Whakapapa Village. The total length of the tracks is 17 km. I was on the tracks for about 6 hours (with some photo stops).

The Tongariro National Park was definitely the highlight of my trip to the North Island of New Zealand.

I will definitely come back and next time, I will hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing :)