Allow us to indulge ourselves a little. We find the name of this hike particularly dramatic. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing. It sounds impressive. The fact is: New Zealanders are inclined to understate things, a quality we find attractive. We did this hike last year and found it stunning—one of the top hikes of all time. In New Zealand, it is considered the top day hike, maybe as a concession to the Northerners as so much of everything beautiful and challenging is on the lower island. We are now based close by the ‘Crossing’, in a town called Turangi. See we told you we like the effect. The crossing of the Atlantic, the Suez, the equator and Tongariro—it sure has a nice ring to it. The editor is giving us the eye so we’ll think more about hiking it and less about dramatic titles and exciting sound ‘bites’. It was nice while it lasted and at least, it’s out of our system…for a couple of hours.
As we write, the prediction is for poor weather for the duration of our stay, at the National Park. A problem with the Tongariro Crossing is that when the wind is ‘cross’, which happens frequently, it is nothing for it to blow in excess of 140kmh. That’s rough stuff. Comes morning, we intend to reach the commencement early, hopefully before the wind wakes. We’ll try anything. The Israeli couple, Lior and Rotem, who we met at the Milford Track had a bad experience because of hail. At least, it’s supposed to be summer so we’ll hang onto that concept.
The optimists in us could imagine blue sky on the thirty-minute drive to the trailhead this morning. Never mind the fact that it rained the whole way. Our plan was to hike to the 'highlights', just over halfway and then return to our car, some 19 kms in all with a couple thousand feet elevation gain. The usual method is to complete the crossing of the volcanoes and then hire a shuttle for the return to the car park. Our idea was to provide flexibility because of the weather as well as to skip the last part, which is through a forest. We prefer to focus on the action in this great place.
The plan worked well although we turned back a kilometer before our intended goal. As we crested the saddle at the South Crater, the wind attacked us viciously—nothing personal, we believe. Besides having walked in rain for five hours by completion, we have lost the adventurous spirit of ‘blowing off mountains’. It’s sad when one has to admit it but on the positive side, perhaps we are maturing. That, of course, may be a stretch but we’ll see if we get away with it.
Suffice to say, bad weather and all, it was an incredible experience. If not for that wind, we probably would have extended the hike considerably. Just as we were soaked last Monday at Mount Ffyfe, the process repeated today. What do they say about ‘rainy Mondays’. In New Zealand, particularly at altitude, one has to think clearly to remember the season. Sometimes we think it may be a term bandied around without any real meaning on these islands. As much as we admire the country, we are a little apprehensive when we think of a winter visit.
When we commenced the hike, the car park was unusually empty with few hikers about. However, on our return journey, we were almost shocked to see the number of European adventure seekers that had arrived by the busload. We smiled at many of them and we think their return smiles signified our thoughts, too. “What are we doing walking up mountains in the cold, rain and strong winds?” We think it is a fair question and everyone probably has their own answer. We'll let you know when we have ours.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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