“One does not simply walk into Mordor.”
― The Lord of the Rings
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is regarded as among the top ten one-day treks in the world. The hike (or as New Zealanders call them: tramp) covers 1126 meters of elevation over a distance of 20.2 km and takes between 6 and 8 hours to complete during summer. The extreme weather and an active volcanic landscape make it even more difficult. Some people take it too lightly (as I can attest), resulting in this track having the highest number of search and rescues for hikers in New Zealand. I'm used to 7–12 km hikes of moderate difficulty, so I was slightly concerned, but in the end I took on the challenge.
The usual approach is to leave the car at the Ketetahi car park, get a shuttle to the beginning of the track, and then walk back to your car. The weather was perfect and the journey could begin.
During the first third of the track, you're passing the eastern base of Mount Ngauruhoe: an active volcano that was used as Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings. The landscape starts more like Rohan, but soon enough changes into Mordor.
As if the hike wasn't challenging enough, you can opt in for a few side quests. The first one is a short walk to the Soda Springs.
After clearing the first bigger climb, I was thinking "it's not that bad", only to meet this nice cardboard lady to tell me this was the easy part. I overheard a few people contemplating their decision to do the hike.
The next climb is indeed more challenging, but still doable. You are rewarded with a few minutes on flat surface, which looks like a desert.
The next short detour from the main track leads to one of my favourite views of Mount Ngauruhoe ("Mount Doom").
Right before the steepest climb of the hike you are once again encouraged to turn back. After high-fiving this nice fella, I continued my journey.
As I was climbing up, the view was getting even better.
From the Red Crater summit, you can see the iconic Emerald Lakes. The color is caused by minerals from the surrounding thermal environment.
To reach them, the biggest challenge of the hike has to be completed: getting down the steep and stony road. Most of the injuries happen during this part.
You can also do it the Hobbit style.
After passing the next section, look back for another stunning view. In the right upper corner you can see the Red Crater summit and the path leading down. The light and shadow reminded me of Gandalf riding in front of Minas Tirith.
There is one final climb to complete. At this point, the first half of the hike was over. While it has been physically exhausting, the ever-changing spectacular views made up for it. The second half has been far less enjoyable. The 10 km downhill road didn't raise my heart rate like the climbs did, but it was a real challenge for my knees. I could see my destination most of the time: it's the short vertical line in the upper middle part of the next image. Due to the endless zig-zag road, I didn't seem to get any closer.
The last part of the official track was a subtropical forest, but it was still downhill.
It took me exactly 7 hours to complete the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, with additional 13 minutes to get back to the car park. I only took short breaks, mostly for taking lots of pictures.
More importantly, I've proven that one does simply walk into Mordor! Although I wish I had the Eagles for the second part. The journey through "Mordor" felt similar to what Frodo and Sam went through 😄
White Water Rafting
The next day, I was planning to relax and recover from my hike. However, I learned about White Water Rafting in Turangi, so no chill day for me 😆
The weather was "perfect": the first day of my travel with heavy rain. I preferred that to a sunny day, as I didn't have to care about sunscreen, and it also added a little bit of mist, making the rafting more mysterious.
The track included 60 rapids in a 13 km stretch, with the highest level of 3, which roughly means "thrilling without being too extreme". It was still a lot of fun, and the scenery made us feel like being in Jurassic Park.
There was one spot where we were allowed to jump into the refreshing 10–12 °C water. Say no more! It was indeed very cold, but the adrenaline made it bearable.
Tawhai Falls
In the south of the Tongariro National Park are the Tawhai Falls, also known as "Gollum's Pool", after the Forbidden Pool from The Lord of the Rings. I've recreated the famous fish scene from the movie with a long exposure shot.
Huka Falls
On my way to Tongariro, I had a quick stop at the Huka Falls. The interesting cloud formation adds to the scene in my opinion.
Fauna
During the rafting tour, we were lucky to see 11 blue ducks, incl. two chicklets. They are endemic to New Zealand and there are only around 2500–3000 of them left, which classifies them as endangered.
Kiwis usually call blue ducks by its Māori name whio (pronounced /ˈfiɔː/), which comes from the male's high-pitched whistle call.
Obviously, I didn't have my camera with me during rafting, so all that's left is a memory.
I also took a better shot of an Australian magpie in Taupō.
