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| Start of the Tongariro Crossing track |
Probably the main reason I came to New Zealand was to do the Tongariro Crossing. It's referred to as New Zealand's best one day hike and one of the Great Walks.
I had the misfortune that there was recent volcanic activity in the region which caused a part of the track to become too dangerous to be accessed and is therefore closed. However, the part of the hike up to the closed section is still accessible so I was able to do at least part of the crossing.
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| Mount Ngauruhoe aka Mount Doom |
The Tongariro Crossing passes the Ngauruhoe mountain. I learned on the hike that the mountain was filmed in The Lord of the Rings movie as Mount Doom of Mordor. Considering the black lava rocks and the ominous shape of the volcanic mountain, it was a good location choice.
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| Rocky way up Mount Ngauruhoe |
The path up Mount Ngauruhoe was unbelievably tough. The entire slope of the mountain is scattered with rocks, pebbles and sand. There is no fixed path up the mountain so hikers have to scramble up, effectively going two steps up and sliding a step back down. It feels like battling the mountain the entire way and it takes about two hours to get to the rim. But at the top, what a fantastic sight into the gigantic crater and the views beyond!
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| Crater on Mount Ngauruhoe |
Getting back down from Mount Ngauruhoe was easy: I just surfed down the scree in less than half an hour. Since this was a filming location for The Lord of the Rings, it's not surprising that fans come here, dressed as Hobbits. How cute.
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| Hobbits |
The trail continues towards Red Crater, another fantastic sight.
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| Red crater |
The final point of the track is the Emerald lakes. My camera doesn't capture the various shades of emerald green of these lakes but again, the sight is breathtaking.
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| Emerald lakes |
This is where the trail ends and all that was left to do was to turn back to where I started. Yes, the Tongariro Crossing is a Great Walk.
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