This weekend, I spent 3 days backpacking and tramping through Tongariro National Park, which is in the central area of the North Island. We followed the 3-4 day trail across the Northern Circuit, covering about 30 miles in 3 days. Hands down, the experience was one of the most incredible of my life. I have never seen so much beauty and have never felt such isolation from the developed world. It was fantastic.
The weekend began at 2am Friday morning. With about an hour of sleep, Eric, Kelly, Danielle, Jeff, and I piled into the rental car and headed south for the park. Though it took Jeff a while to figure out which button turned on the iPod (FYI- it’s not the exhaust button), “wouldn’t it be nice” began to stream from the speakers. There is nothing like a little Beach Boys to start your weekend off right.
We pulled into Whakapapa Visitor’s Centre at about 7:30am, which gave us enough time to grab a coffee and breakfast pie before the start of our long journey. After getting directions and weather notices from the park lady, we decided to do what was supposed to be a two day hike all in the first day. In order avoid up to 60km winds on the top of the mountain on Saturday, we would do the entire crossing on Friday. Geared up and pumped, we readily headed on our way towards our first destination- Mangatepopo Hut.
Backpacking tip #1: pack like a nomad. That extra shirt is heavier than it might appear…
The first part of the hike was exciting, as we saw Lord of the Ring’s Mt. Doom looming over us (it is actually called Mt. Ngauruhoe ) And we took tons of pictures with the snow covered Mt. Ruapehu . The boys were immediately over-the-top exuberant over the snow, which I later found out was because they had a bet going against some girls about whether there would be snow on the mountain tops. The winner of the bet got a home-cooked 4 course meal from the losers. The boys were planning their menu for the remainder of the weekend.
Most of the hike was through relatively heavy bush and small insects consistently flew in my path. Throughout the weekend I was hopped on by various creatures and pelted by many a cicada, but I particularly liked the small yellow butterflies. Their wings reflected the sunlight and they fluttered about like little golden cornflakes. And remember how New Zealand has the biggest insects I’ve ever heard of? It also wins the award for LOUDEST insects. My ears were buzzing constantly for the whole weekend. It could get a bit annoying, but don’t get me wrong, it made the silent moments so much more beautiful.
As we jumped down banks and through mud patches we passed the time learning more about each other, since this was the first time we had all been on a smaller trip together. Upon finding out that Kelly is a film major, we promptly scripted our weekend documentary for our Moa Hunt. We never found our Moa, but perhaps next trip.
 |
| From Tongariro National Park |
We arrived at Mangatepopo hut just as our stomachs started to rumble. The huts were cute, with bunk beds, small stoves, and a sink with delightfully cold drinking water.
Backpacking trip #2: bring BIG water bottles and LOTS of POWERFUL sunscreen. Dehydration, heat stroke and sunburns are not fun.
After a break, we took some pictures and moved on towards Katetahi Hut. Once on the other side of the brush, the view opened up into mountainsides traced along the ground by streams and waterfalls. It was gorgeous. What wasn’t so gorgeous was our first glimpse of the path to come, not much unlike the path to Mordor.
 |
| From Tongariro National Park |
A few flights up the mountain we were sure we must be close to South Crater, the first landmark on the map. But peaking over the cliff we saw hundreds of more stairs. At the top of those, we prayed for a big pit to signify we were getting close to halfway up the mountain. Nope. No crater. This happened about 27 more times throughout the day. At the end, I was barely moving, trudging VERY slowly up the hill. I had to step lightly on the awful gravel path because it shifted under my weight with every step. I was just laughing hysterically after about 10 hours, it was just never-ending. But it didn’t matter anymore. The adrenaline rush of hauling myself up a mountain, with a weekend’s worth of belongings was exhilarating enough to replenish all the lost energy.
 |
| From Tongariro National Park |
And it was totally worth it. Ten times over. For 12 hours, we hiked and never saw another soul. The vastness was indescribable. Pictures can’t possibly capture what I saw, and what I felt. It was just like a movie. Walking across the giant craters of just dirt and rocks, we expected a space ship to land or an ambush to initiate an epic chase scene. It was so unreal that it had to be fiction.
The view from the top was incredible, like every beautiful scenery I had ever seen combined into one. The red crater, the emerald lakes, the looming mountains, they were all in a 360 degree view. We hiked to the top of the world and were greeted by sights that exceeded all of our expectations. That is it. I have no more words.
 |
| From Tongariro National Park |
Backpacking Tip #3: Bring a good camera.
I was on a natural high for at least the next 3 hours. I snapped over 200 pictures that first day. I wanted to document everything, but knew it was impossible. We cooled down in the last two hours, hiking past blue lake and along the outside of Central crater as the sun set over Lake Taupo. Even that hike was deceptively long though- silly windy paths that seemingly lead to nowhere. Exhausted, we slept almost immediately after downing some of our food, glad to be lightening our loads a bit.
 |
| From Tangariro National Park |
The winds that night were terrifying. But in a way that I was awed, not frightened. The gusts made the cabin shake, and outside my window I could see just barely see the grass blowing horizontal under the blanket of stars. Too tired to get out of my new nice and warm sleeping bag, I watched the painted sunrise through the hut door as many of the backpacking families bustled in and out, preparing for their day of hiking.
 |
| From Tangariro National Park |
Day two was much easier than the first, though the first incline we came across had us all dreading a repeat. My spirits were lifted by a fellow Carolinian who hollered a “Go tarheels!” as I passed him on the trail. Kelly and I took a quick dip in blue lake in the morning, though it was so cold it was more like a foot soak. I had acquired lots of giant blisters and bruises that enjoyed the freezing cold bath. The coolest one was on my big right toe, it sprouted out like a 6th toe. It was wickedly disgusting.
Backpacking Tip #4: Bring Band-Aids
We stopped at Oturere hut for lunch after a long morning hike, and then promptly headed out again, hoping to make it to Waihohonu Hut before sunset so we could have a leisurely dinner, play some cards, and drink a little whiskey. The afternoon hike was tedious as we walked down steep gravel hills. It was like walking on marbles. I enjoyed talking with Jeff for a while though, as he distracted me from my fear of slipping. The rest of the hike was pretty much open desert speckled piles of rocks. We wondered how they got arranged that way, and none of us came up with a successful explanation. Jeff and I thought they looked like sand drip castles from above, but we also liked Kelly’s description, which compared them to little dirt ant hills.
 |
| From Tangariro National Park |
Finally, as we neared the hut, we walked through a stretch of woods. Eric noted it was the first time in two days we had not heard the sound or ourselves walking. It would have been a nice break from the blistering sun had it not been almost entirely uphill. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it, but reaching the top, I knew we were all able to conquer much more difficult challenges.
The Hut actually appeared quite quickly after that and we all enjoyed a quick swim in the stream, washing off days worth of sweat and grime. Then we played some cards enjoyed a little drink and had a relaxing dinner. After nightfall, Danielle and I stayed up to talk with two guys that were staying there too, one from Germany, the other from Isreal. It was nice to meet new people. People from all over did the hike that weekend. We met people from South Africa and Australia in addition to the guys we talked with and another giant fun-loving (and very sun burnt) German family.
We departed bright and early by 7am Sunday morning. The walk started of extremely misty, but it burned off into a clear Carolina blue by mid-morning. As the snow covered mountains came back into view, the wind picked up and we had an excellent breeze most of the morning. Several times, the wind would die into silence and at one point, we heard the most beautiful bird sound, which lasted a good 60 seconds before returning to quiet. It was as if the birds sang just to greet us.
 |
| From Tangariro National Park |
Exhausted, we hiked most of the third day in silence. It was a great time for contemplation. I was thankful for such an amazing weekend and thought about whether I could do something like this for real, like as a counselor on wilderness expeditions with students or for therapy, as a career. I couldn’t answer my own question though. My feet were thankful for a final stop at Taranaki Falls.
Backpacking Tip #5: Bring a bandana- they serve many uses (sweatband, hat, ankle wrap, collarbone padding, towel…)
Back at the car, we cleaned up, refueled, and left the park as we came- a true pack it in, pack it out experience. It was strange to be leaving, and as we pulled out with some cruising music on, it felt as if I was departing from a friend. I left with just my memories of the great times we had together.
 |
| From Tangariro National Park |
What is great is that the story didn’t end there. But I will save my Couch Surfing stories for another entry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Skype Me!!
