Tongariro Alpine Crossing: New Zealand's best hike

The alpine crossing, seen from the road

It seems that no matter which New Zealand back country  hut you stay in, the conversation involving 'the best' great walk always crops up and so far the majority have said the Tongariro Northern Circuit is the one. Just as winter has started to show, we arrived at Whakapapa and the start of one of our best NZ hikes.

Mt Ngauruhoe from the start

The Tongariro National Park, was NZ's first national park and the worlds fourth. The land was gifted to the people of NZ in 1887 from the local tribe Ngati Tuwharetoa, to preserve the areas spiritual significance, during the sale of land patches after the land wars. The park is made up of some of NZ's most active Volcanoes; Mt Ruapehu 2797m, Mt Ngauruhoe 2287m, Mt Tongariro 1968m and Te Mari 1739m. Capitalising on this unique landscape, the Department Of Conservation (DOC) have created one of NZ's most popular day walks and possibly made their best 'Great Walk'.

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing, is without a doubt one of NZ's most hiked trail. It's got volcanoes, crater's, colourful lakes, it doesn't drop below a thousand metres and has easy transport links, who wouldn't want to explore this fascinating area. An extension to this popular tramp, a 43.2k circumnavigation of Mt Ngauruhoe makes up one of the three great walks on North Island, labeled the Tongariro Northern Circuit.

Walking the 'ditch'

Basing ourselves at the tiny alpine village of Whakapapa (pronounced f-u-k-a-pa-pa I kid you not!), meant we had some flexibility in our planning on which way round to go and more importantly, we had up to date weather to make our decision on when to leave. Luckily a weather window was on the horizon, and after one very autumnal night we were leaving under clear blue skies.

Sunset from the hut

Mt Ngauruhoe (Doom) erupting star's

Clear skies and bright star's

Surprisingly, our first day on the tramp that has been described as the best NZ has to offer, we had nothing to write home about. Eight and a half kilometres of sub alpine shrub, and an eroded path. The ranger at Mangatepopo hut summarised the section figuratively as 'the ditch'.

Having only spent three hours walking, our first day was sunny, chilled and filled with excitement after chatting to folk that had been to the towering summit of Mt Ngauruhoe that day. Lucy and me were primed and ready for the best forecasted weather day in the week. We were going to conquer are first active volcano and we were going to get stunning views.

Waking to low cloud changed everything.

Setting off from the hut, walking towards the seemingly lowering cloud, our hopes had dropped almost all the way out. With the rangers 'we don't get cloud inversions round here' ringing in our heads, we glumly made our way up the notoriously steep devils staircase. In the cloud, with the mass of day walkers we stood, pondering whether the summit would be worth the effort. We of course decided that standing on top of the film set of The Lord Of The Rings Mt Doom would be worth the effort, even if we wouldn't get any views. So we joined the steep path towards the cloud hidden cone which we had spent the last few days admiring from a distance.

Walking in the cloud

Ten minutes from the path junction, it happened. The cloud thinned, visibility improved and then, boom. There it was, the 2287m Mt Ngauruhoe. The cloud seemed to drift in and out of thickness around the base of the mountain, but the middle slopes and summit remained clear of any cloud. We were going to get view's. This enlightenment gave Lucy and me unknown energy and the steep, loose scree and ridge above seemed to fly by. Soon enough we were standing in snow and gazing out across the cloud inversion towards Mt Taranaki, Mt Ruapehu and Lake Taupo. A truly amazing sight. With the emotional high of the stunning summit and steep scree, the descent passed in almost an instance.

Mid slopes of Mt Ngauruhoe

Summit ridge of Mt Tongariro

Lucy walking past a steam vent near the summit

Mt Ruapehu above the cloud inversion

Summit selfie ( with the lucky duck)

Soon after joining the main trail again, the track ascends a ridge along south crater and reaches its highest point away from the summit side trips. Here a sign points in the direction of Mt Tongariro. Again we were facing the decision whether to head for the summit which will probably be in the clouds, and of course we had to go. This time however, we were granted a meeting from a very cool individual.

Chillin' with a local near the summit of Mt Tongariro

A fella who happened to be doing the Northern Circuit had made a very impressive snowman near the summit. Top effort.

South crater

Emerald lakes

Back on the main trail we were transported to another world, massive red craters with a lick of snow, long twisting ridges and small dotted volcanic lakes, aptly named Emerald lakes. Walking past the steaming lakes with sulphur burning an eggy smell into our nostrils, we couldn't escape the feeling we were in a massive volcanic crater. Unfortunately, the cloud had stayed and we weren't granted the views of the surrounding peaks of the central crater.

Descending towards the hut

The last section to the hut confirmed that we had left earth and were wondering on the surface of Mars. Black basalt pinnacles spaced by reddish coloured pebbles, with only a handful of hardy plants clinging onto life in this barren land. We truly thought and discussed the possibility of turning a corner and coming face to face with a group of Jawa's from the Star Wars planet Tatooine.

Walking on another world

Having our last night in cozy Oturere hut, was a perfect end to our back country hut experiences. Although the small hut had twenty five bodies squeezed into it's cramped living space, our experience was filled with classic hut pleasantries. We had the classic kiwi hospitality, story sharing and friendly chats about anything and everything. A pleasant closure in our experience of a brilliant hut system.

Mt Nguarahoe from the hut

Our last day was spent descending back down on to planet earth. First through the volcanic deserts, and then into the sub and bush of the typical NZ back country. We made sure to stop by the amazing new Waihohonu hut which was nothing short of a mansion compared to the previous one. The rest of the day flowed by as we walked under a blanket of grey, mountain shrouding clouds. Although on a clear day the hike over the moor like terrain would have given surrounding panoramic views, ours seemed to transport us back to memories of the dull Yorkshire Moors that seemed to drag a bit. We were glad when the roof of our hostel for the night appeared over the shrubs and we knew we had finished our last multiday NZ adventure.

Looking back across the moorland

Lucy and I both agreed that even with the less than ideal weather Tongariro Northern Circuit was one of our best NZ adventures. This was because it was so different to what we had experienced before this trek. On top of the unique volcanic landscape, the trail had variety on offer; well maintained paths, staircases, ridges, scree and the option to venture onto two summits. With craters, lakes, deserts, ridges, moors and native bush, all flowing one into the next. This isn't like the Fiordland great walks, where excellent paths lead from one view to another, this trail takes you into the views and literally the centre of a volcano. A truly amazing hike that is near the very top of my NZ experiences.

Unfortunately though, this unique and amazing journey has spread its fame and has become one of the most popular trails in NZ. This means that everyone wants to come and experience this other worldly place and the numbers are on the increase. This in itself isn't a problem, as people on the trail tend to spread out and everyone is generally friendly. The problems occur when dozens of people tackle Mt Ngauruhoe's steep scree covered slopes at the same time. Although the ranger at the hut warned us on falling rocks from people and the mountain, not all people stop at the hut and are unfortunately misinformed on the dangers and mechanics of scree. We witnessed another 'tourist' get hit by a rock and even after some advice continued to put themselves in harms way. An accident waiting to happen.

Another problem is with increased numbers comes increased statistics. As we descended from Emerald Lakes, we came across an unfortunate dislocated ankle. Luckily an experienced party member was sorting the well equipped team out. The fella was probably bored stiff of passerby's running through the first aid procedures when we came a long and started the tick list ourselves. After he explained everything (probably for the tenth time) we concluded that all we could do is offer to help with kit and one cold member of the group and set off towards the hut with some of the group. Just another unfortunate statistic that could have happened anywhere.

Although there were negatives, the positives far outweigh them and have given us a great experience. This trip has definitely been one of my best experiences of tramping in New Zealand and if the negatives hadn't happened, it would have been the best, hands down.

One of New Zealands most climbed routes?: The Remarkables Grand Traverse

First crux pitch on the traverse, with Queenstown in back ground

Before even setting foot on New Zealand soil, through Internet research, I had selected three climbs that I wanted to climb whilst travelling. They stood out with the WOW factor in the limited online library section surrounding climbing and mountaineering in NZ.

They were; The Remarkables Traverse, Mt Aspiring and Mt Cook, and this past weekend we climbed our first one.

My first desire was to climb the ridge in winter, when its transformed into a glorious alpine adventure according to the guide book, but without a car during winter the fates never aligned and summer arrived with still the urge to tick the route off. So with a mixed weekend of thunderstorms and a sunny day, we decided it was a perfect opportunity to relax, watch the new hobbit film and complete our first of the three routes.

The route follows the skyline, with the Grand Couloir splitting Single and Double Cone summits

Walking up past the ski resort we were familiar with was surreal, without the snow and tourists it was just us and the scarred landscape. Ascending on to the approach ridge the light summer wind from the south was bitingly cold, even with thin gloves and a hat on we were zipped up tight in our jackets and for a moment I thought it was going to be a thick gloves on climbing experience. But as soon as we got to the bottom of the ridge the wind had dropped off and after kitting up with the fantastic view down to Queenstown, we were ready to tackle the ridge proper.

Despite leaving the guide book at home, we were determined to stay 'on route', but beside the crampon marks and vague memory of the route description, we didn't have much of an idea as to where the route 'went'. After 30 minutes, switching sides of the ridge twice and a ledge system that ended in non protect able terrain, we figured that most ways are the right way, but not all the ways were the best way.

We soon got to the point that I remembered as the 'crux' or hardest part of the route, a right facing corner with a 2000 metre drop below. Neither the build up from the guidebook or the climbing triggered the exposure in my mind, I happily enjoyed the situation, until on the next pitch my boots didn't seem to grip the foot ledge as I matched my feet to step across onto easier ground. All of a sudden, the now 2020 metres, was reaching up and playing games in my mind, but after some strong words to myself and a mental video of me falling on to the cam at my feet, I got through it and belayed Lucy up, who didn't even stop to think about the move...

Standard type of terrain

Back to scrambling, we reached the first summit and a view to the end goal, Single Cone.

Abseil followed by, a pitch, some more scrambling, some down climbing and another abseil, the situation was great, a very alpine adventure, but the rock on the other hand: on the whole it was solid, but there was an abundance of loose rock on the ledges, stacked up in cracks and filling the gullies, we had to test most handholds to make sure they were solid and not come off in our hands. This made for a more tentative approach and made some of the more easier bits, mentally harder.

We decided to pitch the snow traverse of the Grand Couloir as it was a warm day and the snow was the consistency of porridge. After that the rock seemed to change, from a teetering pile of rubble to a compact slab of joy. We took advantage of the the pleasant climbing and shot to the summit in a blur of semi-climbing.

Grand Couloir and Single Cone behind

Sat on top of familiar ground, we took a moment to enjoy our position, 2320 metres above sea level, the whole mountain to ourselves and a clear blue sky. There were many reasons I wanted to travel to New Zealand, but this is what I will remember, the spaces to create adventure.

View back long the ridge and down to the lake

Knowing the terrain and the easy descent, meant we were binging out on food in Queenstown not long after topping out. Due to the access from the ski field, this is an easily accessible classic kiwi adventure, which happened to be the exact words that drew my attention on the Internet in the first place. Even though the list of adventures in NZ is ever growing, the excitement from the traverse has turned our thoughts to the other two original goals and hopefully some planning.

Our New Zealand summer alpine starts here; Beasting on Brewster.

Having our days off aligned again, we decided to wander up to Mt Brewster to see what condition the mountain was in, with the hope to climb a chimney on the north side or the classic south west face. On top of the obvious summit challenge we wanted to get a photo for the Christmas cards to send to family and try and see the meteor shower we heard on the news.

Driving along the Haast pass road with towering valley walls reminded me of the walks we did in the glacier carved fiordland, right until we saw Mt Brewster perched over 2000 metres above us and covered in what looked like loads of snow, then I remembered this time, we're going to the top! 2 kilometres and 1000 metres of ascent guard the popular Brewster hut. Climbing the tree rooted path through beech forest in temperatures of the high teens, we started to feel the effects of the 45 hour work weeks, but planned our hydration points and soon found ourselves marveling at the view across the Southern Alps.

Enjoying the Alps

Having chat's with folks returning from a night at Brewster Hut, told us of the busy night they had of 20 people and only 12 bunks, leaving people to sleep on the deck outside with the Kea's as 5am alarm clocks... They also told us of 2 climbing parties who had been forced to turn around due to soft snow and cornices and that there was a party who was giving it a go that day. Although I've learnt to take information gained from folks on the hill with a pinch of salt, this information coupled with the amount of snow we'd already seen started the bubbling feeling from my stomach of 'this isn't going to be as straightforward as we first thought'. Lucy however, seemed to be happy in the thought that she wasn't drafted for work and that she was out on an adventure no matter what.

Camping high in the hills is always a special event; mountain visa's, escapism and the chance of a light free star kissed sky. Our 1900 metre spot was no different; a glacier, countless summits and never ending skies, gave this spot the wow factor. It felt so raw, that the whole camping experience felt as if I was camping in the hills for the first time again. As I became accustomed to camping again and after we filled our belly's with the normal camping food, we started to replan the next day. Having spoke to the climbers who reached the summit that day after a 12 hour climb and descent (not including the 5 hour walk down) we decided that we would err on the side of caution and decided that the less committing west ridge would be our best option for this trip and fell asleep with the warm sun still beating down on us, ready for an early start.

Camp spot

With the warmer summer alpine temperatures comes the beauty of early alpine start's. 3am rolls around and the stars are out and a chill is in the air. Unfortunately, my quarter-assed attempt at photographing the sky, mountains and camp spot whilst packing down and cooking breakfast resulted in poor photos. Even with a full assed attempt, I still think the photos wouldn't do the star's justice. Millions of star's scattered the sky from horizon to horizon, with a denser band running straight over head showing off the impressive Milky way. Having the perception to reach out and touch the star's only enhanced the surreal experience of traversing towards Mt Brewster.

Across the glacier

Tramping across the glacier as dawn broke on the mountains was a refreshing experience, away from work, Wanaka business and the general everyday life, this was our weekend and this was why we came to New Zealand.

After four hours we reached a spot height of 2200 metres and realised we had a decision to make, commit another few hours to get to the summit and accept the long day ahead or take the conservative option and snap the Christmas card shot there and cherish the experiences so far away from the all too familiar summit fever.

All I can say is that after 12 hours on the go we arrived back at the car having picked the conservative option.... and finally made it back in time to scoff some food and shower before falling asleep.

Our high spot

Even though we didn't reach the summit, or even get on the climbing route we wanted, we still had a fantastic weekend less than 2 hours drive from Wanaka. Despite the slight regret for not committing, we're still fired up and ready for the next alpine adventure.

Wanaka Weekend Warriors

Roy's Peak track

We knew the moment would come. The moment when we stop playing everyday, find a job and settle down for a few months to earn some money. Two days after completing the Routeburn and Caples circuit and the weather looking horrific for the foreseeable future, we had our moment, we decided to look for jobs and a room and now, three weeks later we can officially call ourselves weekend warriors again.

After a few days in and around Wanaka, we knew when the moment came, Wanaka would be the place to periodically settle down. With a lifetime of walking, mountaineering and climbing within 2 hours of driving we spent most of our first week sport climbing, broken up with job interviews and room viewings.

Jobs were sorted fairly quickly with a lot of shops taking on summer/Christmas employees, but rooms seemed to go like hot cakes! Three nice room viewings and they all went the same day. After missing out on the chance of living with a crazy cat woman, we started to think we would spent the rest of the summer in the tent and even started to plan how to make the tent as comfortable as possible. But then a house that we were waiting on got back in touch and we had a room! Away from town, next to the climbing wall and great views across Lake Wanaka, the gods had aligned again.

So two weeks in and we're saving money, trail running in our spare time and warrioring it out on the weekends.

So far we've popped up Roy's peak, done some more sport climbing and I've had a mad one man mission up Mt Tyndall as Lucy had to work. But with an ever growing list of climbs, peak, tracks and trails, our weekends will be booked up with playing for the foreseeable future.

The appoarch valley to some of the treasures of Aspiring national park

As we descend back into weekend warriors, we hope that the weather will sort itself out, as a stormy spring has decided to plague the Alps. Snow down to 600m, strong winds and the occasional superheated day, mixes to form; weather watching, last minute decisions and praying. But this is all the fun of becoming a Wanaka Weekend Warrior, a skill we hope to master in the coming months.

Mt Aspiring from the start of Mt Tyndall's north ridge

Killing time in the mountains

500 km and 6 days, is what separated us from Peel forest and Te Anau, our next planned adventure in the form of the The Milford track and the whether was looking like a mixed bag.
The weather was looking good for a day at Mt Cook and we couldn't resist a view of 'The Cloud Piercer', so headed along a very scenic road, which traversed the shores of Lake Pukaki towards the seamlessly increasing lump of Mt Cook.
$20 brought us a campspot at the end of the road with a 360 degree mountain vista; Mt Wakefield, Mt Oliver, Mt Cook and Mt Sefton, cocooned us with an alpine evening glow from their glaciers, ridges and summit.

Mount Cook 

Mt Cook

A startling alarm clock woke us early with the rumbling and crashes of the steep icefall from the Tuckett Glacier, below Mt Sefton. With the illusion of being able to reach out and touch the cascading snow and ice, gave us a 10 by 3 kilometre TV screen as we sat, cooked and ate breakfast.

Alarm clock, in the form of Mt Sefton Icefall

We had a forecast of one fine day, turning into 100kph winds and rain for two days, and after researching most of the classic two day trips from the village we managed to settle on two different day walks. Lucy went for a pleasant walk to Kea view point and the Hooker Glacier viewing area, spotting ice bergs, Mount Cook Buttercups and bouncing on suspension bridges. I must have picked the shorter straw and went for the endless staircase up to The Mueller hut, but managed a traverse of the fake summit of Mount Oliver, needless to say we both had amazing views and spent ten minutes showcasing our photos to each other.

Iceberg

Swing bridge

Mt Oliver ridge

So with the weather turning, we decided to head to Wanaka and see what we could find to entertain us for the next couple of days, and we found a bit more than a couple of days worth of entertainment...
Wanaka was described to us before we left the UK as having the "Wild West sorta' feeling", but when we rocked up and into a hot tub at the Mount Aspiring holiday park, we lost any wild west expectations. Googling, skimming lonely planet and a long browse through the mountaineering guide book, raised the expectation of the chilled out, lake side town to a new level and we seemed to be bombarded with single and multi day trips, but of course the weather and maybe the hot tub and sauna dictated our days. Two days chilling and exploring the town and one day hiking up a steep slope with ever expanding views. Managing to ascend the height of the UKs highest mountain, Ben Nevis without even reaching the summit of the very impressive looking and aptly named Shark Tooth Peak, but decided to call it a day at 1,685m and head for the tub...

Wanaka Frisbee golf

Mt RobRoy

Unlike Queenstown, it looks like Wanaka is going to leave a burning desire to return and explore the hidden and not so hidden adventures in the area, with a list that's already too long, we'll have to make sure our next time here is a lot longer than we first considered.

Wanaka tree