The Tongariro Crossing-Ruapehu District- Central
Plateau- North Island of New Zealand
The most comprehensive information on New
Zealand’s best one day scenic walk – the
Tongariro Crossing in Tongariro National Park. And Taupo
DeBretts is one of the best places to stay before and after
your walk. (What with our Hot
Springs, Quality
Accommodation and Luxurious Spa
Treatments)
The
Tongariro Crossing walking trek in New Zealand’s
world heritage Tongariro National Park in the central North
Island is one of the most scenic walks in New Zealand and
is an absolute must do on any trip to New Zealand.
The Tongariro Crossing rates among the top five great
walks - Milford Track, Routeburn Track, Kepler Track,
Heaphy Track, and the Able Tasman Coastal Track and as
being one of the finest walking tracks to be found anywhere
in Australia and New Zealand and is consistently acclaimed
as New Zealand’s best one day walk.
Mountain Weather – planning your walk
Weather on all three National Park mountains - Ruapehu,
Ngauruhoe Tongariro can be extremely changeable. Alpine
temperatures can range between 5 and 35 degrees in the
summer, so basing yourself in Taupo accommodation such as
Taupo Debretts Resort and waiting for the right day to do
the crossing makes a lot of sense. Check the weather for
the mountain with an experienced mountain operator such as
Tongariro Expeditions before you leave. Essential tramping
items for the walking trek, even in summer, include a
rainproof coat, warm clothing, hat and gloves, good
footwear (preferably trekking boots), sunglasses, sunblock,
camera and film, extra food and minimum of 2 litres
water.
Budgeting enough time for the Tongariro Trek
Although the Tongariro Crossing covers a distance of only
17 km (12 miles) one way, trekking across the alpine
mountain landscapes and live volcanoes of the Tongariro
National Park takes between 7-8 hours to walk comfortably
at an even pace. Popular side tracks include
climbing/scrambling up the mountain scree to the summit and
crater of Mount Ngauruhoe (an additional 3 hours return),
or turning off at Red Crater to reach the magnificent
tableland of the Tongariro Summit (an additional 1.5 hours
return) so if you intend to include either of these
trekking options you will need to start bright and
early.
Tongariro Walking Track - Start point and End
point
The Tongariro Crossing starts and finishes at two
different points, some 25 kilometres apart, so choosing a
drop off and pick up mountain transport service such as
Tongariro Expeditions is the most ideal way of walking the
Tongariro track. Driving time to the National Park
mountains from Taupo is approximately 45 minutes one way.
The cost for the return trip from Taupo to the mountains by
Tongariro Expeditions is $45.00 NZ.
If you choose to be picked up from your Taupo Holiday
Park Taupo Debretts, Tongariro Expeditions’ early
bird service is recommended, as on a good summers day as
many as 500 people are walking the track and this transport
arrives up to 1 ½ hours before the large crowds get
there, which means you are not walking the difficult climbs
in the heat of the day.
Tongariro Expeditions’ can pick you up from Taupo
Debretts Resort and will drop you back in time for a well
earned relaxing soak at Taupo Hot Springs Spa’s hot
mineral pools.
Tongariro – Lord of the Rings location
The volcanically active landscape around Mount Tongariro
was used as one of the major settings for New Zealander
Peter Jackson's film Lord of the Rings. Mt Ngauruhoe was
used as Mt Doom or Orodruin, the mountain of fire in the
Land of Mordor. Significant proportions of the J.R.R.
Tolkien trilogy was filmed on location here in 1999 with
the Tongariro National Park landscapes regularly featuring
in parts of “The Fellowship of the Ring”, and
its sequels “The Two Towers” and “The
Return of the King”.
Tongariro National Park - History
New Zealand’s Tongariro National Park owes its
existence to a forward-thinking Maori chief Te Heuheu
Tukino IV (Horonuku) who ceded the land to the people of
New Zealand on behalf of the Tuwharetoa tribe on the 23
September 1887 as a way to protect its sacredness from
European settlers, farmers and loggers. Te heu Heu had
heard about the creation of Yellowstone National park
Originally 2,630 ha the park now covers 79,598 ha. or
196,687 acres, the national park is situated around a trio
of active volcanoes: Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe. Mt
Ruapehu, the highest point on the North Island, has erupted
more than 60 times since 1945-including a spectacular 1995
eruption
Tongariro Crossing – Description of
walk
The Tongariro Crossing across the mountain landscape of
the Tongariro National Park takes between 7-8 hours to walk
comfortably, treking a distance of 17 km (12 miles) one
way.
The Tongariro trek begins at Mangatepopo Road in the west
of the Tongariro National Park and ends at Ketetahi on the
northern edge of the world heritage park.
The Tongariro Crossing walk starts with a gentle gradient
walk up from the Mangatepopo Valley then changes to a steep
climb upto the Mangatepopo saddle between the active
Volcanoes of Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe, then a more
gentle tramp across the South Crater and finally climbing
up to Red Crater, the highest point (1886m) on the
Tongariro Crossing track. Tongariro walkers then descend
down to the Emerald Lakes (a group of water filled volcanic
explosion craters), over the Central Crater to the Blue
Lake (an old mountain vent) zig-zaging around
Tongariro’s North Crater past the Department of
Conservation’s Ketetahi Hut and the Ketetahi Hot
Springs down through the native forest to the car park on
State Highway 47A.
Tongariro Crossing times from the Mangatepopo car park to
Soda Springs average approximately 1 hour, from Soda
Springs to the South Crater about 45 minutes, from the
South Crater to crossing’s high point at Red Crater
about 1 hour, down from the Red Crater past the Emerald and
Blue lakes to the Ketetahi Hut takes around 2 hours, then
finally from the Ketetahi Hut, past the Ketetahi Springs to
the Ketetahi car park takes a surprising 2 hours.
If you want enjoy other walking side tracks including
climbing to the summit of Mt Ngauruhoe (3 hours), red
crater to the tongariro summit 1.5hours sightseeing and
lunch add another 2 hours to your day’s
itinerary.
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