Tongariro Crossing Part 1/4 - The Ascent

We camped along a logging road. The alarm was set for 5:00. It was still dark but the sky was starting to glow red behind Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom). Today we’d hike the Tongariro Crossing.

Mats dropped off Jenna at the start and brought the van to the finish. From there a shuttle, full with 20 people, and another 10 buses like it were racing down to the start. And another 4 starting times likely had similar numbers of people. It’s a really popular hike.

We were eager to get going ahead of the crowd. We got our legs on and walked towards the looming Mt Doom and Mt Tongariro. The sun came out and things warmed up quick. A short side-track took us to Soda Spring, a waterfall with yellow buttercup flowers growing all around it. We didn't linger, the Devil’s Staircase was ahead! At the start of the steep incline, signs warned unfit or unprepared people not to go any further. Looking behind us, the view became more and more impressive. The volcanic rocks were black and we could see the past lava flows and rock slides from Mt Doom.Read more