Tongariro Crossing - Stunning Day Hike

After being a Hobbit for a few hours, our next destination was Rotorua, which is dubbed the stinky city, due to its ever-present geothermal activity - sulphur comes out from the ground and parts of the city just smell like rotten eggs.

The next day, we went to Lake Taupo, where we quickly checked out the #1 voted 'coolest' McDonald's in the world - you basically take your order and then go and eat it in an old plane. Cool idea, but the interior is a bit boring.

After a good night's sleep, a few in the group were ready to tackle the Tongariro Crossing. The 19.4km trek is considered among the top day hikes in the world. It weaves its way through a stunning volcanic landscape with a picture-perfect volcano towering above (featuring as Mount Doom in Lord of The Rings), passes the incredibly colourful Emerald Lakes and finishes with a long stretch overlooking Lake Taupo in the distance.

Back to the trek. It is advertised as challenging, but there are really only two small/medium sections where it goes uphill. The rest is rather flat. So the most challenging part of the trek is its length (19.4km) and its duration (c. 7-8h).

We were up before dawn as our shuttle to the start of the trek picked us up at 5.20am. We started the trek at 7am and the air was fresh, crisp but not too cold. The volcanic scenery was truly spectacular and I indeed felt a bit like Frodo walking through Mordor. Once we reached the top of the Red Crater - the highest point of the trek at 1886m - we had lunch (pasta with pesto).

Afterwards, it was a steep section down to the turquoise Emerald Lakes. There was gravel everywhere and literally the best way was to run down or go extremely slowly - of course most of us opted to run down. We spent a bit of time by the lakes before the scenic, but very long way back to the carpark (c.2.5-3h). That bit I didn't really like, as the views didn't change and it was just down, down, down for a very long time.

So, what's the verdict for the trek? It is indeed spectacular and fully deserves to be among the best day hikes in the world. Not only does the scenery change frequently, but on a clear day with blue skies the views are simply breathtaking. It reminded me how much I love being among volcanoes/mountains. I often say, mountains are peace and peace is happiness. The Tongariro Crossing was among the main reasons why I came back to New Zealand and it delivered big time. I was so happy to trek it, in particular on such a picture-perfect day!Read more