From New Plymouth we drive a couple of hours inland and we arrive in a tiny village called national park. From here we will discover the Tongariro national park, famous for one of the most popular day hikes of the world, the Tongariro crossing. This town looked a bit abandoned and there was not much to do. The hostel was pretty nice and there was a mini golf court at the other side of the road where I played two times in four days. Besides the day activities I enjoyed the good weather and read a bit.
The next day I planned to explore the national park a bit. I took a cab to the start of a nice trail and my destination where the Tama lakes. It was a volcanic landscape and in combination with a hot and sunny day I used a lot of sunscreen. The first hour of the hike I walked through the forest but the rest of the day was in an open field. After another hour or so I reached the Taranaki falls which look pretty nice.
From the falls it takes another two hours to reach the Tama lakes. There is a lower and upper lake and the upper lake is a pretty steep climb, but is definitely worth the view. It’s a scenic picture with the famous mount doom in the background. I wanted to stay here a bit longer and have lunch, but because of the wind I decided to return. In total I walked for about 6 hours and I would totally recommend this hike.
When I returned to the hostel I relaxed a bit with some people of the hostel and went to bed pretty early. The next day was rest day so besides eating, reading and playing a game of mini golf there is not much to tell. But tomorrow...
So now it was about to get real and the Tongariro crossing was on the planning. A bus picked us up around 5 am and we drove for about 20 minutes to the start of the crossing. It started of in a volcanic landscape and we most of the time we were climbing a steep path. I have never been to Mars but it genuinely felt like I did now. After 3 hours we reached the highest point of the trail. From here it was a beautiful sight on the emerald lakes and the steam was coming out of the mountain from everywhere. The realization of climbing on an active volcano was pretty cool.
Just before we started the descent we searched for a nice spot to enjoy our lunch. Crazy enough it was not so crowded today, even though the weather was really good. It was another three hours down to the end of the trail and the last part was through a nice and cool forest. The bus was already waiting and not long after we started our way back. In total we walked for six and a half hours and it was a pretty easy hike compared to some others.
When we returned it was time to relax again and I met someone who was doing the Te Araroa Trail. An adventure of walking the total length of New Zealand. He was telling me some cool stories and it was funny to follow his adventure through his Instagram account.
The next day it was time to say goodbye to the hostel and the people I met there. It was another bright sunny day when I took the bus to windy Wellington, where I would stay for two nights, just before crossing the cook strait to the southern island.
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