New Zealand's Volcanic Trinity

Crossing the Equator into the Southern Hemisphere and seeing the Southern Cross constellation in the night skies.
Exploring the modern cities of Aukland and Wellington and the provincial towns of Wanganui and New Plymouth.

The traverse of the volcanic landscape of Tongariro National Park including an ascent of Mt. Ngauruhoe - claimed to be the best one day hike in New Zealand.
The summit views from Mt. Ruapehu (the highest in the North Island) and Mt. Egmont - the third in the trinity of the North Island volcanos.
Looking down into the smoking craters of Mt. Ngauruhoe and Mt. Egmont.

A one-day circular tour of the "Tail of the Fish" along "90-mile-beach" to Cape Reinga at the outermost point on the North Island.

Quick Tips:

Get a good insect repellent for protection against "jiggers" - small biting flies.
Also a high factor sunscreen / block - the "burn" factor is high.

Best Way To Get Around:

Buying a multi-trip ticket for the inter-city bus service is an economical way of travelling around New Zealand.
There is a good local bus service in Aukland.
Most towns and cities have a local minibus with baggage-trailer service which is ideal for backpackers.
Hiking, or tramping to use the NZ term, is the ideal way of exploring the many tracks and trails.

During the peak summer and winter seasons mini-buses ply between Whakapapa in the centre of the Tongariro National Park and the ski-village of Ikiwiyi at the roadhead but in the present autumnal, off-season month of February there was no service. However the long trudge uphill on the hard, tarmac surface was alleviated by the increasingly fine outlook over the surrounding bush and grasslands. Nearing the end of the road the last of the scrub and grass petered out to leave an austere, primeval landscape of bleak, bare rock devoid of any vegetation.

From the deserted cluster of buildings of Ikiwiyi a set of painted poles marked the trail up a rough, shallow gully beneath the rusting cables of an abandoned ski-tow. A long, rising traverse round a hillside led up to smooth, polished rock surfaces formed by old lava flows interspersed with beds of soft, dusty volcanic ash. Beyond a jagged ridge loomed the dark, sinister cone of Ngauruhoe.

Further up, a flatter stretch followed the edge of the dirt-blackened, fissured ice of the Whakapapa Glacier to steep scree falling from the rim of the North Crater. Skirting round the circumference of the broad, shallow, snow-filled depression I reached the small, wooden "Dome" emergency shelter on a promontory above the much deeper South Crater. Beyond an ice-bound crater lake, towering above sheer cliffs, was my objective of Tehurangi - the highest peak of Mt.Ruapehu.

The traverse of the sheet-ice, inner slopes of the crater that was now necessary would not have been possible without my crampons. Although their gradient was not great there was nothing to stop a slide down the smooth, slippery slopes into the potential deathtrap of the still, dark waters.

Safely across I scrambled up a short gully to gain the crest of the rocky ridge leading towards the summit. An acrid smell of sulphur wafted up from the crater walls as I clambered along the broken rock of the narrow rim. Coming to an unclimbable, vertical block I was forced to make an awkward traverse around the outside of the volcano on steep, bare rock sprinkled with loose, treacherous scree as effective as ball bearings.

Eventually another gully led back up to a gap in the ridge and a final airy scramble gained the peak of Tehurangi (9,000 feet) to command a fine vantage point over the subordinate summits of the snow-covered roof of the North Island. Thankfully it was to be some time after my ascent that Ruapehu was to cause a major surprise by blowing its top.

From Whakapapa I travelled south to the coastal city of Wanganui and then due west to the rural town of Stratford near the base of the isolated Mt. Egmont - or Taranaki to use its Maori name - the most frequently climbed mountain in New Zealand but also the one with the highest death toll due to the sudden and unpredictable changes in weather conditions resulting from its exposure to the prevailing winds from the Tasman Sea bordering it on three sides.

Early next morning I was grateful to get a lift from the camp-site proprietress - there being no public transport service - to the "Plateau" car park high on the eastern slopes of the archetypal volcanic cone - a look-a-like for Japan's Mt.Fuji. Aloft the bare, barren lava fields streaming from the summit glowed a fiery red in the rays of the rising sun.

Starting from the roadhead, a path contours around the mountain through dense shrubbery to the "Staircase to the Stars", a wooden walk-way, built to prevent excessive erosion by the passage of many feet, that winds up through a narrow gorge between towering cliffs and over steep scoria-scree slopes for a tiring total of 906 steps.

Above the scree, an enjoyable scramble along the crest of the "Lizard", a prominent, rocky ridge, led to a breach in the crater walls but a gale-force wind blasting through the gap made entrance difficult. Once inside I crossed the small, permanent ice-field covering the floor of the crater and scaled a boulder-strewn slope to gain the summit (8260 feet) of Egmont poised above the stygian depths of a subsidiary crater.

Fringing the base of the outer slopes, embedded in a carpet of lush green bush, a multitude of small lakes sparkled like jewels in the sunlight. Beyond, in the distance, soared the majestic, white massif of Ruapehu flanked by the smaller, black cone of Ngauruhoe. To the west and to the south extended the pale-blue waters of the Tasman Sea but the view to the east across the main crater was blocked by the prominent pinnacle aptly named the "Shark's Tooth".

It was a long but scenic 18km walk back along the road through the bush and farmlands to the campsite in Stratford but I was content to have completed my round of the North Island's trinity of volcanoes.

A one day minibus excursion from the pleasant town of Kaitaia along the deserted, level
sands of the "90-mile-beach" (actually about 50 miles), littered with occasional
semi-submerged wrecks of vehicles that had been caught by the incoming tide, to reach
the spectacular Cape Reinga at the outermost limit of Northland.

En route a diversion was made into a Sand Dunes Valley where the energetic could
attempt the two-steps-up-one-step back ascent to the top for a much more enjoyable run
down the soft sand to the bottom.

The return journey was via the picturesque East Coast where a picnic lunch was enjoyed
at the beautiful Tapotupotu Bay - one of many in the Northland peninsula.

"Tail of the Fish" is the Maori name for the finger of land that runs out to Cape Reinga. Northland is populated mostly by Maoris and a splendid example of one of their old war canoes was seen in a bay on the return journey.

"A volcanic walk to fire you up"

From the ultra-modern, high-rise edifices of sparkling chrome and glass of windy Wellington I travelled north by air-conditioned coach through rolling, verdant, but sparsely populated countryside, dominated by the snow-capped, multi-summited, semi-active volcano of Mt. Ruapehu, and over the "Desert Road" through the bleak, barren wasteland formed in its rain-shadow, to the small, rural town of Turangi.

Early next morning a local mini-bus service took me across the "Saddle" through mist-enshrouded hills and up the winding, mountain road to the camping grounds sheltered amid giant tree-ferns at Whakapapa at the centre of the Tongariro National Park - an embodiment of all New Zealand's varied landscapes.

A few days later, after exploring the picturesque lakes and waterfalls of the scenic park and an interesting ascent of the glaciated Ruapehu, I retraced my route across the "Saddle" and branched off up to the roadhead in the Mangatepopo Valley - the starting point for the "Tongariro Traverse" - claimed by many to be the best one day walk in New Zealand. Leaving the road the trail follows alongside a meandering stream through alpine scrub and across old lava flows to a wide, flat amphitheatre at the head of the valley. A zig-zag route up the head-wall then gains a col at the base of the scoria-scree slopes fanning down from Mt. Ngauruhoe - another of the North Island's trinity of volcanic summits. (Mt. Egmont, a look-a-like for Japan's Mt. Fuji, is the third).

Outcrops of solid rock protrude from the scree and the recommended technique is to utilize these as much as possible on the long, steep climb to the crater rim. Unfortunately some patches of the soft, loose gravel are unavoidable and render upward progress both difficult and exhausting. Clouds shrouded the top but a rough trail led round the rugged rim of the outer, older crater to the highest point of the 7,500 foot volcano. I was enjoying my packed lunch when the swirling mist cleared to yield a spectacular view of the nearby, snow-covered peaks of Mt. Ruapehu - the highest of the North Island's mountains. Thankfully it was to be some time after my visit that Ruapehu caused a major surprise by blowing its top.

Moving further round onto the completely-circular rim of the newer, smaller, inner crater I peered down into the awesome depths where plumes of nauseous, sulphurous fumes hissed ominously from numerous fumeroles. The scree slopes, previously a handicap on the ascent, now provide an exhilarating and rapid means of descent - known as the "Ngauruhoe Express" - to regain the col at the base of the volcano where a poled route leads down into and across the wide, flat expanse of the extinct South Crater - a veritable lunar landscape with its encircling high, barren, jagged escarpment.

On the far side, a short climb to another col gains a splendid outlook over the austere beauty of the Rangipo Desert formed in the rain shadow area between Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe. Climbing higher I reached the rounded hilltop above the smouldering, sensational Red Crater - the steep inner sides are partly jet black and partly deep crimson - the colour contrast emphasized by a separating band of pure-white rock.

Onwards one plunges down through soft, powdery ash to a set of emerald-green lochans and across the level expanse of the dormant Central Crater to skirt the banks of the tranquil Blue Lake. Continuing round the lower slopes of the North Crater the trail emerges from the harsh volcanic landscape into grassy scrubland.

Further down I was intrigued by a vast cloud of smoke billowing from the hillside. On approaching I discovered it was issuing from a set of thermal springs boiling and gurgling like an immense, witch's cauldron. Patches of bright, multi-coloured sediments, akin to an artist's palette, surround the scaldingly-hot waters gushing from the fissured earth.

Descending from the Hot Springs of Ketehahi through the rough tussock-grass a picturesque panorama unfolds of the brilliant, blue waters of Lake Rotoira and Lake Taupo in vivid contrast with the dark bottle-greens of the surrounding, conifer forests. A pleasant walk through the woods leads to the minibus pick-up point on the Rangipo Road to complete the continually interesting and justly renowned crossing of Tongariro National Park.