For many Kiwis the best day hike in all of New Zealand, which even in high season is walked by 3000 visitors daily. In the following text, you will find information on how to reach the crossing and important things to consider.
Table of Contents
How to get there?
You can reach the starting point in multiple ways. The trail is not circular, so you have two options for starting points: the Ketetahi Road parking lot or Mangatepopo Road. If you don't stay overnight in nearby settlements, you must park your car in one of these lots and use a shuttle service to reach the other parking lot, e.g. National Park Shuttles. If you choose to spend the night, there are multiple pick-up and drop-off points. This is the route of the Tongariro Crossing Shuttle.
Equipment
While the trail is in great condition, there are still a few reminders that you're on a mountain. Therefore, it is necessary to have good conditions and experience. It is necessary to have good equipment, including hiking boots, appropriate clothes, and sufficient food and drink (at least 2L, as the water along the route is not safe to consume). The weather in New Zealand can change drastically. One moment it's a beautiful summer day, and the next heavy rain and wind gusts appear. Therefore, it is best to pack an extra layer of clothing and a good rain jacket. Toilets are available approximately every 2 hours, but remember to bring your own toilet paper. It's important to protect yourself from the sun when exposed for a long time.
Special things about the way
The national park is sacred to the Maori, so please respect the rules: stay on the marked path, take your garbage with you, no loud music, and no smoking. It's important to appreciate the hike and respect nature.
With two parking lots, there are also two possible starting points. Starting from Mangatepopo Road is the preferred option as it involves less altitude and a shorter duration of walking (6 - 8 h). If you begin at Ketetahi Road, expect the journey to take 7 - 9 hrs. Essentially, the path is a bad joke.
Out of the total 19.4 km, only around 6 - 8 km remain untouched and require traversing rocky terrain. Typically, the path is constructed using mats or wooden boards, making the initial walk easy and level. Steps are used to simplify climbs mostly. The only sections requiring surefootedness are right before the final ascent to the Red Craters until Blue Lake. It gets especially dangerous at the highest point of the pass. You can easily distinguish the experienced from the inexperienced just before Emerald Lakes by observing how they handle the loose slope of earth and sand. Upon reaching Blue Lake, you will start a long descent along a mostly compacted path towards the parking lot.
The hike is quite achievable, but don't forget about the 700 meters of altitude and 19.4 km you'll be covering.
My experience
I went the extra mile from Hastings to Taupo just to do this hike. The weekend of the 28th and 29th also had the perfect weather for the crossing. It was cold and windy, typical for the period just after the winter season (-6 to +2°C). I had to get creative with my clothing since I didn't bring a thick jacket for space and weight reasons and of course, forgot my hood and gloves at home. I decided to buy gloves to avoid going without them and found a cheap pair that offers great value for the price. My tube scarf and cap were modified to a hood. The rest of my clothes were a combination of long underwear, wool socks, active wear shirt, pajamas, and the fabric part of my old double jacket. Just to be safe, I packed my vest as an additional layer into my backpack.
I headed to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and was amazed by how warm my outfit kept me. Even though it was my coldest hike, I didn't experience any coldness. Upon reaching the Mangatepopo Road parking lot, my immediate goal was to overtake as many individuals as possible to establish an uninterrupted pace. You can catch the return trip for my shuttle service at 13:30, 14:45, 16:00, and 17:30. Because I started at 8 o’ clock and thought that I need 6 h for the hike, my goal was to reach the shuttle at 14:45.
As previously mentioned, the path is indeed a bad joke. After about half an hour you go on a completely flat wooden walkway and at the first meters of altitude steps were used. I've never witnessed any thing like this before, so it's no wonder that up to 3000 people a day try the hike during peak season. Due to the road's high level of development, you'll find yourself shaking your head at 80% of the people. It's obvious when someone has never experienced mountains, let alone climbed them. Many are unfit for the route, and finding good hiking boots is rare. I was surprised by some people's clothing choices. How will they survive freezing temperatures and 60 km/h winds?
Nonetheless, it's not my responsibility. Walking towards the Red Craters, you'll be in the shadow of the volcano Mt. Ngauruhoe, famously known as "Mount Doom" from Lord of the Rings. Even Mt. Egmont on the horizon was visible through the cloudless sky. Since it was extremely cold and stormy the day prior, certain locations before the summit were icy. On the final ascent, I passed numerous hikers who were completely inexperienced. Despite the lengthy struggle to overcome a few frozen spots, the progress they made pleasantly surprised me.
I only stopped briefly at the small plateau due to the terrible wind. Now you've reached the area with the loose substrate. From the background, we witnessed the 3 Emerald Lakes and the big Blue Lake guiding us to the parking lot. Despite taking breaks for photos, I managed to overtake others again…
The descent is not remarkable; it involves walking on mats and referring to any slope as steps. You're definitely going a long distance, around 8 - 10 km, for sure. While in the parking lot, a brief look at my watch revealed that I had unintentionally finished the Tongariro Alpine Crossing after 4,5 hours. Therefore, I now had to wait an hour for the 13:30 shuttle.
What are my final thoughts about the hike?
It’s definitely a nice day hike that unfortunately is attempted by too many people. The path is undeniably special, but even in the midst of a volcanic area, the hike was underwhelming. The landscape didn't feel unfamiliar to me; I've never been this close to a volcano before, but looking back at my hikes, it was still nothing new. I have seen countless alpine lakes, have walked on similar paths and the view was just nothing indescribable. Except for Mt. Egmont and Mt. Ruapehu, the surrounding area is a flat wasteland.
However, if you're in New Zealand with free time, you should still do the hike; otherwise, you'll miss out on something.
As always, you can view more pictures in the gallery.
